A special day required a special cake and it was Kiwi Izaak Adams who was the head baker for the centrepiece creation on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding day.

Adams works for Claire Ptak at Violet Bakery in Hackney, East London, whose team created a layered organic lemon and elderflower cake for the big occasion.

The cake was designed to incorporate "the bright flavours of spring", and ingredients included 200 Amalfi lemons and 10 bottles of elderflower cordial from Queen Elizabeth II's Sandringham estate.

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Claire Ptak, owner of Violet Bakery in Hackney, east London and head baker Izaak Adams put finishing touches on the cake for the Royal Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in the kitchens at Buckingham Palace.

The cake was decorated with Swiss meringue buttercream and 150 fresh flowers, mainly British and in season, including peonies (the bride's favourite) and roses.

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In a break from tradition, it was not tiered but displayed on separate golden platforms, and was served in slices decorated with rose petals.

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The wedding cake for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle by Claire Ptak of London-based bakery Violet Cakes on display in Windsor Castle in Windsor, near London, England, Saturday, May 19, 2018. (Steve Parsons/pool photo via AP)

Adams' mother, Kere, said he got his start baking while spending time with his nana, who is a "fantastic cook", in her farm kitchen in Fairlie, South Canterbury.

She said her son, who specialises in flower-topped cakes, had a natural ability with food and had always shown an artistic edge to his cooking.

"He's always had that flair," she said. "He would have got it from her because he certainly didn't get it from me," she joked.

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Head baker Izaak Adams learned to cook with his nana in New Zealand.

Adams grew up in both Timaru and Fairlie before moving to Christchurch when he was 18 to learn his trade. He returned to Timaru when the 2011 Canterbury earthquake destroyed his flat.

He moved back to Christchurch six months later and five years ago told his parents that he was going to London.

Adams has worked at Violet for just over two years and is also doing freelance work, recently baking a wedding cake for a close friend who was getting married in New Zealand, she said.

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Izaak Adams pictured with his mother Kere and father Craig in London.

Adams' boss, California-born Violet owner Clair Ptak, said in a statement that her priorities for cake-making were "food provenance, sustainability, seasonality and most importantly flavour". She first met the Markle when the now-duchess interviewed her for her lifestyle blog. 

She told The Telegraph that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle tried a number of different cake samples before choosing: "They loved it. They tried quite a collection. What they said to me is that they really loved the idea of the seasonality and the freshness."

The honour is a far cry from the humble beginnings of Ptak's business, which she started selling treats she had cooked from home at a market stall on Broadway Market in East London. She opened her bakery in 2010.

Before that, she had worked as a pastry chef under Alice Waters at Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California before moving to London to work at The Anchor and Hope and stage at St John and Moro.

 - Stuff