You can't have your cake and eat it

Cake #3 The winner!

Or can you? Two weekends ago we trekked up to my mum and dads for a visit and The Great Chocolate Wedding Cake Tasting Competition (TGCWTC).

Now, at the W there will be three cakes. A traditional fruit cake which I am making (I'm using the family Christmas cake recipe, but with less Santa decoration), a vegan, alcohol free fruit cake which Mr L is making for the guests that don't drink, and the chocolate cake, which my mum is making, requested by Mr L but coveted by our godson. I can see it now, Mr L with one side of the cake, a 5 year old with the other, the cake flying through the air...

Anyway, at TGCWTC we tried four cakes. My poor mum was so enthusiastic at the beginning, we left her on the Saturday cheery and looking forward to trying out four different recipes. My sister came home at 10pm the same day to find her at her wits end wrestling with fondant icing. She made the cakes, cut them in half, iced half of each cake (there were two different types of icing) and numbered the cakes. Then we all (12 of us) had a piece of each cake.

Life's too short to explain everything that happened at the TGCWTC so here are the highlights;

• Godson put in charge of giving cakes marks on chart we drew together.
• We were allowed to eat the cake before our dinner - when does that ever happen? In fact my mum was encouraging it!
• Cake #4 (which we tried first, don't ask) enjoyed by all, especially godson who wolfed it all down without dropping a bit.
• Cake #2 full of booze and chocolate, yummy but the general consensus was that it was "a bit too rich".
• Cake #3 Mmm, coffee and chocolate and delicious.
• Cake #1 Mmmmm, also delicious! This is so difficult!
• Every cake preceded by Mr S asking "is this cake #1?".
• Me worrying about godson dropping brown cake onto mums new beige carpet. Guess who made more mess (clue: initials are LL)?
• Mrs S phoning up when she got home to say "don't tell your mum, but I've been sick".
• Mr L having to have the next day off work with tummy ache.
• D asking for seconds! Seconds!

You should be able to see (but not taste, boo!) the other cakes by clicking on the cake above...You'll also find the epitime of the Wedding Cake; Scott & Charlene's cake. Altogether now "Suddenly you're here with meeee".