I mentioned before how the household is looking to make healthier choices, and that involves me spending a bit more time in the kitchen than I have been doing over the last few years. I’m not the best cook, but I do quite enjoy the process and whilst my presentation skills are essentially non-existent, I can occasionally whip something together that tastes nice.

At the moment, my mealtime focus has turned to using fresh ingredients wherever possible, and avoiding ready meals. It takes a bit more effort, but is worth it. Meanwhile, my baking focus has turned towards sugar-free. I was a bit sceptical of the sugar-free movement when it first arrived (and by that I mean when Davina first started banging on about it), but now I’m intrigued.

I don’t think I have a particular problem with sugar but I quite like the idea of replacing it where possible, and that means I have now actually bought both of Davina’s books and tried a few recipes.

The digestive biscuits were nice but not quite what I was hoping for. The flapjacks were delicious but crumbly as anything. And last weekend, I tried my hand at the Victoria sponge cake.

If I thought the flapjacks were crumbly, the cake… it was on another level. I took one picture which I had to significantly crop to try and make it as presentable as possible. This doesn’t quite capture the carnage as soon as we tried to slice the cake. Nor the clean up efforts required once it was demolished.

My immediate tweeting was thus:

It really did taste amazing. The spelt flour added a nutty flavour, the maple syrup replacing the sugar and bringing its own unique taste. Although the presentation wasn’t the best (crumbled up cake in a bowl with a spoon – enjoy!) the taste made up for it.

Now my mission is to figure out sugar-free mince pies in time for the festive season. There’s no way they can be as crumbly too, right? RIGHT?