Potions

I've never made a secret of the fact that I am not the world's best cook. Meals are OK, but when people start talking jams, chutneys and cakes, I am slightly out of my depth. So it was, quite truthfully, that I told a friend I wouldn't know where to start with a Christmas cake. He was surprised because it was, in his words, "Fairly straightforward". It wasn't meant, or taken, as a criticism, but it did make me decide to have a go.

I didn't tell anyone in advance. That way, if it had collapsed, exploded, erupted or incinerated no one need ever have known. At the last minute, I was forced to confide in one friend as I sent a panic text to ask "Which shelf?" Surprisingly, it turned out reasonable enough. My eldest son certainly enjoyed it anyway. It disappeared at a rate of knots.

Since then, I have started to enjoy making soups, but had not ventured into the world of cakes again until today. The 'Which shelf?' friend gave me a cake recipe book for Christmas and I thought it was about time I had a go. List in hand, I scoured Sainsbury's for the ingredients (Fairtrade wherever possible), brought it all home and set to.

It's the bit in the oven that worries me. The weighing and mixing, chopping and beating are fun. Before the hot bit, it always looks great; a sticky, sugary mass of delicious (if slightly sickly) goo. And then it all gets serious, the oven takes over and I begin to worry what's going to go wrong.

On this occasion, fortunately, nothing too drastic. It's a tad dry, but it's my first ever ginger cake and, all things considered, I think it tastes all right.