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Okay so not quite twenty questions, but I offered to do a Facebook live recently, answering questions that people wanted to find about me. You can view the live video here or read below to find out the questions and answers, replete with pictures of the mentioned cakes
Where did the name for your business come from? - Lesley
When Abigail was two, I made a cake and cupcakes with ladybirds on. Since then there's always been a hidden ladybird on all her birthday cakes - and they feature on many of the cakes I sell. If you've not got a fondant ladybird on your cake, there'll be a wooden one on the delivery box. Or a ladybird sticker. Except I forgot to put one on the cake I delivered for Lexi today. Oops! But hopefully she'll forgive me as she was the recipient of the very first cake I sold!
When did you start making cakes? - Clare
When I was small with my mum and grandma. And then as an adult I wanted to make cakes from scratch with no nasties in it to protect Abigail from the horrors of preservatives. But of course, like all well-meaning parents who buy endless wooden toys rather than plastic ones, it's futile. Kids prefer stuff with preservatives and that's made of plastic. Yes I know there are a handful out there that do love a hessian teddybear or something but I try to find balance with Abigail. She wants to save rhinos. She has a website she made called Save our Planet. She stops me buying stuff with palm oil in. She eats a well-balanced diet (not a pie in each hand!) and her birthday cakes are still made from scratch. So the odd shop-bought treat isn't the end of the world.
How do you manage to do all this and a full time job & be a full time mum? X - Maria
Getting up early. Staying up late. I'm a rubbish sleeper but there are quite a lot of past-midnight finishes when I'm super-busy. It's all a balancing act and a good job I'm a project manager by day as I'm quite good at planning the second job.
Your favorite cake design is? Dorota
Little Peach Cakery’s hedgehog. Very cute, easy to do and looks fab.
What’s the strangest request you’ve ever had? Shelly
Could I make a dozen butterscotch doughnuts and deliver them to West Virginia. When I was toying with what to call the business, Rob suggested Bakery on the Hill so I registered that on Facebook too but The Ladybird Cakery was Abigail's choice. I still have the page and get random queries from Americans - I guess there's another business in the States with that name.
What’s your favourite cake flavour? Ruth
Chocolate and cherry from my love of Black Forest Gateau in the eighties. Or coffee. I'm struggling to settle on four flavours for the tiers of my wedding cake (one of which is fruit at Rob's request) but so many favourites - particularly the white chocolate and rhubarb cake I made last week.
What is your favourite cake? - Alison
M&S Apricot swiss roll. If Rob doesn't present me with this on my birthday, Valentine's day and any other special occasion then he might as well not bother coming home. It's my guilty pleasure - again from the eighties.
What’s your favourite flavour cup cake & buttercream flavour? Maria
Up until recently I'd've said coffee but I made the most amazing coconut cupcakes with mango and lime curd and pineapple buttercream the other day. They were divine.
What plans do you have for the next few years? Ronel
Bigger kitchen, getting married, getting a dog. Not necessarily in that order. Cake business-wise? Not sure. I need a plan. Anyone know a good project manager?
Is there a flavour combination that you dread being asked to create? Chelsea
Not a combination so much, but I am so not a fan of red velvet and cream cheese. Customers love it but it’s the one cake I will not eat offcuts and leftovers from
What is the biggest cake you've ever made - Charlotte
I recently delivered a 13kg cake that measured 20 inches by 10 inches (yes I'm a child of the Eighties and interchange both measuring systems) to celebrate Sainsbury's 150th birthday. It was very big and very orange.
What's the furthest one of your cakes has travelled? Rachel
Last weekend to Bude to celebrate a special 21st. It arrived with only a little collateral damage which wasn't bad given Rob's propensity for driving too fast and slamming the brakes on. It arrived in the same two pieces it left home in which was a huge win.
What do you hate doing most?? Vicky
Washing up. Most specifically washing up buttercream bowls! So I try and eat as much of the leftover buttercream as I can to save from having to wash up dirty bowls. This is why I am fat.
If you could only eat one biscuit for the rest of your life, what would it be Gemma
Tough one. Not a huge biscuit fan but probably plain chocolate digestives or savoury biscuits (I don't actually have a sweet tooth, surprisingly) would have to be Dan Lepard's chilli, cheese and almond biscuits which are a doddle to make but I always eat too many of.
What is your favourite cake that you’ve ever made?! Danni
I love dogs so it has to be Bubbly Rascal who I made on a course I went on last year. And I loved the chubby unicorn too. I love most of my cakes so it's really hard to choose just the one.
What's your favourite cake? Comment below!
Rebecca x