IT’S the icing on the cake for decorator Katja Seaton who has taken home gold in the Great Taste Awards.

Cake designer Katja, 44, set up Katja Kupcakes ten years ago and ices and decorates anything from cup cakes to wedding cakes at Horseshoe Farm in Alderley Edge.

And her sumptuous carrot cake with lemon cream cheese butter cream certainly caught the eye - and tantalised the taste buds - of the panel of judges, who blind tasted the entries in the food industry’s version of the Oscars.

And life is tasting sweeter for Katja after scooping the one-star gold Great Taste Award from the Guild of Fine Food for the "excellent taste, texture and flavour" of the beautifully decorated cake created in partnership with award winning chef Duncan Poyser of 39 Steps in Styal.

She said the key to success is American buttercream, which is soft, easy to cut and shape and her secret weapon is Duncan, who is the man behind the baking.

"He bakes all my cakes and I add my buttercream and decoration," Katja added.

Katja, from Cheadle Heath, went to art school and ten years ago made the foray into the world of edible art.

She learnt the tricks of her trade at the Cupcake Café in Manhattan and has been decorating cakes ever since.

"I went to New York [ten years ago] to see friends and saw the shop and thought it looked great. I was offered an apprenticeship and was there for three years," she said.

With the market for decorating cup cakes more established Stateside, Katja returned to the UK and launched her own business.

"Nothing I have seen [here] has been decorated quite the way I do it. A few people do party or wedding cakes, but not cup cakes. And for the last eight months I’ve been slowly establishing myself in the farm shop [at Horseshoe Farm]," said Katja.

"The award is recognition of what we do. It really does feel as if I've won an Oscar," she added.

Katja entered the competetion after receiving an email from the Guild of Fine Foods.

She said: "I thought I would put a cake in and hoped to get a bit of publicity. So I was very pleased to have it confirmed that my cake tasted so good. I’m very pleased with my award. It was a surprise."

Organised by the Guild of Fine Foods, more than 4753 products were entered into the awards.

The Great Taste Awards claim that its 2007 gold winners increased sales by a combined £640,000, while over the past five years winners have generated £2.6m in additional sales.

Another local winner was the Chocolate Trading Company, which was previously based on Chorley Hall Lane, Alderley Edge before relocating to larger premises in Macclesfield last year.

The Byron Street business won two gold awards for its mangaro 65 per cent single estate dark chocolate and its grand lait 45 pc milk chocolate.