"We're sending rum cake from our Heeley kitchen to customers all over the country"

"Rum cake is very traditional in our culture, and we usually have it at Christmas, and for weddings and birthdays.

"We also give it as gifts to family and friends, as this cake does take some time to bake, so it’s something very special if you receive one.”

It was during lockdown, back in March, that Angelina and her husband, Gary, decided to try selling the cake, packaging it up and offering it online by the slice.

"There was nowhere we knew of that you could buy a slice of traditional Caribbean rum cake if you fancied it, so people tended to wait for a special occasion and get or make a whole cake,” says Angelina, aged 43.

"We’ve never met anybody who doesn’t like this cake, so I began baking in our kitchen, and my husband Gary designed the packaging, and we pushed it out it online on May 28.”

The couple say they were stunned by the response. Within the first month, their company – Olga & Asquith Products Ltd – had orders for 600 slices of Jasmine’s Jamaican Rum Cake from all across the UK.

“It’s wonderful how people have embraced it,” says Angelina, who reveals the pair had been toying with the idea of launching the business for a year, but that lockdown gave them the opportunity to put thought into action.

"We’ve both worked throughout lockdown – myself in admin for a haulage firm, and Gary as a postman.

"We had two boys at home too, but of course with no school and no activities, we all had time on our hands, and this gave us a fantastic positive focus.

"Now that people are not going to the shops so much, and doing more online shopping, it was the ideal time.

“Due to Covid, people are concerned about their food being handled, so a slice of cake all packaged up has been really appealing.”

The modern day twist on a traditional Caribbean rum cake has been bought as gifts for Zoom parties, and has been served at small events throughout the summer – such as weddings and funerals.

The couple has also partnered up with a woman in London who buys the cakes to feature in her hampers, which she sells online.

So far, Angelina and Gary have shipped cakes – whole, and by the slice – all over the country, but are still trying to figure out how to package them to send abroad.

"We’ve had interest from customers in America, Belgium and Austria, but we haven’t quite figured out yet how to send them overseas from our Heeley kitchen!”And Angelina reveals even the name – of the company and the cake itself – are rooted in family history.

"We wanted to honour our elder generation, from Jamaica, so we chose the name Olga, which was my grandmother, and Asquith, which was Gary’s dad’s middle name," says Angelina.

“The cake itself it named Jasmine, which is the name we would have given our daughter if we’d had one.

"It feels so good to be keeping all of these traditions and family history going.”

Visit Olga & Asquith’s website for details.