HER marshmallows turned parents on the school run gooey at the knees but now this star baker is ready to share her sweet treats with a much wider audience.

Appleton mum Yamini Clarke launched Mallow Mia earlier this year from her home kitchen and after rave reviews has now got her sights set on getting her product in stores across Warrington.

But despite having a superior flavour to the average marshmallow, their creator admits she is still shy about calling them 'gourmet' just yet.

The 39-year-old said: "I feel big-headed saying gourmet.

"I prefer to just say hand-made with unique flavours.

"But it's been really nice getting such good feedback and hearing people use words like that."

The former Indian scarves and accessories trader, who quit her previous career to start a family, said she has been 'itching' to start her business after spotting a gap in the market and has been driven by her love of the pillow-soft candy and a passion for baking.

She added: "I've been wanting to do this for the past 18 months and got started once my son Ethan started school in September.

"I tried my recipes out at first on the school mums in the playground and they gave me the thumbs up and the business has taken off from there.

"I thought cupcakes were a done thing and I wouldn't be able to do it to that skill but if you get it right, marshmallows are pretty straight forward.

"I looked it up and there are not that many people doing the same thing currently with some as far as Cornwall and London."

The sweet-toothed chef added getting the 'liquid bit' was key to her success with a few of her early attempts seeping before creating popular flavours including the zingy lemon and ginger, Turkish delight fans' favourite rose and pistachio and children's favourite ultimate cookie crumble.

She added: "The first couple of recipes I tried included strawberry cheesecake and peanut butter which were not great but since then I have developed some best sellers which have been really popular.

"I have already been asked to make a chocolate orange one which is on my list for next year as well as giving the strawberry cheesecake recipe another try and a mango and cardamom flavour.

"Baking has always been a passion and I always wanted to do something like this and used to pretend when I was young to have my own cookery show.

"I've had some lovely messages with people telling me it's the best marshmallow they have tasted.

"It's an unbelievable feeling as my previous business I was selling things someone else had made whereas this is purely mine.

"When I started I was so nervous about negative comments but even people who told me they didn't like marshmallows ended up buying some once they had tasted it.

"Now my shelf-life test has come back as two weeks, I can't wait to start talking to stores and hope to talk to Waitrose by the end of next year."

For more, visit mallowmia.co.uk.