The family-run Bexleyheath bakery with a unique boozy twist
A bakery in Bexleyheath is offering something a little different - serving cupcakes with popular cocktail flavours and topped with pipettes of alcohol as well as all kinds of other sweet treats.
The Tipsy Bakery has built up a loyal following since opening in 2022, combining traditional baking with a playful twist.
Since opening its doors in March 2022, the shop has become known for doing things differently, offering everything from alcohol-infused cupcakes to chocolate bars and cookies made on-site.
The business is run by 35-year-old Emma Rus, a Bexleyheath local who grew up on Long Lane and went to grammar school just down the road.
Before starting the bakery, she spent a decade managing Lidl stores, including the one in Bexleyheath town centre.
Emma told the News Shopper: 'I was just making sort of cakes and cupcakes for family and friends as a way to relax.
'I used to be a store manager for Lidl for like the last ten years, so I was doing it on the side and I just really enjoyed it.
'Everything we've done is self-taught. Learning how to do the cakes and cupcakes, even the admin side, the legal side – everything has been learned as we go.'
'I'm really proud of what we've done and the direction that we're going.
'We're a small family business. We keep it small and do it well.'
She began trading at farmers markets while still working full time, but the business quickly grew.
Emma at a farmers market (Image: Tipsy Bakery)
Emma incorporated the company in 2020 and, after outgrowing her home kitchen, opened her first shop two years later.
The bakery's signature cupcakes feature cocktail-inspired flavours such as espresso martini and pornstar martini, with the alcohol served in a small pipette.
Their most popular flavour is tequila rose.
She explained: 'At the time, nobody else was doing this concept of the pipette in the cake.
'We were making cocktail-type cakes, just whatever we could think of.'
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Although the alcohol is optional (the pipettes can be removed for children) and the businesses has now expanded to many other sweet treats, the cocktail cakes remain central to the bakery's identity.
The team uses a Swiss meringue buttercream, which is less common than traditional buttercream but has been popular with customers.
As the business has grown, the menu has expanded to include large cookies, celebration cakes, chocolate-dipped strawberries and home-made chocolate bars.
One of the most popular new items is the Dubai chocolate, made in-house and available to order for delivery across the UK.
Emma added: 'We make that in house from scratch. We've never had a complaint. People love ours. They come back time and time again.'
Emma said the business has grown mainly through word of mouth and repeat custom, rather than advertising.
She said: 'We do birthday cakes for the same child year on year which is so lovely.
'We've got loads of regulars. I'd say we're mostly word of mouth and recommendation. We don't pay for advertising or anything like that.'
Children's cake (Image: Tipsy Bakery)
She says the support of the local community and other businesses on the high street has helped the bakery settle in.
Emma said: 'We're all friends with all the local businesses up and down the High Street. It's a really nice community to work with.'
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