Popular Cosham dessert shop Cake’O’nuts celebrates one year anniversary as striving baker turns passion into career

Cake’O’nuts opened in Cosham High Street exactly one-year ago today and has become hotspot for those with a sweet tooth. Owner Hollie Butcher has turned her love of baking into an established business.

Speaking before the anniversary celebrations, held yesterday, she told The News: ‘It has exceeded all of my expectations and more. I never expected it to be as hard as I thought it would be and the mental and physical strain it would cause.

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‘I knew it would be difficult but I never expected the mental challenges that would come with it, but it’s all been worth it.’ The mum of two boys, Max, 11, and Ray, nine, became passionate about baking after making a three-tier cake for Max’s first birthday – as she couldn’t afford to buy one.

Fast forward ten years, the 35-year-old now runs Cake’O’nuts – specialising in delectable cookie pies, brownies, cheesecakes and more. ‘Everything we bake is fresh, and ever since when we first opened, I worked up to 100 hours a week,’ Ms Butcher said.

‘Opening a cake shop was always going to be tough. We never expected the cost of living or anything like that.

‘The overheads are high, but to get to where we are now is astounding.’ Ms Butcher runs the shop alongside baker Georgia Dainty, 30, Lauren England, 19, Evie Sait, 17, and Paige Butterworth – describing it as a ‘real family affair’.

She said the most rewarding part of the job is the community created around the shop, something she never expected. ‘There’s lots of cafes in Cosham High Street but what we offer isn’t something you can get anywhere in the north of the city,’ Ms Butcher added.

‘You don’t get that in the large chains. We have customers that come in everyday, sometimes just for a cup of tea, because they feel comfortable.

‘We are a very friendly chatty bunch. Some customers have genuinely become like family. If we left tomorrow, I know how much we’d be missed.’

Prosecco was handed out to the adults and sweet treats given to the children by the Easter bunny. A raffle was held with sumptuous desserts and vouchers were local businesses as prizes.

Ms Butcher said Cake’O’nuts stands out from the crowd as they ‘make everything from scratch and keep it old school’. She added: ‘We put in the hours, graft, and use high quality ingredients.

‘That’s why people keep coming back. We wanted to put on a big thing to give back to the community. Without them, we would not be celebrating our first anniversary.’

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Ms Butcher said opening day was ‘wild’ – with queues out the door – with some Saturdays bringing in crazy amounts of customers. She added the business is succeeding despite the soaring costs of ingredients, with some raw materials four times more expensive.

The entrepreneur thinks the future is bright and eyes up expansion if the opportunity comes up. ‘We’ve got a five year contract and hopefully we’ll see that through to the end,’ she said.

‘Once we’ve found our feet fully in Cosham, I would 100 per cent consider branching out further. I would rather try and fail than fail to try at all.’