It's all about the cake at your wedding

Karen Peattie finds out more

For keen baker Sharon Morrison, going into business was never intentional but today she is much sought after by brides who want a slice of her stunning creations – and all because her son Lewis asked his mum to bake him a special birthday cake.

Marking 10 years in business in August, Sharon initially started April Cottage Cakery in Glasgow as a hobby. “When Lewis was eight he asked me to bake a cake for his birthday and really loved it,” she recalls. “I also really enjoyed it.”

From that point on, Sharon started to think that she could perhaps make a good business out of her baking skills. “My background is retail management and I worked in The Gadget Shop, then a local office near to where I live in Baillieston,” she says.

“I’m 100% self-taught but I was so into baking that I enrolled on courses to teach me skills like sugar craft,” Sharon adds.

“I moved into wedding cakes six years ago and haven’t looked back.”

Today, April Cottage Cakery, which operates out of Sharon’s kitchen at home, is in high demand. “It’s very satisfying that people trust me to do their wedding cake but it’s a huge responsibility too – I used to worry that something might go wrong and they’d end up hating it,” says Sharon.

However, she soon sent those fears packing – although admits she did have one incident with a summer wedding cake when the icing started to melt during transportation to Ayrshire on a particularly hot July day!

Cakes, Sharon points out, really do play an integral part of the wedding day and are “probably the most photographed part of the day”, adding: “When it’s time to cut the cake, all eyes are on it and everyone’s taking pictures – it’s one of the most special moments of the day.”

As a one-woman operation, Sharon will never accept commissions for more than two wedding cakes a week – and sometimes will limit it to one if the cake is a more complicated creation requiring detailed work.

The cake, she advises, should be booked ideally 12 to 18 months in advance. “The sooner you book and secure the date, the less likely you are to be disappointed,” says Sharon. “April to October is the main season with summer dates likely to get booked up quickly.”

Sharon will always have a consultation with her couples – preferably both of them together – in order to understand what they want but also what they expect from their wedding cake. “We’re living in a digital age so people see cakes on Instagram and in magazines and want to replicate that,” she points out.

“Cakes today are part of a very visual industry and are equally important as the flowers, the wedding rings and even the bride’s dress. They have to look stunning and be perfect.”

At a wedding cake consultation, Sharon will talk through the flavour options available, colours, the ingredients she uses and so on. Samples are also provided. Vanilla, lemon, raspberry, white chocolate and red velvet are among the flavours Sharon tends to work with – and she points out that the days of having a fruit cake for your wedding, part of which would traditionally be saved to celebrate the birth of the first baby, are long gone.

“It’s like everything else,” she says. “Trends change, times move on. Ideas are everywhere and while I don’t really get any bizarre requests, if a couple want something I’m not comfortable with I will refer them to someone else.”

April Cottage Cakery. (Image: Newsquest)

There are lots of tricks of the trade, too. Dummy tiers can be incorporated, for example, and it’s important to discuss portion size with couples as that can have an impact on the size of cake you require.

“I also ask about the venue and where the cake will be positioned and cut, and if a couple who aren’t terribly tall want a really big cake with loads of tiers, then they might not be able to see over the top it – there’s so much to take into consideration,” she laughs.

“Most of the cakes I create are three or four tiers and I have plenty of samples that I can show them.”

For Sharon, it’s all about helping a couple have the most amazing wedding day. “I take all the stress away – I just want them to have lovely day. The cake is delivered by me personally to the wedding venue, too – I think couples really appreciate that personal touch.”

April Cottage Cakery – named after Sharon’s late father’s dream to one day own a country cottage that he would name April Cottage – is fully insured and registered with Glasgow City Council.

Couples can get up close and personal with Sharon’s creations at the Braehead Wedding Exhibition on May 6 and 7 (stand 71).

Contact Sharon at: www.facebook.com/AprilCottageCakery and on Instagram @Aprilcottagecakery