If you haven't stumbled upon the splashes of colour and fierce talents of , then have we got a treat for you.
It's in this kiss
Nick Makrides, the creator and baking genius behind The Scran Line, is taking baked goods to a vivid and vibrant place, thanks to his colourful twist. So we took some timeout with Nick to get to know the man behind the (and you would be correct in assuming it's a completely Cher-inspired dessert) as well as how to turn your everyday cupcake into a .
Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I'm Nick. I'm lots of things #humblebrag. I'm a pastry chef with a background in graphic design and I have an obsession with Beyonce and drag queens. My family, more specifically, my grandma and my mum are a huge inspiration behind my obsession with and love of food. Coming from a Greek background food has always been at the centre of my family.
If there's one food memory that simply sticks, what would it be?
My grandmas roast potatoes.
She’d make them for us every Sunday. I’d run into the kitchen while she was getting in the car ready to go to church and I would go in and taste them.
What is a scran line anyway and how did it come about?
The name for The Scran Line comes from my time in the navy. The Royal Australian Navy has its own terminology for different words. The word for food is scran and when you’d stand in line to get food you’d be in the scran line.
The best thing about launching The Scran Line has been all the tremendous support and love for what I do, which keeps me motivated. One of the most difficult things has been trying to navigate through the ups and downs of social media and what things to look out for. I am a one-man show and do all of my own marketing, website and recipe management, filming, photography and so questions like how to engage my audience and how to keep my followers interested are always front of mind. For me the key is consistency.
Who inspires you?
Beyonce, I mean she’s unapologetic in the way she does things.
She doesn’t care very much about the way others in her industry do things, she does things and presents herself in such an authentic way that is true to herself. I take a lot of inspiration from that attitude and way of thinking and propagate it towards my zero tolerance for homophobia and discrimination of any kind. I’m gay, it’s a part of who I am and a reason why I feel so strong. I reserve the right to express myself, the things I’m interested in, the things that inspire me and my style in the way I want to. The Scran Line is my platform to embrace myself and others through food. And anybody who has a problem with that has the option of following the hundreds of thousands of other baking accounts on social media - I'm very outspoken about that. It’s my way of making sure that I love what I do and maintain control over my happiness and my true self. So, Beyonce is a huge inspiration to me for that reason.
The other pivotal inspirations in my life come from my mother and grandmother who really sparked my love of cooking from a very early age. And I owe my love for cooking to them because they instilled a sense of family and community through their glorious Greek food.
READ MORE
Greek ladies’ fingers (daktyla)
More importantly, who eats all your creations?
My mum's chickens used to. Believe it or not, they actually got sick of cake and stopped eating it. So now I just give it away to my neighbours and friends. My family are sick of cake. Unless I’m making my tiramisu macarons which always goes to my mum because she absolutely loves them!
Macarons can be torture, what advice would you give to a newbie?
The most important thing is to make sure that everything is measured out before you start because the recipe waits for no one.
Secondly, don’t be afraid of macarons. It took me a year to get them right. My macaron journey was all about learning from my mistakes and trying again and again. Also, don’t forget, there are loads of websites dedicated to counselling victims of macaron baking failures, so you aren't alone. My early mistake was in the mixing - I was over-mixing which would cause misshaped, cracked shells without those necessary feet (if you can call them that) so don’t over mix! Now, I am part of the counselling process with my own set of .
Fast fire round
My go-to recipe is...
Chickpea salad.
What? You don’t eat cupcakes and macarons all day! What goes into this salad?
Chickpeas, rocket, salt, olive oil, balsamic glaze - it's simple and yes, sugar-free.
I couldn’t possibly live without...
My ice-cream scoop and family. In that order.
My top 3 baking ingredients are…
Vanilla, butter and sugar. No low-fat ingredients exist in my kitchen.
My favourite cupcake flavour is...
Red velvet, how is that even a question.
What two ingredients should never go together…
Buttercream frosting and mascarpone. I learned that the hard way.
If I could turn back time I’d…
Find a way, to take back all the things that hurt you and you’d say... now that, that is stuck in your head, in my defence, it’s a good song. I’m not sorry.
Next time you need someone to take those sweet stunners off your hands, we'll happily take one for the team here at SBS Food HQ.
Be your own boss with these hits
Pretty bright colours, gloss and electricity are all the rage with these bubblegum cupcakes! And they have a surprise bubblegum gooey centre! 
Bubblepop electric cupcakes Source: Nick Makrides
We're all about cupcake bling and this stunner is shining bright like a sweet, sweet diamond. 
Gold cupcakes Source: Nick Makrides
These magic glow-in-the-dark cupcakes are made with strawberry essence and a meringue buttercream frosting. The neon trick - it's all in the tonic water!
Neon galaxy cupcake Source: Nick Makrides
Follow the trail of rainbow cookie crumbs and you'll end up at this remarkable pinwheel.
For more baking fun check out and you can find some of his incredible creations .
Rainbow pinwheel cookies Source: Nick Makrides
Don't miss our special event coverage of the : Live Stream will be available to watch from Saturday, 29th February 2020 at 7:30pm or catch-up via after the program airs.
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