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Kirsty O’Hanlon of K’s Kakes in Kildorrery in her home putting the finishing touches to some delicious cup cakes. Photo: Sandra Quinn

Wanting to keep her kids diets healthy and exclude things like e-numbers and bad fats was what propelled Kirsty O'Hanlon towards setting up her business, K's Kakes in Kildorrery.

Kirsty was in kitchens from when she finished school and while she could cook anything, baking was never her forte, until she had kids. She started off baking for her husband John and kids Bethany, Emily, Riley and Maisy and then it all grew from there.

"I never used to bake, but I had four kids and I decided to go on a baking course, so that I could give them food and snacks and know exactly what they were eating.

"When you start reading about e-numbers and fats especially when the children were tiny, you just don't want to pump all of that sugar into them," Kirsty said.

Kirsty is completely self taught and she would have picked up a lot of tricks and tips from her grandmother.

What Kirsty does, goes beyond your all-in-one mix and firing something in the oven, she plans every cake, cupcake and cake pop meticulously looking at each detail and measurement to make sure it will be perfect.

"I love doing giant cupcakes and novelty cakes, but a lot of planning is needed - sometimes it's almost like doing maths. I like to see the end result in my mind - as soon as someone starts talking about what they want, I start planning it. I would think my prices are very reasonable, but it would all depend on what they want and how long it takes to do the baking and decorating," Kirsty said.

"Some people start cakes at €55, but I want everyone to be able to have a cake if they want it and I start mine at €35 and these could be giant cupcakes or novelty Christening cakes with little booties on them.

"Another thing is that people are often afraid to eat a cake if it looks too good - it's not gold and it's there to be eaten, my theory is that it should taste as good as it looks, if not better," Kirsty told The Avondhu.

Kirsty set up K's Kakes two years ago and she supplies to O'Sullivan's Centra in Kildorrery and also Little Rascals in Mallow and PepsiCo in Cork.

To expand on what she currently offers, Kirsty has also started holding cupcake parties, where she teaches people how to make the cakes and for kids, they wear little chef outfits and do everything from the measuring right up to the decorating and take four cupcakes home with them.

As the business continues to grow, Kirsty plans to continue expanding and bringing it further.

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