A BRADFORD on Avon resident who doesn’t eat or even like cake has launched her own business – making cakes!

Mo Bennie, 58, began making cakes when she was younger and has always enjoyed baking – despite not eating cakes or even liking them.

Mo, a former Cornish publican, started her cake-making business, Dotty the Cake Lady, in 2017 after returning from a 12-month stay in Carcassonne in the south of France.

“I used to run Granny Mo’s tea rooms near the lock on the Kennet & Avon Canal for three years and made cakes for the customers to enjoy.

“Then I left Bradford on Avon last year and spent 12 months in Carcassonne. When I came back, I decided to start a cake-making business because I had been dabbling with it for a long time.

“I love my cakes and have been making them for the Secret Garden Café in Bradford on Avon. When the barber shop in Unit 4, Weaver’s Walk, became vacant, I moved in.

“I was part of the Bradford on Avon Food Assembly, which is now ended, and have been selling them in the local producers market in Lamb Yard.

“I don’t eat cake and I don’t even like cake but I love making them. They are all made to my own recipes and always presented beautifully.”

Mo, whose family used to run pubs in Cornwall, is a self-taught cake maker. She bakes a wide variety of cakes, including classic sponges, fruit cakes and cupcakes, for anniversaries, celebrations and weddings, as well as tray bakes and naked cakes.

They are all made using local ingredients and her traditional flavours are often combined with fruit and flowers to give them the ‘wow’ factor.

“I can make anything from one cake up to 20 cakes a day, starting early in the morning. I like to finish early in the afternoon.”

When she’s not making cakes, Mo has been studying through the Open University for a BA Honours degree in English and Creative Writing. Next year, she hopes to take an MA in the subject, as well as to start making savouries and doing buffets.

“I have lived in Bradford on Avon for 13 years and I love the town. It’s a beautiful place. There are lots of lovely people here.

“It’s also fast becoming a bridal town. Brides love to get married here. It’s a great location for weddings, with all the bridal and jewellery shops.”

Dotty the Cake Lady takes commissions and, in the new year, Mo hopes to get a website online for her business.

“I’m in the middle of building a website, but customers can find Dotty the Cake Lady on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter”, she said.