Cake with Eggs Added

As promised the recipe for the cake, it's from a book I've had since 1985. When the children were small the programme was on TV and I remember watching it and cooking lots of meals that they demonstrated.

Mincemeat Cake - Mrs Ward Warwickshire

75g margarine ( I use butter)
25g lard (I don't use this I add extra margarine or butter)
2 large eggs
125g soft brown sugar
325g mincemeat
190g self-raising flour
a little milk if necessary ( I sometimes use sherry, brandy or whatever I feel like adding)

1. grease and line a 18cm round cake tin (sometimes I use loaf tins)
2. cream fat and sugar then beat in eggs.
3. stir in mincemeat and fold in flour. Mixture should be moist (this depends on who much liquid in the mincemeat) If necessary add the liquid.
4. Bake in a moderate oven Gas mark 3, 325f, 160c for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to Gas mark 2, 300f,150c for about 1 1/4 hours until the top is firm and cake is shrinking slightly from the edge of the tin.

I find that this cake freezes well, it will keep in a tin for a week, I can't say if it keeps longer for obvious reasons. If you do make it I'd like to know what you think, I think it's OK for an everyday cake it's easy to make.

My back has improved, thank you for your good wishes, especially Sharne, who emailed me as soon as she heard about it, she offered to help out in any way she could as she's on holiday. That was really so kind of her, Sharne is one of the busiest people I know, so it meant so much! I'm still not going to the gym, but I don't need much of an excuse not to go there! When I get the dog I'm going to give up the gym altogether, I think walking in the fresh air will be so much better for me. Beverley I think you could have been right, the idea of a pony troting around the living room made a dog seem much more appealing!

It's just as well my back improved, since Saturday I've spend an awful lot of time sitting in a car as a passenger and as driver, Saturday it was the ERTF AGM and conference, it's nice to go to these events it gives us a good chance to catch up with like minded people from the region. The venue was very impressive Girton College, Cambridge and a very interesting speaker. Then due to events at the AGM  an extraordinary committee meeting was called, everything was resolved so all crisis over and things will continue running smoothly as usual but it did involve a round trip of 141 miles. I'm no longer on the committee, but three of us were invited to the meeting as we were the founders of ERTF. I'm looking forward to seeing how the group moves on and evolves, which reminds me I must amend my profile on here.  Many things are changing at the moment the textile group I belong to The Material Girls is going through a change. A few  members have decided that now is the time for them to move on, it will be interesting to see how the group changes, there are a few interesting things in the pipeline for us, we'll be exhibiting in a new venue for us later in the year and in 2013 we'll be exhibiting in Canada, I'm really excited about that. Who knows I might even get to Canada for a holiday, we do have some air miles saved what better way to use them?

Mum's house was finally settled two weeks ago, it all went through with no glitches. So far I've resisted going to have a look at the house. My brother has driven by, not so easy as the house is in a cul-de-sac. I did drive close by yesterday on my way home from the Material Girls meeting, but resisted all temptation.