Feeling quite smug today as I’ve actually done the sensible thing for a change, and snapped up Delia’s christmas cake kit early from Waitrose, before its nationwide sell-out.
In fact, my smugness levels are at risk of reaching previously unknown heights, as TL actually made the cake yesterday with his little ones. My goodness, Delia is good. If you can produce a perfect Christmas cake with a four year old, a six year old and a 40-something-year-old with limited previous baking experience, then it’s pretty damn near foolproof. A good time was had by all, and I arrived just in time for the best bit – stirring the mixture and making a wish.
There was a last-minute crisis when we realised there was no string to tie on the newspaper bands which protect the cake on its epic four-hour voyage to perfection in the oven. Luckily, some black thread from the needlework basket worked just as well. And a few crumbs were dislodged from the sides when the greaseproof paper was pried off the cake when it had cooled down. But that’s not a bad thing. That’s how I know it’s perfect.
According to the paper today, 56 tons of fruit have already been sold in Delia’s cake kits and people are still clamouring for more. And it’s Stir-up Sunday this weekend – though of course we have beaten that deadline nicely already. But if you haven’t, then sharpen your elbows and get down to the shops. I’ll just stay here and admire our beautiful cake some more.