START UP SUCCESS: DAINTY BAKES

From her Somerset kitchen, celebration cake-maker Megan Mcgregor-shenton bakes seasonal showstoppers decked with fresh flowers, fruit and foliage

Celebration cake-maker Megan Mcgregor-shenton creates seasonal showstoppers decked with flowers and fruit

There can’t be many fans of The Great British Bake Off who haven’t daydreamed about making cakes for a living. As dream jobs go, running such a business is right up there – a fact not lost on Megan McgregorShenton, who knew that she needed to find a niche in a crowded marketplace. Standing in her kitchen, at home in a village near Wellington in Somerset, looking out of the window to the flower-filled garden and countryside beyond, it’s clear to see where she found her inspiration: “I’ve always loved being out in nature and watching the changing seasons, so it made sense to bring this into my baking.”

In contrast to the stiff, white icing and fondant roses on many traditional celebration cakes, Megan’s designs are decorated with fresh flowers, fruit and foliage. Real rose petals, cheery violas and a confetti of bright pink dianthus adorn the tiers of her largest creations, while glossy cherries and juicy raspberries sit on top of her rich chocolate cupcakes.

And it’s not just the decorations that take their lead from nature: seasonal elements are reflected in the flavours, too. Megan spreads her homemade jams and curds (strawberry, lemon, raspberry, rhubarb and elderflower) between layers of soft sponge, covering the top and sides with a silky-smooth buttercream flavoured and coloured with her fruit purées.

“I use Somerset butter, so the buttercream is a lovely off-white,” she says. “When the purées are mixed in, they create really delicate colours, which are perfect for weddings.” Although

Megan has always loved baking (“I made butterfly cakes with my mum when I was little”), she’s never had any formal training: “All my experience has come from practice – and reading lots of recipes.”

While studying for a degree in dietetics at the University of Plymouth, Megan worked at the tearoom at nearby Cotehele, a Tudor house run by the National Trust. Initially, she was serving cakes, but she started to bake there, too. “That’s when my confidence started to grow,” she says. “After all, if you can make scones that please a discerning National Trust visitor,

“I love being out in nature… so it made sense to bring this into my baking”

you must be doing something right!” After graduating in 2016, Megan began baking in a garden-centre café in Somerset. “It was daunting at first, as I felt underqualified and they pretty much left me to it. But soon I was making all the classics – shortbread, ginger cake, lemon drizzle and brownies.” It was during a ski season in France the following year that she came up with the idea to start a business. Her partner, Tim, was the chalet chef, while Megan looked after the chalet and baked for afternoon tea. “I received so many nice comments from the guests saying I should sell my cakes,” she says.

Two years later, she launched Dainty Bakes, naming her baking business after her family name and her style of cakes, and now runs it alongside her job as a dietetic assistant at a local hospital.

GROW IT, BAKE IT, EAT IT

Megan’s background in nutrition informs her recipes and her business ethos. “I learnt all about food and sustainability at university, and it really opened my eyes,” she says. Artificial flavourings and colourings are out. “I buy my flour from The Blue Pantry, a local zero-waste shop; fruit comes from a nearby farm or the greengrocer; eggs are from the farm shop and

I use biodegradable baking parchment. I’m always looking for ways I can reduce waste, minimise food miles and support local businesses and the community.”

From primroses in spring to cornflowers in summer, Megan also grows many of the edible flowers she uses to decorate her cakes. “Having worked in commercial kitchens, I found it quite straightforward to set up the business,” she says. “Gardening has been the bigger learning curve, but I do find it very relaxing.” Initial orders were largely from family and friends, but word of Dainty Bakes has since spread. Now people come across her work on Instagram or through a café at JW Blooms in Hillcommon, a local flower farm, that she supplies with her creations. “Lots

“I’m always looking for ways I can reduce waste, minimise food miles and support local businesses and the community”

of mums and daughters visit the farm when they’re thinking about wedding flowers, so then the people who’ve eaten my cakes there become customers,” she says.

FINDING THE SWEET SPOT

Isn’t creating a wedding cake stressful? “Maybe I’ve been lucky, but everyone has been so lovely,” Megan says. “I love meeting the couple for tastings. The biggest pressure is from me. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve discarded a cake or stripped off all the icing and started again because I didn’t think it was perfect.”

But while happy customers mean that Megan is slowly becoming more confident, one thing she can’t control is the weather – a key factor as it warms up: “I use a Swiss meringue buttercream, where you whisk butter into egg white over a bain-marie. It makes a silky-smooth icing, but also one that holds its form better in the heat. The fresh flowers can wilt, so I wait until the last moment to put them on.”

Wanting to let the business grow organically, Megan creates about a cake a week during peak wedding season, with each one taking two to three days. She plans to keep working in the hospital as well as making cakes, which has one big advantage: she still enjoys baking on her days off. “I’m more of a chocolate brownie person, though,” she says, with a smile. “A big slice with a cup of tea, sitting in the garden with the cat on my lap.” Now that’s a daydream we can all aspire to.