I don't think I've ever had a bad Christmas. Even as I've gotten older and the whole presents thing has lost its appeal I've still loved Christmas. The food is obviously one of the best parts of it, but the best part for me (queue rolling eyes and/or 'aww's) is being with my family. They are by far the most hilarious, intriguing and incredibly diverse group of people I know, and they are just as weird as I am, and I love it.
Our Christmas plans are pretty much the same every year, my dad's cousin and her family come round on Christmas day and then for New Year's Day we go to her house. This arrangement has been in place for the last 25 years. I maintain that my mother really pulled the short straw on that one. That being said, for the last three years my sister and I have tried to make sure that our mother stays out of the kitchen as we do as much of the Christmas cooking that we can without her assistance. When I say we 'tried', its not because we can't cook. Its because our mother just doesn't stay out of the kitchen...
Enough gushy rambling and onto what you came here for, the cake.
This year, I did the unthinkable - I used a recipe I'd never made before and made it on Christmas Eve with very little time for cake resurrecting or re-making. It was a risky move; but hey, what can I say? I'm an adrenaline junkie. Or some toned down baking version of that.
Making last year's cake was a breeeeeeeze. This year, not so much. I pretty much had to do the recipe twice because it turned out I used the wrong type of flour and that was a big no-no. READ INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY PEOPLE. Do naaaaaht follow my awful example and just assume you can interchange certain ingredients as you please - you definitely cannot.
Anyway, after much fist clenching, grunting, eye-rolling, deep sighing, time-outs and pep talks from my mum and sister, I had a cake. A vanilla cake with caramel buttercream in between the layers and then a light and fluffy vanilla buttercream to cover the cake.
Oh and a little surprise on the front...
I won't lie - its not my best work. It could have been a lot better - but hey, at least I had a cake that was edible and that my family enjoyed!
Speaking of family, here are a few snaps I took on the day.
Also, got my sister Ruby Woo lipstick from MAC for Christmas - how GREAT does it look on her?!
I hope you all had a beautiful Christmas and if not, hey, there's always next year! Or just eat some cake, works for me!
Enjoy this timeless tune, oh and have a great New Year!
Speaking of family, here are a few snaps I took on the day.
Also, got my sister Ruby Woo lipstick from MAC for Christmas - how GREAT does it look on her?!
I hope you all had a beautiful Christmas and if not, hey, there's always next year! Or just eat some cake, works for me!
Enjoy this timeless tune, oh and have a great New Year!
