Imagine the effort taken to bake one cake. The gathering of ingredients, the mixing, crumbling, baking and icing.

Then imagine doing the same thing, but this time you're aiming to re-create a famous global site such as the Taj Mahal, or St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow, in edible form. It's a challenge that would make most of us retreat in a heap on the sofa. But a handful of cake artists are game for the feat and their incredible handiwork is showcased in the latest issue of Cake Masters magazine.

For its new travel-themed edition, editor Rosie has approached 40 of the best cake artists from around the world to recreate their favourite cities and cultural treasures, in an impressive show of hand-painted fondant and icing detail. Hours of intricate sculpturing have resulted in everything from an edible goddess of Athena to a Las Vegas party land, complete with Martini glasses, casinos and a roller-coaster.

The breath-taking creations are featured in all their glory in Cake Masters' Around the World in 40 Cakes feature, out now. Come grab a sneak preview of just some of the amazing bakes that were made for the series, below. The Great British Bake-Off has nothing on these guys...

Around the world in cake: city landmarks and cultural treasures you can eat