Birthday Baking

Well, G is now another year older and one tiny baby step away from the big 3-0. (We don’t talk about it. The idea of it stresses him out!)

His Mum and Brother came to stay with us for a few days and do London related things. I believe they went to Hampton Court one day although I have seen no photographic evidence of that trip yet.

I also seem to have made a rod for my own back in the baking of cake for birthdays, I think this is a tradition that I could well do without. I was wanting to make Nigella’s chocolate birthday cake but the idea of having to come home from work and play with melting chocolate in a bowl over a boiling saucepan somehow didn’t really appeal. So instead we went for the old school favourite of a chocolate Victoria sponge with buttercream icing.

It came out a little flat. It didn’t rise quite as much as I would have liked but it was still delicious. Although H and G couldn’t quite decide which way it was better, cooked or straight of the bowl!

Oh! One more thing, I made a new friend.

This beautiful creature came and rubbed and purred and stroked one afternoon. I had to lock myself indoors eventually before I stole him away from his proper family.