Goodnight, sweet treats: cult bakery Beatrix Bakes calls last cakes

“This is it – it’s the last cake time”: Natalie Paull, owner of cult North Melbourne bakery Beatrix Bakes, called last cakes on Saturday, as hundreds of her loyal customers queued outside.

First in line was Belinda Allen, who had travelled almost an hour and a half from Eynesbury, a country town west of Melbourne, arriving at 6.30am to secure a final slice of blackberry crumble cheesecake.

Beatrix Bakes owner Natalie Paull with customers Arielle and Andrea Kwon.Credit: Justin McManus

It was the fifth time she had made the journey since last month, when Paull announced the closure of the bakery.

“They are the most beautiful cakes I’ve ever had, but they’re more than just cakes,” Allen said. “It’s for the memories.”

Beatrix’s passionfruit chiffon reminds Allen of her baby shower, while the cheesecakes evoke memories of catching up with friends outside the beloved bakery.

Allen has even stockpiled slices in her freezer to prolong that final bite.

Crystal Hilgemann and Belinda Allen with their last cakes.Credit: Justin McManus

Her friend, Maree Chintock, said she had bought Beatrix cakes to celebrate milestones and promotions and to commemorate deaths and job losses.

“It’s the emotions and the memories that the cakes bring back,” she said “It’s not just a sugar fix.”

For second in line Andrea Kwon, it’s the pistachio and lemon cake, coated with thick buttercream icing, that holds a place in her heart.

“That’s the cake that my now husband got for me before we started dating,” she said. “That’s when I realised he liked me.”

Hundreds queued to snare one of the final 1300 slices of cake at Beatrix Bakes on Saturday morning.Credit: Justin McManus

Kwon was told the cake was off the menu while waiting in line, but she was later moved to tears when a slice was produced for her. “I did something magical,” Paull told her.

“I’m going to sit down and cry and cherish this cake,” Kwon said through tears and laughter.

But there is no special memory for her sister, Arielle Kwon. “I just like the cake,” she said.

News of the bakery’s closure sparked long queues over the past month.

A loyal Beatrix Bakes customer waits in comfort on Saturday morning.Credit: Justin McManus

The line to devour one of the final 1300 slices of cake on Saturday morning snaked all the way down Queensberry Street and around the corner onto Dryburgh Street.

A limit of eight slices per person was set to ensure most cake fanatics wouldn’t walk away empty-handed.

The final menu included blueberry coconut shag, red velvet cake with white chocolate cream cheese and butter cream icing, rhubarb and cinnamon crumble with custard, and vanilla slice with passionfruit glaze.

Paull said she felt overwhelmed by the support for her shop, which opened in 2011.

Paull was overwhelmed by the response to her bakery closing. Credit: Justine McManus

“I’m just so proud of it. It’s an honour to have baked for everyone,” she said. “I feel so sad that this part of it is ending, [but] I feel excited about the next steps for me.”

Those next steps include selling whole cakes online, finishing a follow-up cookbook to her first – also called Beatrix Bakes – and running baking workshops.

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