Piece Of Cake

Anna Dillon, 51, from Scot land, has taught herself to create in credible designs from her garage a t home…

- Nia Dalton And Niamh Butler-Walton

Tasting the cakes that I’d just bought from a wholesaler, I frowned.

‘They are hard and bland,’ I said to my husband Kenny, 50, and daughter Stephanie, 28.

In 2011, I’d been made redundant and used the compensation to buy a snack van.

Except, I was disappointed with the food on offer.

‘I’m going to make my own!’ I declared.

Unable to afford baking classes, I decided to teach myself how to bake from scratch at home.

I’d never baked when I was younger, apart from a scones attempt in my twenties – although, they turned out like flat biscuits.

This time, I was going to try properly.

And my first traybake came out a success!

‘It’s delicious,’ Kenny said, tucking in.

I began selling my traybakes in the snack van, and my customers loved them.

I’m an interior designer by trade, and I enjoyed getting creative.

As the years passed, my baking skills got better and I started to collect kitchen equipment.

I even mastered scones! ‘Would you bake a cake for my son?’ a regular customer asked me in 2014.

‘He loves Captain America.’ ‘I’ll give it a go,’ I said, happy to try.

I dyed icing red and blue and started sculpting Captain America’s face and shield out of icing.

Using household tools to create different textures, I worked with what I had.

And the birthday cake went down a treat!

I discovered a love for cakes, and a neighbour helped me convert the garage into a studio.

Soon, my hobby had moved out of the kitchen and into the garage.

Cake requests came flooding in from all of my family and friends.

‘I’m going to sign up to do a cake competition,’ I told Kenny five years ago.