An Islander whose cake pop-up recently enjoyed sell-out success has opened up about how she turned her love of baking and Portuguese flavours into a home-based cake business while juggling a full-time job.

By merging together the flavours of Portuguese treats with English classic cake favourites, Diana Campanario’s Little Bolo by D has had sweet success after launching nearly a year ago.

Having recently enjoyed a sell-out St Helier pop-up in which 75 cupcakes, 21 slices of cake and 20 bolos de bolacha were all gone by 2pm, Little Bolo by D is returning back to the streets of St Helier for round two this Saturday.

Ahead of the next edition, Express sat down with baking brains behind the business to hear more behind Little Bolo by D’s journey to sweet victory this past year…

What inspired you to start Little Bolo by D?

The reason I started was all because of bolo de bolacha. My mum used to always make this cake for me, and I could never find anywhere in Jersey that made it like she did.

That’s basically why I started my baking business – I wanted to share that cake with everyone. I wanted to bring Portuguese cakes and make them more accessible because it can be quite niche.

Portuguese people might go to a Portuguese shop to buy these cakes, but sometimes English people or people from other cultures don’t really know what kind of cakes we make. I just wanted to make something for everyone.

What was it like turning baking from a hobby into a business? 

Honestly, there was a lot of paperwork! I didn’t realise how much paperwork could actually be behind baking.

I kept everything quite low-pressure at first, posting on social media as and when orders came in and making the cakes people wanted. But it was a huge learning curve.

I was trying to perfect my recipes, working on packaging and pricing, and realising how long things actually take. I’d think, “Oh, that’ll take five minutes,” when it would literally take four or five hours!

It’s all been a learning experience, really, and I’ve also had to learn to be consistent with social media.

Where does the name Little Bolo by D come from?

“Little” means small in English, while “bolo” means cake in Portuguese. I wanted to bring Portugal and England, or Jersey, together, so that’s how I created Little Bolo. The “D” comes from my nickname.

Why bring in Portuguese heritage into your baking? 

I wanted to share the flavours, traditions and warmth that Portugal has with everyone else. 

It’s not just bolo de bolacha. I make custom cakes for birthdays, children’s birthdays and other occasions, as well as cupcakes. 

I also try to bring Portuguese elements into more traditional cakes.

For example, my sponge isn’t the normal vanilla sponge you might be used to. I use pão de ló, which is basically a chiffon-style sponge made with lots of eggs, flour and sugar. It’s a traditional Portuguese sponge. 

So I might make a Victoria sponge using that sponge – it’s about bringing Portugal and a more traditional English cake together. 

What has been the most memorable reaction from a customer? 

The most memorable reactions are when people say, “This reminds me of home,” or “My mum makes it like this,” or “This reminds me of my grandma’s recipe.”

When people say things like that, honestly, it makes everything so worth it.

You held your first pop-up shop in August. How did that go?

Honestly, it was crazy! I did it at the beginning of August and I didn’t know what to expect because it was my first pop-up shop.

I made well over 200 cupcakes, and I was just so shocked. I couldn’t stop thinking, “Wow, people actually came to support the business.”

I was really excited, but I was also nervous because when it’s the first thing you’ve done, you don’t know if people are going to come or whether you’re going to sell everything. I was so scared I was going to have lots of leftovers.

You’re holding another pop-up on September 5. What can people expect?

The pop-up on September 5 will be at West Centre, which is where we held the last one. I’m hoping to be set up by around 10am. See below here menu for the pop-up, featuring some new editions…

What has been the biggest challenge of turning Little Bolo into a business?

I think learning to run a baking business has been the biggest challenge because it’s a lot more than just baking.

You have to think about pricing, administration, social media, packaging and cleaning. It’s so much more than just baking.

It’s also been a learning curve for me to understand my limits – not just saying yes to every order and then getting way over my head with everything.

I take on fewer orders now, but I like to make sure every cake is special and made to the best of my ability.

And what has been the most rewarding part?

I’d say it’s seeing people genuinely enjoying something I’ve made.

I love when customers come back again or recommend my business to someone else because it shows they trust my cakes and what I do.

It’s a lot of juggling because most of Little Bolo happens in the evenings or after work, so there are a lot of late nights.

Especially around Christmas, I made these biscuits called broas, which are a very traditional Portuguese Christmas biscuit. I thought they wouldn’t be as popular, but they were so, so popular that I honestly had my whole family and my fiancé helping me make them because it was just crazy!

I just wanted to say a huge thank you to my fiancé because he has helped me behind the scenes through every stressful bake and every late night.

He goes to all the pop-up shops and helps me with everything. He’s as much Little Bolo as I am.

What are your plans for the rest of the year?

I am hoping to do some Christmas markets, but I don’t know which ones yet. I’m just waiting for people to announce things.

There will definitely be something towards the end of the year, and if anything else comes up, I’ll put it all over my social media so people can follow and find out about it there.

If someone had told you a year ago that Little Bolo would be where it is today, what would you have said?

I think I would have just laughed and thought it was a joke!

I genuinely can’t believe how far it has come in such a short space of time.

If someone had told me I would have had a sold-out pop-up shop, I just wouldn’t have believed it. But I’m super proud of where it’s come and how it’s going.