Saturday 6th April, would have been Mammy’s 99th birthday. I decided to honour her memory with a little baking.

I measured and mixed to my hearts content, while recalling memories of us working side by side in the kitchen of my youth. “Did you light the oven?” I could hear her ask. We used gas for cooking back in those days.

Lemon drizzle was my cake choice for the day and being in ‘mammy’ mood I made enough for two cakes. While they were in the oven, I decided to make a batch of biscuits. A biscuit recipe I have used so often that I could make it blindfolded.

Famous last words…

I hope mammy left the kitchen when the cakes were taken out of the oven. They were well risen and golden. My tray of biscuits were ready and in they went to bake. Fifteen minutes was enough time to turn my hands and mind to clearing and washing the cooking utensils.

I became aware of a peculiar smell and it took a moment to realise it was coming from the oven… I turned to see smoke rising from the oven door. Switching off the oven, and opening the door gently, my biscuits were no longer there. I was looking at a cooking tray, covered in smoking dripping liquid with only the chopped nuts and cherries recognisable.

My heart sank. I hate waste. Where had I gone wrong? I went over the steps I had taken several times and still cannot work out what happened. All I learned is that I am human and humans can have disasters! 🙁

So, you will not be getting that recipe any time soon.

Never mind, if you hurry on over there might be some lemon drizzle cake left, to go with freshly brewed coffee.