I was quoted £240 for my daughter's birthday cake so DIY-ed it for a fraction of the cost with M&S and Temu buys

The Irish Sun

3 days ago

A MUM who was quoted a staggering £240 to make a 4th birthday cake for her daughter has been praised after showing how she did it herself for just £55.
Pamela explained that she wanted a Trolls-themed cake to mark her little girl Mila turning four, so got a quote from a professional baker near her.
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Pamela took to TikTok to share how she turned these M&S cakes into a Trolls-themed masterpiece
Credit: TikTok / @rarapammy
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The cake cost her just £55, while she'd been quoted £240 by a professional cake maker
Credit: TikTok / @rarapammy
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Others said the cake probably tasted better being from M&S than it would if a pro had made it
Credit: Getty
But when it came back at £240, she decided to try and DIY it.
And the results were better than she could have ever imagined, as she
She used three cakes from Marks & Spencer to create the tiered design - the Under the Rainbow cake, the Rainbow layer cake and a Vanilla sprinkle gift cake.
She then stacked them on top of each other - with the rainbow-striped cake at the bottom, followed by the rainbow layer cake and topped off with the gift cake.
Read more Mum Hack stories
Pamela placed the finished cake on a pink board from Amazon, and added loads of Trolls decorations to complete it.
She added Trolls figurines from Temu, and used a gorgeous cake topper she'd had made from Etsy, which featured some of the film's famous characters and 'Mila, 4' on it.
"Oops I did it again! Thank you Marks and Spencer, I didn't have to pay £240 for the cake I was quoted," she captioned the TikTok snaps.
The comments section was immediately filled with people saying how impressed they were by Pamela's skills, and bombarding her with questions about her creation.
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"How much did it come to?" one asked.
With Pamela replying: "£40ish for the cakes and about £15 for all the Trolls bits!"
The simple chocolate cake recipe using only TWO ingredients - it's sweet and you won't even need to put it in the oven
"Did you have to put anything in the cakes to support them?" another questioned.
"No - I didn't - I literally just piled them on top of each other - next time I think I will, it would be really simple to do!"
"LOVE THIS SUPERMUM!!" one wrote.
"This issss soo smart!!" another raved.
"Wow, this is a GAME changer! So impressive!" a third insisted.
"Omg that's amazing, well done you!" someone else said.
Time-saving mum hacks
Morning Routine
Nighttime Preparation: Set out clothes for yourself and the kids, pack lunches, and organise backpacks before bed.
Effortless Breakfasts: Keep simple, healthy breakfast options on hand, such as overnight oats, smoothie packs, or pre-made breakfast burritos.
Meal Planning
Weekly Meal Prep: Dedicate time each week to plan your meals to eliminate daily decision-making.
Bulk Cooking: Prepare larger quantities and freeze portions for future use.
Hands-Off Cooking: Make use of slow cookers or Instant Pots for easy, unattended meal prep.
Ready-to-Use Veggies: Purchase pre-chopped vegetables or chop them all at once to save time during the week.
Household Chores
Daily Laundry: Do a load of laundry every day to prevent a buildup of dirty clothes.
Continuous Cleaning: Encourage kids to clean up after themselves and perform small cleaning tasks throughout the day.
Efficient Multitasking: Fold laundry while watching TV or listen to audiobooks/podcasts while cleaning.
Organisation
Family Command Centre: Set up a central hub with a calendar, to-do lists, and important documents.
Daily Decluttering: Spend a few minutes each day decluttering to maintain an organised home.
Organised Storage: Use bins and baskets to keep items neat and easy to locate.
Kid Management
Prepared Activity Bags: Have bags packed with essentials for various activities (e.g., swimming, sports).
Routine Visuals: Implement visual charts to help kids follow their routines independently.
Task Delegation: Assign age-appropriate chores to children to foster responsibility and reduce your workload.
"Babe I literally do this every birthday and my kids think I'm a literal genius to top it all off!" another added.
"Wicked idea & it looks good!" someone else said.
"Everything from M&S tastes nice too," another added.
"It looks AMAZING! Well done!" someone else commented.
While others insisted that Pamela's cake probably tastes better than professional ones too.
"Cakes made by bakers are horrible," one said.
"I've always paid a fortune for them and they are dry and they use cheap quality ingredients.
This is a GAME changer!
Impressed TikTok commenter
"I go to M&S for all my kids cakes now.. they 100% taste nice than any baker!"
"Bet it tasted lovely too, I find most cake makers cakes actually don't taste as nice as they look," another said.
With a "wedding/celebration cake baker" weighing in: "I make sure all my cakes taste good and use real ingredients.
"I've seen and tasted some shocking cakes, faux ingredients and it devalues our skills which is what you pay for.
"I've also stacked an M&S cake due to budget constraints."
Reflecting on her savvy hack, Pamela told Fabulous Online: "Honestly, if I can do it, anyone can!
"I love finding easy solutions for busy working mums that don't cost a fortune."