The Cake Artist from Karachi

Growing up in Karachi, a city in Pakistan with a population of 16 million people, Bakhtawar Sadique never dreamed that one day she would be living 6,500 kilometres away in Monksland, Athlone, and owning a custom cake-making business that is suitably called Bakeaholic.

“In Pakistani culture, the girls in the family learn to cook from a young age, so I knew how to bake. But to bake professionally was definitely not something that was ever on my radar. I’m a self-taught cake baker and spent countless hours experimenting in my kitchen and learned the craft through trial and error. My driving force was to make the best looking and best-tasting cakes for my friends and family, and never thought people would pay me to make cakes and buns!”

Karachi to Manchester

Bakhtawar was raised in a traditional Muslim household alongside her four sisters and brother. Her dad was in the Pakistan Army while her mother ran a successful clothing boutique. She had planned on using the business degree that she had earned, to get a good quality job in Pakistan.