Darlington woman opens cake shed Emily B Bakes

Emily Bowman, 21, launched her new venture Emily B Bakes from outside her home last weekend after deciding it was finally time to turn her lifelong passion of baking into a business.

She said: “I’ve always wanted to start my own business, I just never knew what in the first place.

“I’ve always loved to bake, ever since I was little – I’ve always done it with my gran or my mam.

“I’m usually the one making birthday cakes for family and friends, and they’ve always said how much they’ve loved it. I thought, you know what, I might as well turn this passion into a business.”

The idea for opening a cake shed came from social media, which recently has been gaining in popularity over the last year.

You can find the cake shed at 34 Edinburgh Drive, and it is open Thursday to Saturday. (Image: Emily Bowman)

The 21-year-old said: “I’ve seen these cake sheds pop up all over TikTok and online and everywhere, and I just thought it was such a great idea.

“It’s only been the past few months where I thought, yeah, I’m actually going to do it – I’m going to stop worrying what people think and just do it.”

From there, it took just a couple of months to get everything together, decorate the shed and get it stocked and ready to open.

The cake shed officially opened on May 22 and so far, Emily said the response has already been “overwhelming”.

She said: “I only started my social media last week, then I opened on the 22nd and I’ve had people left, right and centre messaging and calling me about it.

“I’ve been quite overwhelmed with the number of people, to be honest. It’s been really nice though, having that much support from people you do know and people you don’t know.

“They’ve all really enjoyed it so far, they’ve said that I’ve got fair prices and that it’s a great idea, and that they’ll be adding it to a dog walk on a morning.”

You can find the cake shed at 34 Edinburgh Drive, and it is open Thursday to Saturday. (Image: Emily Bowman)

Her cake shed menu includes many favourites for those with a sweet tooth, including stuffed cookies, brownies and blondies.

She is also adding new bakes each week, including a chocolate cake inspired by the famous cake in Matilda.

Emily Bowman, 21, launched her new venture Emily B Bakes. (Image: Emily B Bakes)

Emily Bowman, 21, launched her new venture Emily B Bakes. (Image: Emily B Bakes)

Although she has only just opened, Emily said she is already thinking about plans for the future.

She said: “I’d love to keep going with the cake shed. Eventually, I’d love to do proper orders, I do take pre-orders, but I’d love to do a proper ordering system with a website and proper bake boxes.”

You can find the cake shed at 34 Edinburgh Drive, and it is open Thursday to Saturday.

Pre-orders are available via direct message on social media, and customers can pay by cash or by using a QR code at the shed.