Essential Cake Foundations

The Sugar Buttons Essential Cake Foundations course helps beginner bakers learn professional techniques so they can perfect their cake portfolio, gaining the confidence to take their bakes to the next level.

Join Now :)

Have you ever...

Looked at other cakes on social media and pinterest and wished you could achieve the same flawless finish?
Worked on a cake late at night feeling resentful at how long everything takes?
Cried over having to redecorate a cake after something has gone wrong?
Dreamed about taking your hobby further and baking for clients but worried that your skills aren’t quite at a professional level yet?
Felt like there's no money to be made in cake making because everything takes far too long and you can’t charge enough to make a reasonable living?
Worried about the costs involved in cake decorating? You want the tools to make your life easier but don’t want them to cost the earth.

Learn the pro baking essentials so you can elevate your cakes and wow your friends and family

On completing the course you will have a host of new skills to;

bake consistently fail safe cakes so you stop wasting ingredients on the ones that go wrong
create delicious flavour combinations so you can delight your family and friends
create straight smooth cakes in; fondant, buttercream and ganache to wow your pals with your professional finish
create a tiered semi naked wedding cake so profesh that couples will be begging to hire you
safely decorate your cakes with fresh and dried flowers and foliage
photograph your cakes so you can show off on instagram
create a portfolio or lookbook to impress potential clients

You'll build a stunning portfolio of the work you undertake during the course and you get to choose whether to just share it with me, or to get valuable feedback and celebrations with your cohort.

You'll go from this...

Worrying about showing anyone your latest bake in case they notice how wonky it is
Taking photos of your cakes and then deleting them because you don't think they don’t look good enough
Working late at night dealing with issues and stress
Feeling inadequate about your cake skills
Worrying about tackling tiered cakes in case they collapse
Fretting about poisoning someone with fresh flowers

To this...

Proudly handing over a cake and seeing a delighted customer reaction
Sharing your work on social media and Pinterest and getting lots of likes, comments, reviews and referrals
Going to sleep at a reasonable time, dreaming about the lovely finished cake you’ve made!
Having the skills to make smooth, modern cakes in buttercream, ganache and sugarpaste
Being confident in making and delivering tiered cakes for celebrations and weddings
Being able to safely decorate your cakes with a wide variety of beautiful flowers

The Investment

Join Now

£270

Or 2 installments of £135

I’m Imogen, artist, maker and lover of all things cake.

Sugar Buttons was born from years of art and design experience, including prop making and set design for TV and film. I specialise in creative, avant-garde wedding cakes for visionary couples, but in order to get creative and push the design boundaries, the most important thing is getting the basics absolutely nailed.

Way back in 2011, I was completely self taught and learning as I went along with each new cake challenge. I’ve had the tears at midnight when my fondant had to be torn off a cake and started again due to cracking and elephant skin.

But…time and experience have taught me many things. I have perfected my techniques so I no longer find myself working on cakes late at night.

And after years of teaching one to one and small group classes, I'm bringing these fundamental skills to the world of online learning.

"Imogen is a natural teacher. Her course was so clear and easy to follow. As well as her gorgeous tried and trusted recipes you get her unique perspective on everything from tools to techniques. I would recommend her online courses to anybody who wants to learn from this lovely lady."

Denise @bakesbydenise

What's included?

Module 0 - Introduction

What you need to get started

My essential and desirable list of equipment, tools and ingredients

Module 1 - Bake & Scale

How to bake a simple vanilla sponge cake and how to scale the recipes in a really easy way using my Signature Scaling System.

Module 2 - Make

Everything you need to know about buttercream and ganache

Module 3 - Flavour

How to combine flavours to create your own unique cake menu

Module 4 - The Classic Naked Cake
It may be simple but there are tips to get a naked cake looking absolutely perfect

Module 5 - The Semi Naked Wedding Cake

How to create a crumb free semi naked effect

How to dowel + stack tiered cakes

How to do a watercolour buttercream effect

How to use cake lace

How to make the perfect drip

How to prep fresh and dried flowers

How to add other simple decorations like macarons, berries + cake toppers

Module 6 - The Buttercream Wedding Cake

How to create different buttercream finishes on a single tier wedding cake

Module 7 - The Sharp Edged Fondant Cake

How to cover in smooth ganache

How to cover in sugarpaste

Module 8- Deliver

How to box a cake for presentation to the client

How to deliver and set up at a venue

My essential delivery kit

Module - 9 What next?

Simple Photography tips

Creating your own portfolio

This is for you if:

You get frustrated by the lack of consistency in your bakes
You want to learn all the basics from scratch in order to be confident in creating your own menu of cake flavours and a portfolio of reliable and versatile cake designs.
You spend your time scrolling through social media cake accounts wistfully wishing your cakes looked as good as theirs
You are sick of spending hours and hours working on a cake that you don’t feel proud of at the end.
You dream of making cakes that look and taste perfect to impress your family and friends.
You like the idea of baking for clients but don’t feel confident yet to take the plunge.

This is not for you if:

You already have a successful business making cakes that you are proud of
You are happy with the basics but want to learn advanced texture techniques*
You want to learn modelling skills like making sugar flowers or figures
You are looking for an in-depth cake business course. Though I do share a lot of business tips and information, this is not a business course.

*If you fancy levelling up your decorating skills perhaps you’d be more interested in this course:

Expert Texture Techniques

Or if there’s something you’d like to learn that isn’t already in my online school offering, please message me here and I'll add it to my list of ideas for future courses!

The Investment

Join Now!

£270

Or 2 installments of £135

"For anyone deliberating about signing up for a course I say go for it, you won’t regret it! Imogen explains everything really well, the recipes are easy to follow, I loved her little tips along the way, it was like having a friend teaching you. Her commitment to everyone on the group was obvious, I have made fantastic personal gifts for all of my colleagues, that I know they will love, thank you Imogen and I can’t wait for the next one"

Donna

Imogen’s 12 treats of Christmas course was absolutely incredible. So many different techniques and ideas. Imogen is a fantastic teacher and an inspiration to watch. The course breaks everything down in a way that it’s easy to follow and execute on your own, either whilst following along or having a go afterwards. It’s also handy having the videos available afterwards because you can pause, go back and check if there’s anything you’re not sure of or want to repeat. Imogen is kind, funny, has a great sense of humour and an excellent way of explaining things.

Samantha

I approached Imogen for one of her virtual 1:1 classes to help me with stacking and transporting wedding cakes. I've long admired her beautiful creations on social media, and she was so lovely and approachable - I really felt like I could ask her anything! She took an abundance of time to answer all my questions, and she had items available on the call to demonstrate techniques so that I could clearly understand her advice. ...She was incredibly generous with her time and sharing her knowledge, and her input has really helped me grow in confidence as my own wedding cake business has expanded. (I've also really valued Imogen's support and comradery since the class, every time I've contacted her with follow up questions!) If you are after practical advice from a professional who really knows their stuff, I'd highly recommend a Sugar Buttons Virtual Class.

Laura

Laura's Kitchen Cakery

Frequently asked questions

Q. Is the course online or in person?

The course is online and can be watched at your leisure whenever you like.

I do run one to one, in person day courses at my home in Norwich but I have very limited availability due to wedding commitments.

This online course covers the equivalent of about four 1:1 days worth of tuition :)

Q: I love to bake for family and friends, is this course only for people who want to start a cake business?

No not at all! There will be cake business related information given at points during the course but the skills taught are just as important if you want to impress your lucky friends and family!

Q: Can I join if I have no baking or decorating experience?

Absolutely! The course is designed for complete beginners as well as those who have a little more experience.

Q: I haven’t used sugarpaste before, will I be at a disadvantage?

Not at all! This course will take you step by step through the basics of covering a cake with sugarpaste so you don’t need to have used it before.

Q: Do I need to invest in a lot of new equipment or tools?

Nope! I provide a full list of recommended tools and ingredients and I show you how to achieve excellent results with the most basic tool kit as well as giving my own personal recommendations for labour saving tools if you do want to treat yourself!

Q. I’m not very tech savvy, is it easy to access the course?

Absolutely! When you enroll you will be sent all the information you need to be able to access the course and download the handouts.

Q: Do I have to watch the class on a specific date?

Nope! The course is yours to watch whenever and wherever you choose. You can re-watch as many times as you like.

Q: Do I have to watch the whole course in order?

I have planned this course to flow in an order that makes sense, but if you wish to skip sessions or head straight to a specific lesson, you are free to do so. You can pause, rewind, watch as many times as you like, it's designed for you to work at your own pace, in a way that best suits you.

Q: What if I get stuck, will there be support available?

Yes, I’m here to support you throughout your whole experience. You will be sent a link to join my Sweet Talk Facebook group or you can be added to my close friends on Instagram. This is where you can ask questions, share your work as you progress through the course and importantly where you will be able to chat to fellow cake enthusiasts.

Q: Do I get a certificate?

Yes you do! Once you’ve completed the course you’ll receive a Sugar Buttons Cake School certificate and a digital badge to share online if you so wish :)