The Cheerful Cake Club

What a strange time to be living through, eh? Covid-19 has changed my work, family dynamic, social life, hobbies, mental health, parenting, exercise regime, income, hair colour…and the list goes on and on. But I’m just grateful to be healthy and mostly happy. And that I’m not working on the front line, because honestly, I’m nowhere near brave enough. (Thank you NHS and essential workers).

As Coronavirus began sweeping the UK - or at least the threat of it - I felt the overwhelming urge to do something useful (or just something). I was thinking aloud with my son Archie, 4, and together we came up with the idea of the Cheerful Cake Club. Like my Grandma and Mum before me, I always bake in a crisis. And foodie gifts never fail to put smiles on faces.

The original plan was to get people to nominate someone to receive a cake parcel, but lockdown put a stop to that idea. Instead we started delivering to local friends and neighbours, and now we’re delivering to the wider neighbourhood on our daily walks.

It was actually a fun (and distracting) project to get stuck into. We planned our bakes (easy batch stuff), printed labels and Archie designed the rainbow cupcake logo. When it came to baking, we gave the kitchen a deep clean and wore disposable gloves and shower caps throughout. Very attractive, I think you’ll agree. We also typed up a list of ingredients for allergens, etc.

So far we have made I don’t know how many chocolate chip cakes and cinnamon oat crunch biscuits, and even a flourless chocolate cake for our coeliac neighbour. I hope that when life returns to normal after Covid-19, we can keep a bit of the Cheerful Cake Club spirit alive.