Emma Al-hudairi

Baking ideas and concepts spring to mind at the most unexpected of times! In this case I was enjoying a coffee whilst shopping when the above image, almost as seen, appeared in my mind. I was planning to create an ice-cream anyway, but I was specifically considering how I could make it easier to serve and more visual. Three hours later the concept of the Black Forest ice-cream cheesecake, with chocolate biscuit base, vanilla, black cherry and chocolate ice-creams was born. A very happy idea, beautiful to photograph and very well received!

This shot is a simple study of fruits and lavender in ice, showcasing the vibrant and refreshing colours of late Spring/early Summer. Tiny segments of orange, lemon, kiwi fruit and and lavender heads were frozen in normal tap water to give the opaque finish.

Brownies are a universal favourite and with this shot I wanted to try and capture them in all their glory. This is a rich chocolate brownie batter, with swirls of peanut butter worked through the mixture, and topped with slices of Snickers bar. I took the photo for recently launched Instagram baking competition site @baking_your_acquaintance and it is currently used as the gallery's identifying picture. This is a pre-bake shot taken below a large skylight, with sky blue tones reflected in the batter.

Lemons and blueberries are a baking match made in heaven and this image of freshly home-baked mini bundts aims to capture all that is good about the combination. Soft, moist sponge, delicately flavoured with lemon and stuffed full of plump, juicy blueberries, then topped with a delicious blueberry and maple syrup compote! A light snowfall of icing sugar completes the picture. Flavour and colour contrasts to delight and intrigue any eye or palate.

This is a Fresh Coriander and Lime Cake with Coriander and Lime Cream Cheese Frosting. I developed this recipe to showcase just how versatile fresh herbs can be and I wanted to move away from the traditional savoury dish setting. The finished result was colourful and deliciously fragrant cake with the unique flavour of fresh coriander, balanced out beautifully by the natural citrus sweetness of the lime and complemented by the creamy frosting.

This picture is a special one for me! It shows a fondant cake topper, hand-infused with coffee and decorated with gold, bronze, sugar crystals and truffles. Fondant is not a fan of moisture, so the base took several days of careful dabbing and drying to get the final overall effect as I wanted it. I made it for my birthday and took the finished cake - a three layer coffee buttercream cake with this as the crowning glory - into work to share with friends! I was particularly pleased with how it turned out and liked the mixed textures of whole and crushed truffles on top.