Marshmallows and 60kg of sugar paste used to make life-sized King Charles model

A sugar artist has said it was “an honour” to create a life-sized King Charles model made up of 2,500 zodiac crystals, 60kg of sugar paste, Rice Krispies and marshmallows.

Emma Jayne, 53, from Aberdare in South Wales, spent a week and a half on the creation, and hoped the King would be “pleased at the likeness”.

Although the King’s coronation was in May, the sugar artist wanted to make King Charles for this year’s Cake International – a show which sees artists create jaw-dropping cakes – in Birmingham.

On choosing the subject Ms Jayne told the PA news agency: “When we thought of King Charles it felt right. It was the right thing to do.”

For her creation, Ms Jayne used Rice Krispies for the head, modelling chocolate for the face and modelling paste for the eyeballs.

Polystyrene was used to model the monarch’s body, with 60kg of sugar paste used to cover it.

She added: “I hope he’d be pleased at the likeness… if he was next to it, I’d be curious to make sure the height was right.”

To get the detail right, Ms Jayne studied the crown and used photographs of King Charles’s face from multiple angles.

She said: “It’s as close as I could get it to an exact replica, every single part of it I’ve replicated on the crown.

“The eyes actually took me a full day to make, believe it or not, just for two eyeballs.”

Emma Jayne said transporting the showstopper to Birmingham was the most stressful part of the process (Jacob King/PA)PA Wire/PA Images - Jacob King

To achieve a realistic look for the eyes, Ms Jayne used her air fryer to dry out the piping gel.

She said: “I put the piping gel on, and I was like, how can I dry this out really fast? I thought, the air fryer. That’s how I can dry it out!

“It’s just innovating, it’s learning to innovate when you’re making things.”

The creation has made the three-hour journey from South Wales to Birmingham for the Cake International show, which started on Friday.

Ms Jayne said transporting the showstopper was the most stressful part of the process – due to the life-like size, the body and head had to be transported separately.

“When I arrived at the show (on Thursday), I could not get the head to settle where I wanted it to,” she added.

A life-sized cake figure of King Charles, made by sugar artist Emma Jayne (Jacob King/PA)PA Wire/PA Images - Jacob King

Other entries this year include a giant edible showpiece inspired by Stranger Things and a life-sized sculpture of Ozzy Osbourne.

Ms Jayne, who trained in fine art and portraiture, moved into edible art after creating birthday cakes for her children.

She said: “It’s been an honour to be able to make King Charles on the year of his coronation.”

Although King Charles has not seen the creation, a letter was sent to the palace and a reply was received.

“We’ve got a letter here just saying that the King on his coronation year is a little bit busy, but they wish us all the best for the future. So, we’ve had the royal stamp of approval at least.”