The recipes are aim to be as low carb as possible too so they are all grain and gluten free – (except for one rogue cake that slipped in!).
Jan 29, 2026
We’re showing off some gorgeous Cakespirit aprons this week, given to me by my generous sister in law Cheryl. She’s recently discovered the recipe website and ventured into low carb cake baking for the first time.
It felt a good point to pause and celebrate more than 8 years of researching, baking and sharing Cakespirit’s low carb, minimal sugar cake and dessert recipes.
James – The Man Behind the Cake
Firstly, let me introduce my husband and Chief Cake Taster James, the star behind the Cakespirit scenes. He designed and built the Cakespirit website 8 years ago, including the site’s logo featured on the pinnies. He also took the gorgeous photos that populate the website’s pages and many of of the recipe photos in the early days, until I got the hang of taking food photographs myself.
How Cakespirit began
When I was diagnosed with diabetes 10 years ago, I figured I’d have to go cold turkey cake-wise from that day onwards. I didn’t relish having to make do with a measly spoonful of friend’s pudding now and then for the rest of my days, so I decided to go without.
Fast forward 6 months, all that changed. I stumbled upon a workshop on low glycaemic sweeteners run as part of Bristol Health Week. It was led by raw food chef Anna Middleton and her nutritionist colleague Rhaya Jordan. They showed me that it was still possible within the constraints of a diabetic-friendly diet to enjoy a delicious sweet treat now and then, without doing my health any damage.
Uncovering a world of healthier cake
Realising there were healthy alternative sources of sweetness to sugar was a great start and inspiration, but it wasn’t the only challenge to overcome. To maintain healthy blood sugar levels, I also needed to eliminate commonly used starches from my diet, such as wheat, oats and other grains. In the world of cake, this meant experimenting with low starch alternatives to wheat flour, such as nut flours, coconut flour and vegetables. (Yes! You read that right - vegetables!)
Some of my earliest attempts to replicate my favourite cakes and desserts tasted pretty weird and unappetising. A few even ended up in the bin. But once I started to get the hang of it, I found I was making some pretty damned delicious sweet food. Arguably better, in some cases, that the sweet food I’d had to give up. I began to want to share what I’d learnt, to spread some good news and to save others going through disheartening low carb baking disasters like me.
Cue James......He offered to build me a website to share my recipes and the rest they say is cake history…..
Why I think Cakespirit matters
Following a low carb, minimal sugar diet goes very much against the mainstream diet everyone else is eating. (Even though the mainstream diet is largely responsible for increasing numbers of people with chronic disease). And unlike other common dietary requirements we’re familiar with these days, it’s still not catered for in the wider world. This makes a sugarfree/low carb diet feel a bit lonely at times. And quite a challenge, particularly at the start, before learning how to replace much loved food with appealing sugar free, low carb alternatives.
It helps a lot to be able to exchange good alternative recipes with others on the same path. It’s also important to know that it’s still possible to indulge in scrumptious treats sometimes without having to throw the low carb/low sugar diet out of the window.
Here's to the next 8 years. And thanks for the pinnies Cheryl! x
