You will have noticed that the recipe on the site today is my all-time fave, the birthday custard sponge, which may seem odd in the middle of the Christmas season, but I have got a personal reason. December 15th is the birthday of my first-born, my daughter Mimi (nee Cosima) and this is her favourite cake. And actually, I have only just finished putting the candles on top of this year's version.
Even better, this cake is the first thing made in hour new house; I christened the oven and the kitchen with it. Just in case writing and shooting a book and a thirteen part series wasn't enough, I threw in a couple of book tours (on each side of the Atlantic) and then moved house. But I can't think of a better way of making a house feel like a home than cooking in it. And now that The Birthday is over, I'm ready to throw myself into Christmas Mode.
I wish all of you a molto-merry Christmas, cosy cooking, good eating and the happiest of happy new years.....
