Happy Birthday to me!

A rainy day for my 40th birthday. How apt some might say, but I'm feeling philosophical and grown-up. What's happened?

My cake is the ultimate in naughtiness, but it is very good...if a little damp around the bottom. I thought I could do cakes? Maybe that's the first thing to go with old age. Blueberries, anyone?

Don't try this at home, folks

I have been working. As in out to work, pacing the exam hall and looking fierce yet supportive. It's nice to have a sit down now.

I made myself Significant Birthday Cake no. 1 today. I used a recipe from the internet, tweaked to make it fit in my tins. It involved custard powder for some reason, which intrigued me. My butter was too firm, so I put it in the oven to "soften". Ten minutes later, I had ghee. I couldn't be bothered to wait for it to resolidify, so bunged it all in the food mixer after about half an hour. The cakes rose magnificently, then collapsed into sad heaps with droopy edges as they cooled. I cut into one just to "see" and wished I hadn't. The bin men come tomorrow.

Birthday Cake no. 2 has just emerged from the oven, replete with blueberries and lemonyness, and is looking like an altogether more hopeful start to my fifth decade...