NOTHING completes a festive dinner table quite like an iced Christmas cake, and now is the time to start the baking process.

Elves, snowmen, carol singers, polar bears, even Santa himself make appearances on the top of Zoe Hopkinson's Christmas cakes, and during the build-up to the festive season she will be busy passing on her expertise in master classes.

Zoe's Christmas-themed cake decorating classes have become so popular that she is holding them weekly through the autumn.

"The figure modelling classes are particularly popular. A lot of people who attend my classes are full and part-time cake makers themselves, so I'm really pleased they want to learn from me," says Zoe.

It was Christmas 2012 when she iced her first cake, for a friend-of-a-friend. Two years later Zoe runs her own cake decorating business, supplying cakes to order and taking classes on a range of techniques.

Traditionally, Christmas cakes are baked well in advance of the festivities and Zoe says there's still time to turn the humble fruit cake into an impressive centrepiece.

"Ideally fruit Christmas cakes should be made well in advance so they have time to mature," she says. "November is a good time to start making them, but they can still be made closer to Christmas.

"I feed my cakes with brandy every few days until they are ready to be decorated. They should be marzipanned and left a couple of days before they're then iced."

To see Zoe's video on icing and marzipanning a mini Christmas cake go to youtube.com, where she posts regular online tutorials.

She adds: "Fruit cakes are easier to ice than sponge cakes because they're firm and the icing doesn't crack. Once iced the cake will last a long time - some will last up to a year if they have been fed with brandy, although I would advise removing the icing if you're keeping it for a year.

"What better way to celebrate a seasonal event than with a cake? No matter how big or small, they make a lovely centrepiece for any table. There's always an occasion for a cake; a Christmas cake is great for family gatherings and parties."

Zoe’s Christmas cake classes have included Christmas cupcakes decorated with elves, snowflakes and snowmen faces, and fruit cakes with toppings including ‘sexy Mrs Claus ‘, a Santa scene with reindeer, and children playing in snow.

Thanks to social media and her online tutorials, Zoe has followers around the world. "I get great feedback. People leave lovely comments about how I've really helped and inspired them," says Zoe. "My next big plan is to write a cake decorating book."

Zoe discovered her creative streak as a child, when she used to make little models out of Fimo clay. "I was always into arts and crafts, things like pottery, painting and making jewellery, but I'd never decorated a cake until my boyfriend's mum asked me to do one for her choirmaster," she says. "I made a little figurine of him playing the organ, posted a picture of it on Facebook and got a great response."

Before long friends and family were putting in requests for Zoe to create cakes for various occasions, from birthdays to retirement parties. Initially she juggled her cake decorating with a job in the civil service, but since taking redundancy she has run the cake business full-time from her home in Horsforth.

What catches the eye are the cute fondant figures that sit on top of Zoe's cakes - many of which she models on real people.

"When people order a cake they often give me a photo of the person they want it for, and ask me to make a model of them," says Zoe. "I like to do something that's personal to them. It's always a challenge when I get random requests!

"I never had any training but I enjoyed art and design at school and I love anything creative. I attended a cake decorating class to learn to do royal icing and piping work, and the tutors from the course have now booked for one of my classes to learn how to make my figures!"

With baking enjoying a renaissance lately, Zoe says there is competition in the cake world. "It's quite tough and you have to constantly try to be ahead," she says. "Last year I entered my first international cake competition and won a gold award for my castle cake."

Other striking designs by Zoe include Batman and Robin springing into action, a pile of parcels wrapped up with ribbon, a girl in a bubble bath, and a loveable lion. There are duckling cup cakes, a Christening cakes adorned with teddy bears, and mini pumpkin lanterns for Halloween. Wedding cakes are particularly popular.

"They have become quite personalised, and some people want quirky designs, but overall there's still a sense of tradition, with three tiers and flowers," says Zoe. "My figures are made with icing that sets hard. They last forever so they make nice keepsakes."

* For more information visit zoesfancycakes.co.uk or facebook.com/zoesfancycakes, or call 0797 4560742.