The first test for my new Kenwood: a proper cake. It was to take round someone’s house too, so it couldn’t mess up. I was going to go with a cookstr recipe, but I ended up with a Marcus Wareing one. I let the mixer do it’s thing on butter, sugar, cocoa, flour and eggs, then baked in the oven. Oddly it took nearly an hour and a half for a skewer to come out clean, and it was a little on the heavy side. The guests were polite enough, but I trust Liam’s honest criticism: “Dad, it’s too dry”. I’m really not a cake and sponge guy, but I need to fix that this year.

Luckily the coffee cream was out of this world, so much so that I licked the bowl clean afterwards. I blended a strong espresso with mascarpone cheese and sugar, then added some whipped cream to give it some air and bulk. It was great, it’s coming out again in another guise.