Artistry on a plate is a piece of cake

For example, she considers the completion of a cake featuring rushing water cascading down Niagara Falls and crashing against white ships downstream a technical breakthrough. "First, both the upper and lower flows of water are created with jelly, ensuring that the amount of liquid does not collapse the cake structure but still depicts the depth of the river," Wang explains. "Then, to capture the dynamic movement of the water, multiple layers of white buttercream are used, playing with light and shadow to create a sense of three-dimensionality."

Customers have since beaten a path to her business, which has expanded to have eight bakers and three customer service workers. "Most of my cake designers don't have a background in baking. Instead, they come from a variety of fields, including fashion design, environmental art, and fine arts, and only one has prior baking experience," Wang says. "What's crucial for me is they have a strong artistic foundation and a keen sense of aesthetics."

Her bakery receives about 20 orders a day. Prices range from 650 yuan ($90) to 4,000 yuan, depending on size and complexity. "For the complex ones, we need four people working together, some doing the accessories while others are in charge of the foundations, like mountains and land," Wang says.

Usually, a session is held for customers to express their ideas and for Wang to tell them what they can expect. After this, she does research to find more information on the destination.

"Sometimes, customers will only give us a photo showing parts of a place, so we need to find other angles to capture the entire scene, because most of us haven't been there," Wang says. "We also need to consider the customer's requests. For example, the photo might have been taken in the summer, but they may want a spring scene, with the appropriate colors and seasonal ambience."

One of Wang's most unforgettable experiences was re-creating an urban project for a 90-year-old woman suffering from Alzheimer's disease last year.

"She worked on the city renovation project decades ago. Her grandson found us and hoped to use the cake to jog her memory," Wang says, adding that she was touched that the woman had cried after recognizing the scene re-created in cake.

Previous design work experience has also lent Wang skills that can be applied to her customers.