Ouija boards, boar's heads, skulls . . . it's a piece of cake

There, among the cook books and cutlery, is a human skull. In the basket containing car keys and business cards are sets of teeth and, sitting atop the lot, is a macabre mould of a baby's head.

"Ah, the infamous baby's head," laughs Annabel. "To say that caused something of a stir would be an understatement."

She's not wrong. Out of that mould came two of the food artist and cake creator's most controversial works – solid, white chocolate, life-sized infant heads so realistic it's hard not to be shocked.

Created for the pilot of a TV quiz show, the heads have now ended up in Ripley's Believe It or Not after their images went viral.

"The producers asked me to create something that looked really realistic that would shock people," Annabel says, hard at work on her next creation, a cake that will perfectly resemble someone's stomach complete with belly button piercing and personalised tattoo.

"I made them with that latex mould and even I was shocked at how realistic they looked. The brief was to go crazy and I definitely achieved that.

"Then their images went viral and the reaction and comments were insane. People called me a Satanist, a racist and even said I was encouraging cannibalism – they were up in arms.

"I was like 'It's just chocolate!' but I wasn't offended. My friends kept asking me if I was OK following the reaction but I didn't care, I made them for that purpose. If they were badly made, then I would have been upset but they came out great.

"I'm actually really proud of them and they've become something of a bestseller. Most of them go to the States – they're actually really popular at baby showers. I've just sent some over to Texas. Some people get it, some people don't."

But it's not just the baby heads that Annabel has shocked the world with. Her cake creations include anatomically-correct arms, stomachs, faces and other body parts not suitable for a family newspaper. Then there's the "bloody heart cakelet", of which she had to make more than 500 examples following a TV appearance in Germany, the marshmallow brain and roast swan cake.

Her work is incredibly lifelike, so much so that we have to do a double and then triple-take of her chocolate crow skulls just to make sure they're not the real deal.

But, what is perhaps the most amazing feat of all, is that 41-year-old Annabel only started making cakes three years ago.

"My first cake was my wedding cake," the former University of Wolverhampton student explains. "The cake was actually the least important thing to us at the time so I decided to make my own. It was fairly simply but I just took to it and I've been making cakes ever since. I've done a few courses since but it's all come quite naturally."

Annabel, who is married to full-time magician Thom, moved to Birmingham from her native Frankfurt to pursue her passion for art when she was just 17. After graduating with BA Hons in Fine Art/Sculpture, she made a career from her prints, paintings and taxidermy before moving on to the creepy cakes.

Since then, her business has gone from strength to strength, bagging international orders, celebrity clients and countless happy customers delighted with their weird yet wonderful cakes for any occasion.

"Sometimes I'll be in the kitchen at 2am crafting the arteries of a heart out of icing and think 'What am I doing? This is madness' but I really enjoy it. And everything's going really well. I don't advertise, everything is word of mouth. I've got stock in shops in New York and San Francisco and it's all made here in my little kitchen in Kings Heath, I think that's pretty cool.

"People think this sort of stuff is only made in London but I'm proud to work in the Midlands. Clients often don't think there are things like this going on in the region but we have the second largest city and there's a lot to be proud of. I'm hoping to put on an art and chocolate showcase this summer at the mac in Birmingham and will be approaching unusual artists from around the region to take part and show what we've got."

The success of Annabel's Conjurer's Kitchen business has also been helped by high-profile TV shows such as Cake Boss and Ace of Cakes. More than ever before, people have their sights set on show-stealing cakes for every occasion from birthdays and weddings to funerals and divorce parties. For example, Cake Boss has seen life-sized cars made out of cake, along with cityscapes, aquariums and robots. But these elaborate creations do not come cheap. Annabel's cheapest offering costs £75 and her most expensive ever was more than £1,000. Her designs have also included Christmas dinner cakes, dragons, Rubix cubes, Chanel shoes, goats and dogs. She also produces cakes for funerals in the shape of photo albums containing poignant snapshots from people's lives.

"Some people keep them as works of art but I always encourage people to cut them up and eat them," she says.

"Cakes are definitely the stars of the show these days, after all, no one's going to get excited over the napkins or salad are they?

So, with everything from a plague victim's hand to edible bloody body bags under her belt, is there any suggestion Annabel would turn down?

"I think I'd be offended if someone asked me to do a simple white wedding sponge or a Peppa Pig cake," she chuckles. "I've always been more interested in the more unusual things in life so I like the darker suggestions.

"I'm up for most things that people approach me with. But I wouldn't do anything crass. It has to have an element of style."

As for her favourite ever cake, she is particularly fond of the boar's head that looks like it's come straight from the banqueting table of Regency Royals.

"It's all done free-hand and I use icing, sugar paste and marzipan. And the flavours are just as important to me as the looks. People can request whatever flavours they want, within reason. I'm working on a Dr Pepper cake at the moment and people really like the cinnamon and chocolate.

"There is no set time frame for a cake but the one that took me the longest was a replica of the Taj Mahal that took a week. I was really worried that the separate elements wouldn't come together correctly or bits would collapse but it was fine."

As well as birthday and weddings, glitzy showbiz parties are another winner for Annabel. She created a stomach surgery cake for the launch of the computer game version of Operation and another for the DVD launch of the movie Lawless, starring Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy and Guy Pearce.

She has also made cakes for actress Emerald Fennell, star of Murder on the Home Front and Anna Karenina, and magician Jonathan Pendragon for his wedding in LA.

"It's pretty incredible," admits Annabel. "That it all takes place here in my little kitchen. I'm looking into extending things because I need more room."

But her kitchen is clearly a magical place. As well as the incredible cakes and chocolate, there is magic paraphernalia and eye-catching art everywhere.

"I've always loved this sort of stuff," Annabel concludes, looking around her kooky kitchen. "I've loved vampire and horror films ever since I was a child. I find it all very inspiring. And I'm married to a magician, what do you expect?"

Elizabeth Joyce