A woman from Colombia has fulfilled her dream of opening a cake shop and has done so in Hoylake after finding the love of her life. Laura Alejandra, 31, met her husband Sam Johnson whilst they were both working in Gran Canaria and has now relocated to his Wirral hometown where she has opened the most incredible bakery!
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Laura opened Abba Cakes on Market Street in November 2022, baking and selling artisan delights such as brownies and lemon drizzle cakes and also creating stunning celebration cakes for special occasions. Now approaching the shop’s 1st birthday, she has provided in the region of over 700 bespoke cakes for birthdays, weddings, anniversaries and more.
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Laura’s beautiful creations from her quaint little shop have gone down a storm in Wirral, fulfilling her childhood dream. Laura was raised in Tolima, Colombia, and as a small child she would watch her father and grandmother bake cakes — cracking the eggs for them and praying for them to come out of the oven.
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Laura explained: “It’s funny when you look back at your childhood and see how life moulded you. Some of my happiest moments were getting involved in cake making with my father and grandmother, and then my mother taught me everything about hard work and business, so it put me on this path from an early age.”
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She continued: “My father opened a bakery shop and after my 10 hour day at school I’d go there to learn from Teo — an amazing man who created incredible cakes! After school I went to national college to study cookery and worked through the night baking food that I’d sell to the university and other businesses, before going to Hecansa Culinary School in Las Palmas — and that’s when my life changed forever!”
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Whilst studying in Gran Canaria, Laura met Sam Johnson at the international church, where they were volunteers working with the youth. Initially unable to speak each others’ languages, they used Google Translate to communicate but soon fell head over heels with each other and the rest, as they say, is history.
Laura explained: “We completely fell for each other and soon Sam asked my father for his blessing to marry me. We had a beautiful bi-lingual wedding in Gran Canaria and our families met each other for the first time. When Sam had to return to the UK we spent most of our savings to get me a Visa to follow him — however that turned into a nightmare.”
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Laura ended up having to wait for months for her Visa to be approved, putting her new life in Wirral on hold and leaving her in limbo in Spain with lots of worries. She pined for her new husband until finally she arrived at Manchester Airport on Christmas Eve 2019 — to the biggest hug from the love of her life.
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Laura explained: “That moment at the airport was one I will never forget and our hug was the biggest we’d ever had. I was so happy to be in the UK with my love and settle in but then of course lockdowns started just a few months later, so my integration into the UK was not easy.”
She continued: “As soon as I could get out socialising I learnt how kind the people are here. Members from our church donated us furniture for our new home and I was welcomed by all the locals. I got a job working at a local coffee shop and there I got to meet so many wonderful local people.”
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Laura perfected the English language, did a Masters in Developing Businesses and began to engage in outreach work helping refugees and working with Street Safe to support prostitutes — all whilst working in the coffee shop. Then, in November 2022, her childhood dream became true when a small commercial unit became available on Market Street.
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Laura said: “We didn’t have much money but we were able to get a small loan from my parents and members from our church helped us. Our friends Andy, Ben, Craig and others all gave their time for free to help refurbish the shop and I can honestly say that the people here are the kindest I’ve ever met anywhere. I recruited two amazing girls and patisserie chefs, Nicky and Cay, and we became busy straight away.”
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Abba Cakes by Laura Alejandra certainly stands out with its bright pint floral exterior but it’s the delightful floral style cakes that have led to such overwhelming success in the first year. Laura has received countless cards from happy customers, with many 5 star reviews and brides even breaking down in tears due to the beauty of their wedding cakes.
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Laura explained: “I have always loved feeding people — it’s my love language — but what I love the most is bringing smiles to people’s faces, memorable moments through my creations. Through Abba Cakes I aim to bring bright colours to people’s day and if I can to their lives.“
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Laura summarised: “Ever since I was a little child watching my father and grandmother bake and watching Teo in the bakery, I dreamt of having my own cake shop. I had no idea it would be in a little seaside town in the UK though! It’s crazy how God takes you down a certain road. It was tough at first but I am so happy here in Hoylake! This is my home now.”
She continued: “The feedback from people for the cakes has been so amazing and it makes me so happy to make special memories for them. The girls and I put so much love into each of them and whether you’re having one of our little daily delights as a treat or a bespoke masterpiece for your special occasion, we put our hearts and souls into every one.”
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Abba Cakes in located in the heart of Hoylake at 42a Market Street and sells daily, freshly baked delights such as brownies, special signature cakes, lemon drizzle. Laura combines the flavours of Colombia, Spain and the UK and also creates beautiful, floral bespoke celebration cakes. The cake shop online has a 3 day turnaround on celebration cakes and can sometimes offer same day turnaround for last minute requests.
Abba Cakes / 42a Market Street, Hoylake, Wirral, CH47 2AF / 07928 793556
TO ENQUIRE ABOUT A BESPOKE CELEBRATION CAKE & BROWSE THE ONLINE SHOP VISIT THE WEBSITE!
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