Catherine is a 3rd year music student with a pretty useful talent for anyone who enjoys a well-decorated cupcake now and again. She seems to have taken on the role of the University of Birmingham’s chief cake maker. Well, it’s not an official title, but her fellow students were so impressed by her baking skills that she decided to turn her talent into a little money making scheme and now runs ‘Catherine’s cakes’, her own baking business.
She explains, ‘I decided to set up Catherine’s Cakes as a way of showcasing the cakes that I’d made, since they were already getting such a positive response on Facebook. I didn’t start it as a business and I was mainly just making cakes for friends, family and charity events. But as more people started ordering, it seemed like a good way to make a bit of extra money. It’s been going for a year now and I’ve made just under £1000 so it’s going really well!’
Catherine and I were block mates in our first year of University and discovered we both loved to bake, which lead us to start meeting up weekly to bake together. Obviously when I realised that she was a 50 years younger, infinitely chicer, Mary Berry I decided to eat her cakes rather than help to bake them, my efforts were pretty embarrassing in comparison. Catherine has been baking since she was young and it’s fair to say her talent has turned into a bit of an obsession.
‘I have always been a keen baker, often baking with my Mum and sister on Sunday afternoons when we were younger! The cake-decorating phase began when I started to watch various Youtube videos and follow Facebook cake pages as procrastination from exam revision!! Then the GBBO came along and I got even more addicted – my goal is to meet Mary Berry!’
She also adds, ‘I almost can’t bear to think about how much time and money I’ve spent on it in the last couple of years!! But I absolutely love it and find it very therapeutic so I try to justify it to myself (and my bank balance!) because of that… I would recommend baking and cake decorating to anyone who would enjoy a creative hobby with delicious results!’
Her cakes are so beautiful that not only do people get them made to order for their loved ones birthdays but this week, she was recognised by “The Great British Bake Off” and is now in the running to become their ‘star baker’ on their website with her entry of a disco-themed birthday cake. Catherine says, ‘I am probably most proud of the Disco Cake I made recently, as it was a challenging one to complete and there were lots of different elements to incorporate! I was also particularly proud that it made it onto the GBBO website as well and is currently in one of the ‘star bake’ positions!’
If you want to know more about Catherine’s Cakes you can visit her Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/chancock29cakes?fref=ts