Life is sweet for this Wolverhampton mother-daughter team

They love nothing more than having a giggle as they get creative with the icing at their award-winning shop Shuga Budz.

“We definitely enjoy having a laugh together. We spend a lot of time laughing and being daft but we are serious when we need to be,” says 27-year-old Amelia.

The pair, who will have been working together for 10 years in July, specialise in making impressive cakes for every type of celebration

Along with three other members of staff they complete, on average, 25 orders a week as well as baking batches of cupcakes and goodies for the shop.

They also enter their edible works of art in competitions such as the sugarcraft, cake decorating and baking show Cake International. These showstoppers can involve anything between 80 and 120 hours of work.

For two years in a row the shop has come runner-up in the Celebration Cake Business of the Year competition but they are hoping to go one better next time around.

The cake-makers, who live in Castlecroft, Wolverhampton, have also become known for their eye-catching window displays.

Last year, to celebrate the Queen’s 90th birthday, they made a showpiece featuring Her Majesty along with a faithful corgi, crowns and Union flag.

Debbie, aged 56, who taught herself using books, first began making cakes at home for friends and family almost 30 years ago but the time came when she realised her business was out-growing her kitchen.

“I was getting busier and busier and I knew I needed a shop. I found one in Tettenhall and Amelia, who was going to art school, joined me and never left,” she explains.

“I started doing it and I loved it. I knew this was what I wanted to do,” said Amelia, who is a mother herself to two-year-old Florence and 11-month-old Theo.

She says she had always been at her mother’s side when she worked at home lending a hand when she could.

“If she was piping I would use the piping bag to leave her messages on the worktop in icing or I would sit next to her and she would show me how to make little fruits and mice

“I have learned everything from her – she’s been my teacher,” explains Amelia.

They have since moved to their current premises in Bridgnorth Road, Compton, where they have been for three and a half years.

This enabled the pair, who both have a City & Guilds qualification in sugarcraft, to expand to take on more staff and open a cafe.

They do many birthday cakes such as fairy castle themes for young girls and jungle themes for boys. In the summer, their focus will turn to weddings. Debbie has also made cakes for Molineux as well as gold and back themed creations for Wolves fans.

Their skills are very much in demand. “We do a lot of cakes with figures on them and we do shaped cakes such as cars and bottles.

“We are busy and we getting more and more complex orders. I think people know what we can do now. We even have people coming in saying ‘I’ve got a challenge for you’,” says Amelia.

Their shop offers customers the chance to see some of the team’s extraordinary and award-winning creations, which are proudly on display in the café area.

“Everybody comes in and says ‘wow, there is so much to look at’, which is what we wanted,” says Debbie.

Working together is easy for Debbie and Amelia because they say they are always on the same page when it comes to having ideas for both cake decorations and how they should grow their business. They also rarely row but if they do they make peace quickly.

“We never really argue. There may be a few cross words but they are over in a flash. We also live together so we’re together 24/7 so we don’t want to argue,” says Debbie.

“I enjoy working with Amelia. We are very alike in lots of ways. We think the same way. If we’ve got a problem, we tend to come to the same conclusion about how to deal with it. Sometimes I will think about doing something and find Amelia has already done it,” she adds.

They never let minor disagreements get between them, says Amelia.

“We always hug it out if there are any cross words.

“We get each other and all of our ideas are similar for a how we approach everything and how we want the business to succeed. We have the same ambitions. We always make the big decisions together and that’s why we work well together.

“We are always laughing and we can be quite daft when we want to be! We enjoy each other’s company,” she adds.

They have also teamed up on projects, such as a 2ft high copy of the Taj Mahal, to make the most of their individual strengths.

“If Amelia is doing a wedding cake and it needs flowers then I make them and if it’s piping then she does that. It’s all about team work, It’s great working with Amelia, I wouldn’t have it any other way,” says Debbie.