Bakers from Forth Valley College were given the freedom by Stirling District Tourism to make a Wallace Monument anniversary cake to celebrate 150 years of the iconic landmark.
The head designer for the cake was Heather Panther, who runs her own cake company called Cakes By Cullen, and is also employed by FVC to take bespoke evening classes. She led a team of three students, Richard Cook from Tillicoultry, Monika Csordas from Falkirk, and Lai Lao from Stirling - all HNC Patisserie students - on the baking challenge which helped to kick off the Wallace Wha Hae festivities.
Two cakes were made as part of the challenge. The monument one is more about the design and the time and technical difficulty going into it. There is also an official cake to be eaten at an event next week for 150 people. This will be a more traditional flat cake with a picture of the monument on the top.
A total of 7kg of fondant icing has been used in the design and it will take more than 24 hours for the cake to be completed. Visitors to the Monument on Wednesday 11 September, can tuck into the delicious cake and be part of the celebrations ahead of the Wallace Wha Hae! Festival which takes place on Saturday 14 September.
Monika, said: “I have enjoyed working on this cake and being part of this team. I really love doing this and would like to make it my career.”
Lai, said: “I was very excited to be involved. I love cake decorating.”
Richard, added: “It was a challenge, but we got it done. I am happy with the result.”
Heather Panther, from Cakes By Cullen, said: “It was a brilliant few days working with a great team who had loads of enthusiasm and wanted to learn. I was delighted to be invited by the College to create something special for such an iconic landmark on its 150th anniversary. We were all delighted with the end result and it certainly will be the centre-piece and show stopper at the Wallace Wha Hae festivities.”
Karyn King, FVC’s Operations Manager in the Department of Creative Industries, Hospitality and Tourism, said: “We were honoured to have been asked to provide a Wallace Monument cake design to help launch the 150th birthday celebrations of the Wallace Monument. This iconic historic building is central to our stunning views from our Stirling Campus and it plays an important inspirational role in our day to day life here at Forth Valley College. Heather and her students have done a fantastic job and we are delighted with the results, we wish Stirling District Tourism and The National Wallace Monument, all the best with their forthcoming celebration events.”
The National Wallace Monument commemorates the life and legacy of William Wallace, patriot, martyr and Guardian of Scotland. 2019 marks the 150th Anniversary of the opening of the distinctive Stirling attraction, which is managed and operated by Stirling District Tourism Limited. As a registered charity, Stirling District Tourism is reliant on income from donations and admission fees to provide the facilities and services which are available to all visitors.
To mark The National Wallace Monument’s 150th anniversary - officially Wednesday 11 September - celebrations of Scottish culture will take place at the Monument on that day and a family festival titled ‘Wallace Wha Hae!’ will be held in the grounds of nearby Wallace High School on Saturday 14 September.
Tickets and further information about the festivities can be found at www.nationalwallacemonument.com.
