Bangalore, Dec 20 (IANS) How about having the Taj Mahal for a cake this Christmas? Bangaloreans sure are not saying no to this delicious offer.
Christmas and food connoisseurs thronged the annual Nilgiris cake exhibition which got underway at St Joseph’s Indian High School Grounds here Friday. The exhibition is hosted by Nilgiris, one of south India’s oldest retail chains in Bangalore.

“Two main attractions for this year’s exhibition are the Taj Mahal and battleship cake models,” Nilgiris Diary Director C. Ramachandran told IANS.

The 13-feet tall and 22-feet wide Taj Mahal cake, a replica of the monument of love built by Mughal emperor Shahjahan in memory of his beloved wife Mumtaz, attracted huge crowd at the exhibition.

The 40-feet long war ship is another cake “marvel” which left the visitors with wide-open mouths.

As many as 10 yummy and towering cake models were on display at the exhibition.

Other cake models on display at the exhibition include a fish tank, a bird cage, and a castle in a jungle. In the past, they have created cake models of the World Trade Centre, the Eiffel Tower, the Titanic, the Buckingham Palace and the Mysore Palace, to name a few.

The annual cake exhibition is held every year and showcases few giant cakes as main attraction, other than the variety of rich plum cakes, marzipans, chocolates, cookies, ice creams, dairy desserts and Christmas goodies.

The first exhibition was held in 1969 and is listed in the Limca Book of Records.

“Sugar modelling is a hobby and an art,” said Ramachandra, who designed and handcrafted the cakes with his team of 25 bakers.

Adults and kids alike eagerly attended the first day of exhibition to marvel at the masterpieces, created by the chefs of Nilgiris.

“The exhibition is a ritual for Bangaloreans every year during Christmas time. Every year Nilgiris chefs treat us with one or other surprises. This year too is no different. The replica of both Taj Mahal and battleship cakes are quite beautiful,” said septuagenarian Aruna Sharma who was accompanied by her two grandsons to the exhibition.

Nearly 20,000 man-hours and 9.5 tonnes of sugar were used in creating the cakes. After the exhibition, the cakes are likely to be distributed to orphanages. The entry tickets are priced at Rs.30 per person. The cake exhibition is on till Dec 28.