THE GREAT BRITISH CAKE OFF...

Unlikely baker Ben Cullen has taken culinary art to the next level with his hyper-real creations that will leave you wondering if they're cake or fake!

- By Karen Rockett

COVERED in tattoos and with an engaging Brummie accent and a nose ring, Ben Cullen is the very antithesis of beloved Queen of Cakes Mary Berry. But while the former tattoo artist may be a far cry from the genteel world of Bake Off, his magnificent creations certainly give the doyenne of desserts a run for her money.

In fact Ben, aka The Bake King, has become one of the world’s most celebrated and creative cake makers in the space of a decade.

His extraordinary culinary creations — including Hogwarts, Beetlejuice, Buckingham Palace, teddy bears and trainers — show there is pretty much nothing he can’t recreate in cake form.

Indeed, Ben’s hyper-real cakes include pizzas, burger and chips, watermelon and even raw chicken breasts so realistic, he confesses: "Even I was repulsed when I bit into it — and I'd baked it."

The 35-year-old married father of two has around a million social media followers across Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, plus a host of big-name clients and brands like Sainsbury’s, having built himself a many-tiered baking empire from scratch.

Now he has compiled his first book, featuring his 20 favourite creations as the proverbial icing on the you-know-what.

"If social media goes down, then the book will be there forever which is what any artist wants," he chuckles.

"I think the burger and chips is my favourite cake in the book because it is just so colourful and detailed and one of my most popular, with the pizza. It takes me a few hours to do that one.