By Katie Pearson

A mum who dreamed of becoming a florist as a child quit her “boring” office job to make floral arrangements...out of cake.

Shauna Cook, from Sittingbourne, started her business Mrs Cook’s Bouqcakes after discovering she had a hidden talent for making hyper-realistic bouquets.

The mum of three said: “I call myself a cake florist. I realised I had a knack for baking after making my kids’ birthday cakes.

“I watched a couple of YouTube videos about making flowers out of buttercream, but I just knew what I was doing and picked it up immediately.

“I never thought I’d make my passion into a full-time business.

“This is the happiest I’ve ever been – I’ve found what I was meant to do.”

Shauna says she always loved nature and dreamed of becoming a florist in her teens.

However, she fell into a “mundane office job” after leaving school and worked in the billing department for a shipping company.

"I never wanted perfume or chocolates – I always wanted flowers,” the 33-year-old added.

“But adult life got in the way and I fell into a boring job in an office.

“It paid fine but I was never fulfilled."

Shauna fell pregnant in June 2015 with her first son, Alfie, and decided to hand in her notice while on maternity leave the following year.

She did a few temporary jobs but found a "natural talent" for baking while making a zoo animal-themed cake for his first birthday.

Shauna also continued baking for her other children – five-year-old Noah, and Harry, 19 months.

"I remember making this elaborate cake and thinking it looked quite professional,'' she said.

"I realised I had this natural skill for baking, and I loved doing it."

After seeing some flower cakes on Instagram in March last year, she had a go at making them herself.

Two months later, Shauna set up her own business.

She said: "I watched a couple of videos on YouTube, but I didn't really need to.

“I just knew what nozzles to use, and how to create the right colours out of buttercream.

“I had a lightbulb moment and decided to go for it, and start my own business. I had no idea how popular it would be."

The orders started to come in and she has seen the business boom over the months.

Shauna's edible bouquets are made up of cupcakes and buttercream flowers – including roses, tulips, carnations and lilies.

The smallest arrangement costs £15 for three cupcakes and goes up to £75 for 19 cakes.

Prices also vary depending on the design and choice of flowers.

"A bouquet can take anywhere between three to four hours to complete," she said.

"The time flies – I find it so therapeutic.

"It can be up and down. Some weeks I make £60, but over Christmas I made £400 in one day."

Shauna added: “I get so many orders through Facebook – I was quickly booked up for Valentine's Day and Mother's Day.

“Each day I go from strength to strength.

“I’m very excited to see where the business will grow from here.”