Our Story
Cakeoholic (cake-o-holic)
Someone who really enjoys eating cake 🍰
Hello, my name is Ella Rauen-Prestes and I’m a proud cakeoholic. If you love cake too then we’re going to get on very well indeed!
Although Brazilian-born and raised, I spent 20 years working in the telecom industry all over the world. I loved moving around in various companies while also trying out lots of decadent desserts in different time zones, and was thrilled to finally settle into my UK role. One of the most exciting things I found is that you have entire supermarket aisles dedicated to cake, so I was immediately in heaven!
I’d always had lots of cakeoholic friends abroad and was ready to build a new network of pals who were as passionate about puds as I am. So you can imagine my surprise and horror when I realised that you lovely Brits have a very awkward relationship with cake! My friends would say things like:
🚫I want to eat cake but they have so much sugar…
⚖ I don’t let myself eat cake because of the calories…
❓ It tastes nice but I don’t recognise half of the ingredients used…
🍰 I love cake but can’t stop at one slice…
This was a massive culture shock to me as back in Brazil, healthy substitutes were the norm – you’d always find stevia in the sugar pot or have a glass of coconut water instead of squash – so I grew up learning how to make healthier versions of all the foods we loved to eat.
There was no way I was settling for a life that didn’t involve enjoying cake and coffee with the girls, so I rolled up my sleeves to find an answer to the problem. I used my husband’s leftover whey protein mixed with other bits in my cupboard to bake my own low sugar, high protein, lower calorie cake bites and mini muffins.
They were an instant hit; my friends, neighbours and gym buddies were amazed that cakes and brownies made with natural ingredients could be so low in sugar and calories and still taste so good. Bite-sized pieces also meant they could easily eat as much or as little as they liked. Boom - the guilt factor was gone but desserts and long-lasting friendships were back on the menu for both of us. 😉
Now that I'd converted my friends into happy cakeoholics like me, I launched Fitbakes in February 2017 with a basic website I’d made myself and a couple of social media accounts. The next year passed in a flurry of working in my corporate job during the day, and in my kitchen nights and weekends, baking hundreds of batches of cakes and muffins. I’d rush off to the Post Office in my lunch hour each day just to keep on top of demand as the orders poured in. In February 2018, I decided it was time to turn this sweet side hustle into my new full-time career.
The buzz around Fitbakes’ low sugar, high protein goodies just keeps on growing thanks to loyal customers like you, 25k+ Instagram followers and our Fit Ambassadors. We’re proudly certified as the first Low Sugar Bakery in the UK through Sugarwise, (an honour that was announced in the Houses of Parliament, whoop whoop), we are winners of a ‘Best of Health Award 2018’ and, have been featured in some of our favourite magazines like Women’s Health, Healthy Food Guide and Weight Watchers.
We’re also delighted to have attracted celebrity and high profile fans including Dr Zoe Williams (resident doctor on ITV’s This Morning), Francesca Bolt (evidence-based nutritionist at No Nonsense Nutrition) and Fiona Dawson (WW Ambassador and recipe creator) among many others.
Fitbakes is on a mission to keep expanding our delicious low sugar, high protein and reduced calorie range, so tell us which flavour of cake, muffin, brownie or fudge you’d like to see us serve up next!
