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Queen of the Screen

Meghan Markle Got a Gorgeous, Meaningful Cake as a Birthday Surprise

By Katherine J Igoe

Aug 8, 2019

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In an exclusive to HELLO!, we know now that Meghan Markle got a special, handcrafted cake from Luminary Bakery.

It's the same bakery she highlighted in British Vogue for their work helping disadvantaged women in London.

Meghan just celebrated her birthday in a quiet, low-key way, but this must have been a special and meaningful part of the celebration.

Oooo I love this. In an exclusive to HELLO!, it was revealed that Luminary Bakery supplied Meghan Markle with a very special, handcrafted cake to celebrate her recent birthday. Their work is gooorgeous (more on that in a sec), and it's not the first time the Duchess of Sussex has been involved with them and their work. Apparently, this is "the very same bakery that the Duchess praised in her recent guest-edited issue of [British] Vogue."

The east London bakery is a trailblazing venture that not only serves up some of the best cakes in the capital, but is also on a mission to empower some of London’s most vulnerable women by lifting them out of poverty and violence. The social enterprise gets disadvantaged women in London back on their feet, offering them employment opportunities and invaluable culinary skills—all in the name of damn good cakes.

Meghan even sent them a thank you note for being part of the Vogue project when the issue came out:

View this post on Instagram

“When I knew I would be secretly guest editing the September issue of @britishvogue, including Luminary Bakery was a non-negotiable. The work you do, what you represent to the community, the spirit of the women there- you all embody what it means to be “forces for change”. Thank you for being a part of this special project.” — HRH The Duchess of Sussex @SussexRoyal⠀ ⠀ #ForcesForChange #BritishVogue #BritishVogueSeptemberIssue #DuchessofSussex #MeganMarkle #EmpoweringWomen #LuminaryBakery

A post shared by Luminary Bakery (@luminarybakery) on Aug 1, 2019 at 11:35am PDT

And here's what the cake itself looked like:

Thanks so much to Alice Williams and the awesome team at @LuminaryBakery in London for letting us join them last weekend as they created Duchess Meghan’s beautiful carrot birthday cake🎂 @GMA story on the bakery and their incredible work here: https://t.co/1l9Uhww1rr pic.twitter.com/TVvtZhybEx
— Omid Scobie (@scobie) August 9, 2019

Here are a few pictures of the bakery's incredible work:

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Are you our next #luminarywonderfulwomanwednesday day? Maybe?! Because we are on the lookout for a new HEAD BAKER and this could not be a more exciting time to be a part of the team here at Luminary Bakery! With the expansion of our employability training course, our wonderful current head baker (@its_rachel_s ) is transitioning to full-time baker trainer, meaning we are looking for someone to take the reins of our growing bakery team. This person will have had experience in a professional kitchen and is ready to take on the challenging and fulfilling journey of a growing social enterprise bakery. With the upcoming launch of our second bakery later this year this is a great opportunity for someone who’s looking to take their baking career to the next level and empower women while they’re at it! ⠀ ⠀ #purchasewithpurpose #socialenterprise #socent #empoweringwomen #luminarybakery #bakersofinstagram #eastlondon #eastlondonbaker #londonfood #londonbaker #bakingjob

A post shared by Luminary Bakery (@luminarybakery) on Aug 7, 2019 at 8:53am PDT

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Victoria Sponge: classic, elegant, beautiful and always a crowd pleaser! Head to the cake shop to grab one for your summer soiree! ❤️ 🍓 🍰 🎉 ⠀ ⠀ #purchasewithpurpose #socialenterprise #socent #empoweringwomen #luminarybakery #bakersofinstagram #eastlondon #eastlondonbaker #londonfood #londonbaker #bakinglove #storyofmytable #vscocook #vscobake #foodphotography #onthetable #deliciousfood #buzzfeedfood #huffpostfood #buzzfeast

A post shared by Luminary Bakery (@luminarybakery) on Aug 6, 2019 at 9:10am PDT

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Friday was “Z”, our incredible apprentice’s, last day working in the bakery. She is equal parts dedication and passion, mastering any challenge we put before her! She has excelled at cake decorating— not only in terms of style (see her beauty in the photo), but speed— she is so darn fast (but always stays meticulous)! She has been a total gift to the kitchen, but we cannot wait to see all that she does next! She is looking to set up her own business, focusing on some traditional Albanian pastries (if you’ve been to our cafe, you may have had her delicious Byrek) and fingers crossed, more cake!! We will keep you updated, but for now, join us in cheering her on & job well done 👏🎉 ⠀ ⠀ #purchasewithpurpose #socialenterprise #socent #empoweringwomen #luminarybakery #bakersofinstagram #eastlondon #eastlondonbaker #londonfood #londonbaker #bakinglove #storyofmytable #vscocook #vscobake #foodphotography #onthetable #deliciousfood #buzzfeedfood #huffpostfood #buzzfeast #luminarywedding #weddingcake #tieredcake #bossbabe #wonderwoman

A post shared by Luminary Bakery (@luminarybakery) on Jun 24, 2019 at 8:41am PDT

Ugh, why can't there be a branch of this bakery in the United States? I would buy one immediately and my birthday isn't for another (does a quick mental calculation) 10 months!

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