There is something very comforting about baking and decorating cakes. You feel connected to a time when life was apparently simpler and kitchens smelled faintly of vanilla and coco powder.

This rosy picture of domesticity passed by my home as a child - all our cakes were shop bought and subsequently I lack baking skills. My efforts always result in cakes resembling Frisbee discs and while endearing to the recipients, it would be nice to get a look of delight rather than a well-meaning, but ultimately condescending, thank you.

Step forward Peggy Porschen, baker of scrumptious bespoke cakes ordered by, among others, Madonna, Gwyneth Paltrow and Elton John. The 32 year-old opened her decorating business in 2003 after honing her craft at London’s Lanesborough Hotel and Konditor & Cook.

Now she operates out of a studio in Battersea, where I arrived for a day-long course in Christmas cake and cookie decoration.

Peggy specialises in cookies so cute they make for fabulous tree ornaments or presents. Thankfully, Peggy had already baked the treats we were to ice and glitter as I think I would have failed at the first hurdle of having something to decorate.

We started with snowflake-shaped cookies and straight away I realise where I’ve been going wrong all these years.

There is this marvellous stuff called royal icing, which has a thicker consistency than normal icing sugar and immediately produces better results.

Then there is piping technique. According to Peggy, it is better to pipe a little onto the biscuit, then lift the bag and pull the thread of icing along before letting it settle on the cookie/cake rather than trying to ice directly onto the surface.

Next, I learn about flooding. This is where one ices an outline and then fills it with slightly more runny icing. The effect, even in my inexperienced hands, is quite impressive.

With the cookies sorted, we move on to the task of decorating the fruitcake, turning it from a slightly dull, if not tasty, cake into a swirling fantasy of Christmas glamour.

The key ingredient for this is marzipan. As much as I have a sweet tooth, I’ve never cared for this almond paste, but under Peggy’s guidance I dye and shape it into holly leaves to be brushed with irridescent powders and dipped in glitter, then left to dry on a foam bed. I feel a sense of satisfaction when I see my leaves twinkle at me.

The next stage is to roll out a piece of marzipan to cover and form the first layer of decoration. I brush hot apricot jam over the cake first, as this acts as a glue, and then I place my marzipan square over it, smoothing it over and tucking in the edges.

Following the marzipan is a layer of white, ready-roll fondant icing. By the time we’ve fitted and smoothed this, the leaves are ready to be fixed on the cake. I place mine delicately over the surface, then with a ribbon as a final addition, I’ve decorated my first Christmas cake.

I leave feeling slightly 1950s homemaker, even though I don’t possess a husband or children, and so leave it to my work colleagues to appreciate my efforts.

And they do. The cake gets coos of delight and I now feel confident that when friends receive cakes from me they will not feel the need to praise my efforts as they would those of a five year-old child.

For festive food, visit our Festive food guide.

Orders for Peggy Porschen festive goods close on December 7, 2008.

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