Mr Latte's Birthday Cake

Dear Cathy

I write on the occasion of Mr Latte's 45th birthday. We are knee deep in beautiful white snow, and the birthday boy is about to take the children out sledging. In my opinion he ought to have gone first thing this morning rather than wait until three o'clock in the afternoon when the light is fading, and frankly, so are the children, but what do I know?

For the birthday cake, I took a tip from a friend of mine who is relatively new to baking. She said she had it on good authority that the following was a fool-proof method of producing a fabulously impressive cake every time:

Take three duck eggs (which as I'm sure you know are huge) and weigh them. Whatever, they weigh, add the same of flour, sugar & fat, and slap in the largest cake tin you possess for an amazingly well-risen, moist and delicious cake, which cuts easily into two halves and can then be sandwiched back together with a filling of your choice. Now, as a rule, Cathy, I never use this crude 'cutting in half' method, favouring instead the rather more elegant option of baking two separate cakes in sandwich tins, designed for that very purpose, but I thought 'who dares wins'.

My duck eggs weighed seven and a quarter ounces without the shells, so I added the same of self-raising flour/cocoa, sugar and fat (with a teaspoon on baking powder for good luck). The mixture looked a little stiff to me but I popped it in a deep round nine inch tin (the one I use for my christmas cake) and popped it in the oven at gas mark 4. Twenty minutes later I could smell burning. I checked the cake but it was still wobbly in the middle, so I had no choice but to leave it in the oven. When it came out, it was not particularly well-risen and the sides were burned. I cut them off, covered it with chocolate and put it in the pantry.

At lunch time the cake was brought out and I think it's fair to say that every member of the family was under-whelmed. I think it will do as a pudding if we warm it in the microwave and dump some ice-cream on it. Not sure whether to try again as my novice baker friend says she has produced three amazing cakes using this method. Where did I go wrong? Can I blame the oven - again? My friend baked hers in a Rayburn and she said it took an hour and twenty minutes! Perhaps you could try and let me know how you get on.

Much love, Lucy x

PS I have never wilted spinach in my life! I am rather partial to a slice of Spanakopita but I've never made it myself. x

Jasminder's Chicken Pie

Hello, Lucy!
Thank you for such a lovely day; I can't tell you how joyous it was to be in the (very ample) bosom of your home! All of us had such a wonderful time, which is testament to your skills as a hostess and your warmth as a person. Be assured, we shall take you up on your open invitation whenever time allows. I have to say that the Cappuccino cake was indeed delicious - one of the Chino children has very simple tastes and he could have eaten thirds! Have you thought of letting MB know of your alterations, I'm sure she wouldn't mind...?
If you should ever venture north, then I may well rustle-up another of Jasminder's Chicken pies. I did this last week, fortunately on the very evening when we had an uninvited unexpected guest to tea: the eldest Chino child brought a friend home after school and there was plenty of pie to satisfy us all. Like you, I made some adjustments to the recipe - Mr Chino only eats 'green things' if they are round and a variety of pea (petits pois, garden or marrowfat, he's not fussy which), therefore I had to omit the spinach; he has also, for some reason, taken against nutmeg, so I had to be careful not to add too much; I began to make the pie before I'd checked my pantry and found I was short on plain flour, so had to make up the measurements with plain wholemeal. Poor Jasminder, I fear I did not make the pie as she intended, and she looked so proud of it on Page 219...
Well, the nutmeg slipped in under the radar and I seemed to get away with it, as everyone cleared their plates. I had some wilted spinach on the side, although I so seldom cook it that I can't say I've perfected it yet; any suggestions?

So sorry to hear about the panto palaver - I do hope you weren't too heavily involved. It's unfortunate in such small communities when people get precious about these things, there's little chance of avoiding the fallout. But at least you do all get involved, our local secondary school has to keep cancelling events due to lack of support; to quiz or not to quiz, that is the question.

Today I am enjoying the tranquility of an empty house as Mr Chino has taken the boys out for the day. I have tackled some of the ironing, walked the dog in local woodland, read a few chapters of "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" and written to you. I can't decide whether to bake a cake today or wait until tomorrow when I get my copy of MB's "Simple Cakes". Happy Mother's Day!

Much love, Cathy x