CAKE & BAKE: colourful, diverse and international
Workshops, international competitions and modelling exhibitions in all colours were typical of this year's CAKE & BAKE show in Dortmund
The baking and cake decorating community convened once again at Messe Dortmund on 23 and 24 March 2023 for CAKE & BAKE, Germany's largest cake decorating and baking show. The event offered visitors an overview of the latest trends, techniques and products. The international cake competition left nothing to be desired – and no cake wonders were left unfulfilled.
Dortmund, 26 March 2024 – The smell of freshly baked cakes wafted through the air, participants sat in fully booked workshops, and celebrities competed with each other on the CAKE & BAKE Stage. Visitors carried colourful shopping bags full to bursting across the exhibition centre premises, and the atmosphere was phenomenal. Germany's largest cake design show attracted not just amateur bakers, but also confectioners and professionals. “CAKE & BAKE has once again proven to be an outstanding forum for dialogue with leading experts in the cake decorating and baking sector. We're proud to have created a platform that brings national and international exhibitors together with the stars of the scene. This year's show has been more international than ever before, a testament to our efforts to bring the art of baking and cake decorating to a global stage,” said chief show organiser Sabine Loos, Managing Director of Messe Dortmund.
Highly diverse supporting programme and great baking on the CAKE & BAKE Stage
A diverse supporting programme was on offer in addition to the large number of exhibitors such as influencer Tortenboss, decoration companies and baking accessory suppliers. The CAKE & BAKE Stage was the epicentre of all the action. There were tips on modelling, how to design fondant with an airbrush and how to decorate a cake buffet at lightning speed. In addition to the high-quality supporting programme, visitors were also able to meet contestants from German TV bake-off show 'Das große Backen' during the event. On Saturday, star guest Carlo Sommer – entertainer, content creator and podcaster – also known as 'casacarlo' was at the venue. On Sunday, interested visitors were able to see the winner of celebrity bake-off “Das große Promibacken”, Madita van Hülsen, live at the event. Together with contestant Julian F.M. Stoeckel, Madita decorated her confections in a way that proved highly entertaining.
Cake Academy, workshops and the international cake competition
In the Cake Academy, participants designed individual elements and learned new techniques on given topics. The Academy was held during the show so that visitors could attend live and follow the action.
Germany's premier cake competition was not just extremely international, but also extremely diverse. Visitors were able to admire the creations in a wide variety of categories, including Hand-Painted Cake[A1] , Royal Icing, Flower Display, Steampunk, Modelling Cake Film TV and Sculpted Cake. The showpieces were assessed by the international panel of judges during the two days of the show. David Sobot from Zagreb won both junior categories. The most important prize in the cake competition was the best showpiece of the entire show. Best of Show went to Silviya Jankowski who had already won in the Cookies category. The showpiece 'Memories of Africa' was awarded 500 euros from sponsor Styropor Products in addition to the prize money for the category. Lead judge Margherita Ferrara considered CAKE & BAKE a success, saying: “The competitions were very well received by visitors, who thoroughly enjoyed the event. [...] The visitors actively participated in the events. They wanted not only to buy, but also to take part in and enjoy workshops and competitions. CAKE & BAKE has been a real experience. Visitors were able to interact with the artists and learn from professionals. I'm already looking forward to next year.” There will also be another chance to take part in the FIPGC World Championships in Milan at CAKE & BAKE 2025. No team managed to qualify this year.
Live competition and live experience
Teams of five took part in a live competition at CAKE & BAKE. Messe Dortmund provided the contestants with the necessary materials for their creations. Contestants only brought their ideas, their designs and their own tools such as rolling pins, silicone mats and brushes. Visitors to the show were able to act as a judges on Saturday and vote for their favourites using tokens. The winners were announced on Sunday afternoon on stage in Hall 3. The winner was Team Suagr Bunnies. South African cake designer Dorothy Klerck and other participating artists created a world of experience for visitors to marvel at. With oversized exhibits such as a fondant-covered snail, a rabbit sitting at a table and little elves hidden in the 'Experience', visitors were able to immerse themselves in a fantasy world that made them forget the hustle and bustle of the show for a while.
The dates for CAKE & BAKE 2025 have now been set: 22 & 23 March 2025
| Category | Theme | 1st Place | 2nd Place | 3rd Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | Flower Display | Muna Mubarak | Petra Schmidhuber | Marianne Daubner |
| B | Royal Icing | - | - | - |
| C | Hand-Painted Cake | Victoria Yamshchikova | Snizhana Cherniavska | Jennifer Puris Alderete |
| D | Wedding Cake | Cecilia Campana | Irina Schütte | Elena König |
| E | Sculpted Cake | Monika Salkauskas | Pornprapa Saenglert | Michael Wehrmann |
| F | Modelling Cake Film TV | Daca Sobot | Antonio Santangelo | Leokadia Gräfenstein |
| G | Steampunk | Doreen Zilske | Anja Gebhardt | Kamila Adamaschek |
| H | Miniature Cake/Easter Cake | Arianna Garau | Karin Eisner | Tetyana Schulz |
| I | Cookies | Silviya Jankowski | Maysel Rodriguez | Lea Bischoff |
| J | Bas/High Relief | Sabine Ziebegk | Silviya Jankowski | Anna Zajonz |
| Junior Cubcakes | Happy-Party-Cupcakes | David Sobot | Daniel Tsypshteyn | Marlene Ortmanns |
| Junior Cake | Happy-Party-Cake | David Sobot | Daniel Tsypshteyn | Alysa Wloch |
CAKE & BAKE: what exhibitors had to say
Monika Nagl, winner of TV bake-off show 'Das Große Backen'
“CAKE & BAKE was a wonderful experience for me. It was just overwhelming to hear the positive feedback from the visitors, and it was lovely to talk to them in person. CAKE & BAKE was the first opportunity after filming where all 10 contestants got to meet up again. That was particularly nice and reminded me of a sort of school reunion. It was the performances I enjoyed the most. It was great fun, and the audience loved it too. CAKE & BAKE's a really cool show.”
Dorothy Klerck, Cake Artist at eat.cake.party
“The atmosphere at CAKE & BAKE is just great, and the audience seems to be enjoying the show to the full. The support from the trade show team is outstanding, but my personal highlight has been the fantastic food. As someone who visits trade shows all over the world, I have to say that the tasty and varied catering on offer at CAKE & BAKE is truly remarkable.”
Hilke Schebitz, owner of backshop24
“As a purely online company, CAKE & BAKE is a great way to show brand presence. People meet us here in person and are able to try out the products for themselves. Some of our customers even placed orders before the show got underway. The audience here knows exactly what they want and what to expect. I like that very much. CAKE & BAKE continues to improve, and this time too I was pleasantly surprised by the smooth organisation.”
Jens Oprzondek, Cake Doctor at the Cake Company
“The show is flourishing after the COVID pandemic, with an increase in interested and inquisitive visitors. Visitors really appreciate the tips from international artists and enjoy the informal atmosphere. The target audience includes everything from baking beginners to professional confectioners aged between 10 and 100. We can therefore rest assured when it comes to the next generation. The numerous workshops on a wide variety of topics invite precisely this audience to join in. With this range and quality, CAKE & BAKE is establishing itself as the leading cake show in Germany.”
Katharina Schönenberg, Head of Marketing of coox GmbH
“CAKE & BAKE gave us the opportunity to reach an entirely different target audience and gain lots of new customers. Visitors gave us direct personal feedback on our products and especially on our 'Wunderform' miracle mould. That's been very important to us. The show's been a successful brand-building measure for us.”
Patrick Dörner, Cake Maker and proprietor of Padi's Backwelt
“As Germany's largest cake show, CAKE & BAKE surpasses itself every year. The hall has gotten bigger, and I am also delighted with my fantastic stand. The talks I was allowed to give were a lot of fun and were well attended. It was nice to see familiar interested faces and new ones too. I'll be back next year.”
Javier Sáez, CEO of Pastry Colours
“This is our second year coming to CAKE & BAKE from Spain, and we think it has improved a lot. We are extremely satisfied with how the show went and will be back next year.”
Kiarasch Kianerci, founder and CEO of Rosie Rose / TALA Food GmbH & Co KG
“For us as a start-up, CAKE & BAKE is the perfect place to publicise our brand and gain new customers. The audience at the show has really overwhelmed us, and we exceeded our expectations right from the start. The organisation and support from the trade show team have all been friendly and professional – the show's been a total success from start to finish. 2024 was our first year at CAKE & BAKE, but definitely not our last!”
Steffen Kunz, Cake Engineer and Stand Manager at SARACINO
“CAKE & BAKE is a great option for presenting new products. We're able to present our wide range of products perfectly here. The discussions with interested visitors have also been very up-beat. We're absolutely delighted and will definitely be back next year.”
Paul Willems, proprietor of Styropor Products
“We've been loyal participants in CAKE & BAKE since the very beginning. We don't really have time for trade shows in general, and they're usually more trouble than they're worth, but we make room in our diaries every year for CAKE & BAKE and love returning to Dortmund every time. It's also nice to see that many of the exhibitors and partners belong to our own customer base.”
Robert Haynes, International Sugar Flower Teacher at the Sugar Flower Studio
“The show is brilliantly organised and includes a wide range of highly specialised exhibitors presenting products from the cheapest to the most exclusive on the market. CAKE & BAKE is undoubtedly the place to find the best baking products in the world.”
Diana Sichting, owner of Super Streusel
“It's been great for us having our Streuselparadies stand at CAKE & BAKE. It feels like a big school reunion, because you see familiar and friendly faces all the time. We were delighted to take souvenir
photos with everyone at our lovely stand. The highlight was the performance on stage. The show was great fun for us, and we'll be back next year.”
Teuni Arends of Tasty Me B.V.
“CAKE & BAKE is without doubt the most outstanding trade show of the year for us. We're thrilled to be here every time and are delighted with the high level of interest shown by visitors to our stand. It's great to see how visitors love Tasty Me. CAKE & BAKE is always a great success for us, and we can hardly wait to take part again next year.”
Margherita Ferrara, owner of creativa by margerita
“The competitions were very well received by visitors, who thoroughly enjoyed the event. I'm grateful for the trust that the CAKE & BAKE team has placed in me to lead the organisation of the Academy. I feel happy and honoured. The visitors actively participated in the events. They want not only to buy, but also to take part in and enjoy workshops and competitions. CAKE & BAKE is a real experience. Visitors are able and very willing to interact with the artists and learn from professionals. I'm already looking forward to next year.”
CAKE & BAKE mit neuer internationaler Fachjury und herausfordernden Kategorien beim Tortenwettbewerb
