Mum's recipe for success

12:34pm Tuesday 8th April 2008

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FARMING and birthday cakes might seem an odd mix but a mum has combined her passion for both to create a recipe for success.

Rainy Williamson owns a small holding in Bury Old Road, Ainsworth, with her solicitor husband Andrew and two young sons Benjamin, aged six and David, aged four.

She worked as a sports therapy lecturer at Bury College until six years ago, when she decided to give it up to start a family.

Her passion for helping abused hens, plus a love for organically produced food, led her to bring the two together into a business - The Great Little Cupcake Company - at her home.

Mrs Williamson uses eggs from her free-range hens plus locally sourced organic ingredients to make cupcakes.

She then ices and decorates them to order for any occasion from weddings, birthdays or Valentine's Day.

Two of her local suppliers are Faircloughs Dairy, Radcliffe and Grundy & Neill Organics in Halliwell Road, Bolton.

Mrs Williamson said: "I only started the business a month ago. I think the market will primarily be wedding cakes and party cakes.

"I only do cupcakes, so for a wedding there is a special seven-tiered cake stand with up to 140 cup cakes individually decorated for each guest.

"You can send a box of party cakes, or a proposal for a girlfriend, individually decorated. They are popular for children's parties as each cake can have the child's name on it for party bags."

She believes the fact that the cakes are handmade and organic, with local ingredients, is helping her to differentiate the offering from competitors.

She said: "Everything I use is either organic or free-range.

"I use milk and cream from North-west companies, I make my own butter and am looking for a local supplier of flour. I use all my own free-range eggs."

Mrs Williamson keeps rare hens and those previously housed in battery pens.

She keeps between 20 and 40 hens at any one time on the acre of land the family has.

She said: "Every so often I do a rescue when the battery farms get rid of the hens.

"Normally they are killed, but the Battery Hen Welfare Trust rescues and rehomes them."