VIDEO: Fancy trying an insect cake?

Rick Wilson was brave enough to taste a cake made with insects (Tina Morris)

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Edible insects have arrived in Scotland in the shape of creepy-crawly cakes – and the question now is: will the trend catch on?

The man behind the move is 26-year-old Frenchman Cyril Barthelme, who as boss of Patisserie Maxime is determined to remove the yucky stigma around entomophagy – the practice of eating insects.

A month-long promotion at his Edinburgh shop featuring a selection of six £1 cakes attracted more than 700 daring customers.

Although some people screwed up their faces and others took only tentative bites, Mr Barthelme said the reaction was generally positive and most customers agreed the cakes were “nice with very little difference in taste”. Some of the delicacies on offer, such as brownies, are served with examples of the insects lying on them.

But the flavour comes in the flour, 30% of which is made of, for example, crickets finely ground up, then mixed with regular ingredients.

Thanks to the popularity of the Great British Bake Off, Mr Barthelme reckons that his customers are prepared to be a lot more adventurous in how they satisfy their sweet tooth.

He added: “Insects are very nutritious, incredibly plentiful and much easier to harvest than our traditional foodstuffs.

“They’re so undervalued.”

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