If Nicola Currie looks familiar, well you’d be right. The hard-working mum has previously graced our pages with her delicious business, Nickytam’s Cakes N Bakes, where she was famed for creating Instagrammable cupcake bouquets.
Nicola, who lives in Daviot near Inverurie, was called upon to help celebrate many an occasion, before she decided to shut up shop after seven years of tasty tray bakes.
Having previously worked in retail management, you’d be forgiven for assuming that Nicola wanted to rejoin the corporate world once more.
But with every cupcake and every morsel of brownie, she was in fact baking her way to her ultimate dream.
Nicky T’s
Nicky T’s is a family run cafe based in Oldmeldrum, which has been doing a roaring trade for just over a year.
We caught up with Nicola and found out why her signature bakes paved the way to a dream career.
“We’ve been open since June last year, running my own cafe has always been a dream of mine,” said Nicola.
“I knew this location was just perfect, and of course I’ve loved baking since I was a child.
“My grandad used to make wedding cakes, I used to bake with him when I was little.
“He would have been so proud, I think he would have loved the cafe.”
Fun, friendly environment
Swapping baking at home for your very own premises was a big step forward, but it didn’t stop Nicola from pushing ahead with her vision.
“The main idea I had in my mind was for this place to become a hub, where people could come and chat,” she said.
“I wanted everyone to relax and enjoy, and of course have some tasty food.
“The vision was a fun, friendly environment.”
Food and drink options
Serving up breakfast and lunch, there’s certainly an impressive menu to choose from.
And if you’re worried about hungry school pupils queuing up from the nearby academy, well fear not.
“We run an independent takeaway which opens every day at 9am,” said Nicola.
“We wanted to welcome school children, but we didn’t want other diners to be disturbed.
“So this seemed like the perfect solution as it is self contained, you don’t need to come through the café to get to it.
“It’s not just school pupils who use the takeaway, we get plenty of people who pop in past from offices and we have a very similar menu to what’s in the cafe.”
Bad boy tray bakes
Alongside scrumptious paninis and classic jacket potatoes, Nicola has stayed true to traditional tray bakes, alongside some more interesting dishes.
“Baking is our number one thing and we have a reputation for our big bakes,” said Nicola.
“Our rocky roads are enormous and our strawberry tarts are also popular.
“We’ve also created the bronut, which is a brownie baked in a mold to look like a donut and then topped with sweet treats. They always fly out the door.
“The big bad boy is a massive rocky road with a double layer of chocolate followed by caramel.”
Team effort
With 11 members of staff in total, Nicola enjoys seeing them team put their heads together.
23-year-old Suzi Harper bakes up a storm in the kitchen, and Rachel Larsen is always on hand for support.
“The team is just fantastic,” said Nicola.
“I am definitely a feeder and I just love seeing people enjoying my bakes, and their reaction when they take that first mouthful.
“It’s so satisfying.”
The McNick shakes are also pretty popular, and consist of whippy ice cream with a delicious selection of sauces to choose from.
When it comes to the most popular savory dishes, it seems you can’t beat a decent panini.
“We always have daily specials, we have a minimum of two specials on our board of different fillings,” said Nicola.
“Fajita and Cajun chicken always go down well.
“Considering I opened up right in the middle of a pandemic, we have been very well supported.
“We’re now looking to grow the business and add things such as a delivery service and more celebration cakes alongside cupcake bouquets, which were always my specialty.
“We’d also like to do evening events such as cheese and wine nights or ladies night.
“We want to keep building on the business and keep it popular.”
A round of questions with Nicola Currie
What staples do you always have in your kitchen cupboards?
Flour and tomato sauce.
Tell us a secret for good baking?
Patience. Take your time and don’t ever rush it. Also be really careful with your measurements, it’s a science.
What three things would you take to a desert island?
My family, sun cream and some nice food for the barbecue.
If you had to serve a celebrity, who would it be and what would you dish out?
It would have to be someone funny, I love Peter Kay. I’d serve him one of our big bad boy tray bakes.
If you were a tray bake, what would you be and why?
I’d be something chocolate, like a brownie.
One of my long term talked about items is my brownies, for pure indulgence and because it is loved.
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