Bolos que são obras de arte Cakes that are works of art

My name is Keika Mateus. I am from São Tomé and Príncipe, and my passion for baking began when I was a child in São Tomé.

By the age of 10, I was already making my own birthday cakes. Electricity was not always available and, whenever it was unavailable, I found a solution: I baked over charcoal, on a wood fire, or looked for a neighbour who had electricity. Without realising it, I was already learning that difficulties can change our path, but they do not have to determine our destiny.

At 15, I moved to Portugal, where I studied, worked and built my family. In 2011, when my first child was born, my passion for cakes came back to life. I wanted to make his first birthday cake and, although I did not have the means to complete a full training course, I attended a workshop and continued learning and practising.

Then came cakes for family and friends, and eventually my first cake sale. Every creation, even the imperfect ones, represented another step forward.

In 2019, I moved to London with my family and continued developing my passion, making cakes and investing in online courses.

In October 2025, I took a step that marked an important moment in my journey: I travelled to France to take an intensive training course with Carla Love Cake. That experience made me realise that, despite all the pauses and difficulties along the way, I had never truly given up on this dream.

That was when I decided to turn my passion into a life project.

And so L’Arte KM Cake was born. “Arte” represents the creativity, beauty and innovation that I want to bring to every creation, while “KM” represents my initials, Keika Mateus.

Today, I continue to learn, grow and dream. Because that little girl who baked cakes over charcoal in São Tomé is still inside me — only now, she knows where she wants to go.

L’Arte KM Cake — more than cakes, a way of turning dreams into art.