Owl cakes, O-Levels & more: meet Jaq

Hello! I’m Jaq.

I’ve been baking cakes for Free Cakes for Kids Sheffield since 2014. I had some time between jobs and it was an ideal time to volunteer. I’ve loved baking the cakes - especially when I’ve tried hard to get the theme right, from make up and jewellery boxes to footballs and Peppa Pig!

My mum was a cook and a baker so I grew up baking all sorts of biscuits and cakes. I even made a blue cat cake and cat buns for my Home Economics O’Level exam! I also used to get requests to bake biscuits every time we had a girls get together in school holidays. I remember my mum doing great snow scenes on our Christmas cakes with those 1970s plastic skating figures and snowmen!

The best cake I have made was an owl cake for my late father in law. I made feathers and layered them up for the plumage. My father in law was an owl lover and had lots of ornaments so it was an ideal gift for a man who was suffering with dementia. His face lit up when I gave it to him and he enjoyed sharing it with the other folk in his care home.

I think that’s why I volunteer as a baker - I imagine the recipient's smile when presented with their special cake.

When I’m not baking I do like to be beside the seaside - especially the beautiful beaches of Northumberland.