It can't be that hard.

It can't be that hard.  Everyone round here knocks them up overnight.  They abound at every event. Always so well received their appearance runs as an enduring background to village life.   But here things go a bit wrong.  My mother, now she certainly had the knack, my children remember her offerings with delight and now a granny myself I am asked to re-create that deliciousness. Yes, they want a cake. A mouth watering chocolate delight. And not any old cake, but a birthday cake for my soon to be 5 year old grand-daughter. I do wish the baking gene hadn't passed me by.  But it can't be that hard.  I think I'lll do a trial run.

With the oven heated, two sandwich tins lined and greased, ingredients carefully weighed, an electric blender poised for action I refer to Mary Berry at every step. I'm going for a traditional Victoria Sponge - the chocolate variety. Mary says I can't go wrong. And basically I think things begin rather well.  I blend (or rather the machine blends) the basic ingredients and the resulting mix tastes so delicious I am tempted to just eat it and be done with the whole cake thing. But I think of my grand-daughter and plough on.   It all seems pretty easy and I casually spread the mix across the two tins and put them into the oven.  I'm feeling pretty confident after Mary's encouragement.

After about 25 minutes I do a quick check and am somewhat surprised to see that my cake doesn't match the photos in Mary's book.

I pull it out quickly and let it cool.  I try to even up one of the rather alarming mounds growing out of the tins and decide at this stage, rather than attempt a buttercream filling to take the sensible option and just spread a generous layer of jam across one half before sandwiching the two parts together.

I took a tentative bite.  IT IS DISGUSTING. Like an old sold lump of clay.

ERRORS
I didn't let enough air get into the cake mix, hence it's unattractive sturdiness.
I heaped the cake mix into the tins and didn't spread it right into the edges, hence it rose up into awesome hillocks in the centre of each tin.
I had the oven too hot and hence an ugly fissure appeared across the centre of each hillock.
I used an old fruity jam forgetting it was a chocolate and not a plain sponge hence it tasted vile.

I think I'l do another trial run next week.  It can't be that hard.