A BAKER with a pretty pink cake shop is making waves at a luxury department store with her tasty creations.

Cupcakes and macaroons from Sugar and Layer Cake Company, Clitheroe, are proving popular at Harvey Nichols in Manchester.

Natalie Owens started the business in 2018, taking inspiration from Peggy Porschen ­— a popular London bakery where social media fans flock to eat treats and take pictures in front of the stunning floral backdrops.

Lancashire Telegraph:

Antonia Musker at Sugar and Layer Cake Company, Clitheroe

Miss Owens and her business partner Antonia Musker have scooped awards at the National Cupcake Championships at Birmingham NEC.

She said: “It was one of my goals to get my cakes into Harvey Nichols and I was very persistent, which ended up with me having a meeting with them.

“They said they had been following my Instagram for months to see what I was about and they liked it.

“It took a while though and at first they did not accept us but, after six months, they invited us in for a meeting. The chef at their food hall also said the quality of the macaroons was almost the same as their own.”

Lancashire Telegraph:

This is Miss Owens’ second bakery venture as she first opened one 10 years ago, but it shut due to her relationship breaking down.

After losing her confidence, the 31-year-old wrote a message to Peggy Porschen. Her pink and floral-themed parlour bakery, which opened in London’s Belgravia in 2010, has provided cookies and cakes for events hosted by celebrities including Kate Moss, Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow.

Miss Owens was sent a signed cookbook from Peggy, with a message that read: "This is to inspire you again."

She said: “I had a bakery when I was 22 but left it to go back to work as a nursery worker.

“I had a breakdown in my relationship and he was not really supportive, so I shut it down. But then I thought, why should I stop doing what I love?

“I have always been quite a girl boss, but I just lost who I was for a while. I loved Peggy’s message, because women should support women.”

Lancashire Telegraph:

Miss Owens went to university to study teaching and baked on weekends but, after working for a Manchester bakery, fell in love with it.

She said: “When I was younger I baked with my grandma and mum and loved it.

“I worked for a bakery in Manchester during my studies and I got the bug and that was it.

“I really want to inspire women to start businesses and grow my own cake company, reaching more wholesalers.”

To see the pretty café on Instagram, go to @sugarandlayer