Coffee morning

Every year, all over the country, MacMillan cancer charity holds the "world's biggest coffee morning".  Cancer is something that has touched our family so the coffee morning is always something I try to get involved with - if not baking a cake, then certainly eating it.   As we all know, cake eating for charity is calory-free after all!  

I have made my victoria sponge cake for work a number of times now and it always seems to go down well, so, as it's easy and I don't really have to think about it, I decided to make another.   I always used to make mine with strawberry jam and with cream just in the middle - the traditional way - but Andy suggested back in the summer that real strawberries, sliced, might be a nice alternative.  I hate that he's always right!  And I can't be bothered to fanny about whipping up a tiny amount of cream for the middle, so I go the whole hog and do the top as well! 

I love that, whatever I do in my kitchen, Nigella is always watching over me - like my own cooking guardian angel!

I usually like to put extra fruit on the top, whatever is in season.  My summer ones were all topped with cherries and blueberries, as well as strawberries.  Unfortunately, due to an administrative error - I had gone to Lakeland to buy some moulds to make chocolate hearts and buttons for the top, but had, stupidly, not taken my Lakeland vouchers with me - so frustrating - that I ended up using two chocolate Flakes for the top.  The more eagle eyed will notice there are actually three chocolate Flakes nestled amongst my ingredients, but I seemed to have misplaced one while waiting for the cakes to bake! 

So easy, and yet so effective.  The ratio of gratitude from others to the work you actually put in with cakes is fab - for very little effort at all, you can earn no end of brownie points.  I'm all for that!