Icing Queen

Creations that delight the eye and palate are rare, but possible through talent and hard work

BY PREETI JABBAL

Her world is full of words like meringue, sugar flowers, pastillage work, French butter cream, marzipan and royal icing. Her cakes have sari clad women, Lord Ganesha, a wedding mandapam, Thyagaraja, Mahatma Gandhi and Mother Teresa. Meet Shantha Jeyaraj, the creator of an extraordinary fusion of culture and cakes. Author of one of the first cake decorating books in Tamil, Shantha is passionate about spreading the beautiful art of creating frosted dreams. Food is the centre of almost every social event and a cake even more so. Decorated cakes are often a focal point of special celebrations such as birthdays, anniversaries bridal showers etc. Needless to say, people put in a lot of thought into selecting an appropriate cake. There’s Ben 10, Clone Wars, Toy Story, Barbie for kids while the romantics opt for hearts, rings, flowers etc. While the most common themes of decoration tend to be westernized, global influences are increasingly evident in the art and craft of contemporary cake making. According to Shantha her cakes are a reflection of both her Indian and Australian culture. On one hand she has mastered the art of whipping up a scrumptious two tiered ornamental piece bedecked with incredibly lifelike flowers; on the other she uses the same frosting to create an intricate, multihued kuthu vizakhu (traditional prayer lamp). “I suppose it is an addition to multicultural Australia,” she comments as she shares her life and times as a cake decorator with Indian Link

Originally from Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu, India Shantha lived in Kandy, Sri Lanka for 20 years before moving to Chennai, India in 1984. Five years later she moved to Perth where she lived for the past two decades before moving to Melbourne in early 2009.

“I moved to Melbourne to be with my kids. They have settled here and it made no sense for us to live so far away from them in Perth,” says Shantha. She recently launched two more books Shantha’s Samyal and Shantha’s Cakes on cookery and cake decorating in Tamil. The book launch and cake exhibition was held at Hallam Scout Group Hall on June 20.

“I have been teaching cookery and cake decorating for many years. My first book on cake decorating was published in 1990.

I have held several cake exhibitions in Sri Lanka, India and Australia,” says Shantha. Famous South Indian actress Manorama inaugurated her exhibition in 1985 and popular actor Kamal Hassan inaugurated her exhibition in 1987. Her cookery and cake decoration shows have also featured on Tamil (Jaya/Sun etc) Television since 2006. Shantha is currently working on a book on cake decorating in English to cater to the younger generation. “I want everyone to participate in this amazingly creative and fulfilling process and I want to promote Tamil and Indian culture through this beautiful art form,” she claims enthusiastically.

Through her registered school Palkalaikkalanjiem, Shantha taught and promoted fine arts and home economics in Perth to people from a Tamil background. “When I migrated to Perth there was a need to have a formal channel through which people could learn and retain their culture. My school taught dancing, Carnatic music, cooking, drama, bridal make-up… everything. It was a school that appreciated all art forms. I have reregistered the school in Melbourne, but am going to mainly focus on cooking and cake decorating classes to begin with,” reveals Shantha.

Shantha’s creative journey began in Sri

Lanka when she joined a cake decorating class for a few months. “I had no formal training as such. Over the years I gained knowledge through books, demonstrations, trial and error,” she says. “In Perth I joined a proper cake decorating course and leant both the English and Australian method. I found the Australian method very dainty and I now incorporate all these methods to make my own creations. The cakes I envision are rooted in my culture. It is my way of creating something unique and the feedback I get is enormously encouraging and positive.”

At her recent exhibition, accolades continued to stream in for Shantha’s sugary masterpieces. With their impeccable lettering, patterning and ornamental look the cakes were almost too good to be eaten. ‘You see it before you eat it’ is her motto and Shantha’s cake certainly did not disappoint on the aesthetics. A tentative bite into one of the exquisite creations confirmed that it did not fail in the taste department either. As soon as the cake hit my tastebuds, I got over my qualms about not spoiling the décor. I left with many d-letter words buzzing in my head: dreamy, delicious, decadent, divine….