Week 8 and it’s taken me a while to discover it but I’ve finally found the perfect way to delay writing essays - baking!

Yes, crazy as it sounds when you have only a baby belling and use a colander for a sieve it’s actually quite therapeutic.

OK, so there’s the odd moment when people have been told off rather loudly for touching the baking tray or indeed interfering with any scary cooking equipment and I have become rather possessive about flour and eggs… but I would argue that if it provides an excuse to leave that reading until later or to mull over that impossible sentence. For which you know, given enough time (i.e. until after the deadline) you’ll remember that perfect word then it’s worth it.

The culmination of a project that began with apple crumble and progressed to flapjacks and muffins was the birthday tea party. This was not a sole effort by any means as there were contributions of crisps, sausages on sticks, cheese and pineapple and jelly, not to mention the fantastic handmade decorations. However declaring boldly that you’ll make the 21st birthday cake turned out not to be the stress free commitment imagined.

So I warmed up with crispy cakes, not too bad – the sugar was a little burnt but there’s enough chocolate to hide that charcoal taste. Then it’s the fairy cakes, a little harder this time, I’m sure that milk wasn’t necessary but someone’s brilliant suggestion of chocolate butter icing saved the day.

However, when those are made it can’t be put off any longer so the cake tin is smuggled upstairs and the baking begins. So far so good despite initial panics the mixture hasn’t curdled and is poured fairly neatly into the tin. (The mixing bowl is removed downstairs to be ‘cleaned’.)

Next it’s the easy stage - into the oven for baking. Not so easy as it turns out. First the still liquid cake is nearly knocked onto the floor and only saved by some amazing footwork and sheer desperation.

Then after sighs of relief it’s picked up again to go into the oven, trouble is with this posh tin, the bottom comes... OFF!! No, wait, more sighs of relief as bottom caught and pushed swiftly back on – fastened properly this time.

Right before anything else goes wrong the by now fairly messy concoction is shoved in to cook. After an anxious forty minutes is spent prodding and watching the cake is removed to cool and the decoration can begin.

Right here’s the fun it, melt the cake covering, get the chocolate buttons out. OK so it’s run over the edge a bit but never mind.

Hmmm what message? ‘21st’ seems appropriate. So lay out buttons in a 2 and a 1, sliding slightly as they melt but no real issues here. But something about that ‘S’ looks wrong, what is it? Too small?

After consultation the regretful response is ‘Ahhh yes, hmmmm it’s ummm, well I hate to say… backwards.’ Yes, this English student can bake muffins, flapjacks and a birthday cake but when it comes to the alphabet she’s struggling! So umm random scattering of buttons it is then!

Finally the cake is finished and concealed in the fridge to let the icing set. Here it waits overnight until it is taken out the next day (complete with candles) and the stress starts all over again!

What’s actually under that icing? Relief as when cake cut see it’s not entirely liquid or indeed solid. Watching crazily as the pieces are handed round awaiting verdict, no time to consider if this is intimidating...

The amazing relief when no-one keels over instantaneously or chokes. However they say food poisoning takes 24hrs… hmm about 10 to go.

This baking has almost taken my mind off that essay I’m supposed to be researching… well almost!

Veronica

Could you be a student diarist?
If you hail from North Yorkshire or are studying in the county and think you could squeeze out a few hundred words about once a month (more if you want to!) get in touch with us by emailing northyorkshire@bbc.co.uk