Happy New Year

Happy New Year everybody. With Oliver's last day home yesterday i decided we were going to have a joint effort at making cakes. Something we haven't done very much since Martha was born as she is allergic to eggs and putting her finger in the mixture would just not be a good thing. So having been given a recipe for egg free sponge cake off we went.

Martha had no idea what was happening and spent the first ten minutes banging the cake tins together and then decided that she would just spoon anything she saw into the tin. Oliver as ever was diligently eating the mixture. I didn't take a photo of the finished product as Andrew thought it the best cake ever and ate it.............all

Martha didn't even try it. The thing with avoiding foods is that when you try and give them something that looks like the very thing you have been pulling them away from, their instinct is not too eat it. hey ho Oliver had fun which was the point of the exercise. (yes i know my kitchen looks awful it is on our to do list for 2008 and i cant wait)

So off he went to school today after suffering with ear ache last night, upset that the snow i had spoken about, failed to materialise.

Anyway for all of you out there who also have to cook for children with allergies here is the recipe. the cake tastes amazing

120g marg

12og Caster sugar

1 tbsp golden syrup

240g self raising flour

150ml milk

(if also intolerant to milk use milk subsititutes for marg and milk)

Preheat oven to 190 C or gas mark 5

Grease and line two 7" inch cake tins

Cream marg, sugar and syrup together and then slowly stir in milk. Add flour and beat until this forms a batter and divide between the tins

Bake for 25-30 mins. Turn onto wire tray and cool

Or bung all ingedients into a mixer and press start