Oh, sugar! Look at Bookbug ...

Paul Bradford, an acclaimed cake artist, based in Brightons, took three days to create the confectionary replica of the cuddly character Bookbug – the mascot for the Scottish Book Trust’s Early Years Programme.

Although it was a real challenge, when asked to create the special cake for Oak Furniture Land, Paul, the award-winning owner of Sugarcraft School in Brightons, didn’t hesitate to say yes.

He said: “I am always delighted to be asked to make special commissions.

“After getting the brief from Oak Furniture Land and looking up Bookbug I couldn’t wait to get started and see just how big and cute I could make it!”

The finished result is certainly big – the cake measured three-feet tall and 14 inches wide.

It contained 85 eggs and used enough flour to make 30 loaves of bread and 10kg of luxury Belgian chocolate ganache.

Decorating it was another challenge – it took 10kg of sugar paste to create the familiar features of the character who promotes reading to young children across Scotland .

The special commission was part of Oak Furniture Land celebrating the opening of its first store in Kirkcaldy, Fife, and its tenth store in Scotland.

The retailer invited people from the national children’s charity Home-Start to join the party.

Home-Start works with families with young children and Paul joined the store manager to present the cake to representatives from the charity’s Kirkcaldy branch.

The special sugar Bookbug will be enjoyed by the many families who attend the charity’s family sessions and reading events.

Marc Lambert, CEO of Scottish Book Trust, was pleased that Bookbug was taking a central role in the celebrations.

He said: “Bookbug promotes enjoying books with babies and children right from the start. Stories, songs and rhymes have wonderful benefits for children and their families, and we love hearing the inventive ways that people celebrate the programme.

“We hope that all the families at Home-Start enjoyed their special Bookbug cake and reading celebration.”