I am reposting a blog post from January 2020 when we were engulfed in fire here in Australia.

They say confession is good for the soul. – so here goes. In the middle of this horrific bushfire season, how have I been managing to chill? Well it  is also holiday season here. When life gets too much, do I reach for the bottle, desperately curl myself into a yoga position or get out my essential oils, maybe sit on the beach?

You might be shocked to learn my guilty secret. How have I been spending my holiday?

Are you ready? (This is probably a bit sad.)


I have been watching cakes being iced. I LOVE watching icing being carefully coloured and put in individual glass bowls.

Let Them Eat Cake – French & Saunders

You know the kind. Those bowls which are supposed to be virtually  unbreakable. ( Ha have I got news for you.) I have almost forgotten what “proper” crockery feels like. We have tiled floors. My youngsters call it the Fall of Death.

We had used to have fights over cake mix. Mum had to make a line down the middle of the bowl, We would actually even sometimes manage to raid each other’s spoons.

Our children have continued this proud family tradition.

A set of Russian piping tips look like the answer to all the world’s issues to me, at the moment. (Waiting for the million Google ads to appear offering me icing nozzles,  icing turntables etc.)

Yes I have been caught by the hype. The only thing stopping me right now is the fact, I do not feel like baking cakes, at the height of an Australian Summer.

giphy.com

Anyway back to the point. There is something “deliciously” satisfying about watching icing, turning a plain sponge, into some mystical creation. I confess I have dabbled with icing cakes in the past. The results have been mixed. I always made my children’s birthday cakes, until they were old enough to know better and we had a French bakery move down the road. I even made a Teletubby cake once.

TENOR

My daughter had never looked more beautiful than when they had her selling cupcakes at the school. It is a photo I had taken the trouble to enlarge and to laminate. (Approx 2009)

My son had adored Teletubbies at the time. Lala was a particular favourite in our house. Ok so the ears were a bit funny. I tried.

I used The Australian Woman’s Weekly Cookbook to help me make cakes. They were all based around Buttercake

I left my copy of The Australian Woman’s Weekly Birthday Book on a young Woman’s doorstep, as she had young children.

Autumn however, might be a different story. Yes I know that fairy tale cakes are no longer likely to resonate with my pair of digitally-obsessed adults but maybe there is still room in our lives for a floral cupcake or two…

They Want You To Be A Soft, Little Cupcake

Sources: Giphy.com

My Cupcake Addiction: https://youtu.be/SOC5KeUZDns

See Also:Facing The Hard Stuff

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