My little girl is 5 years old

It is hard to believe that my little girl is five years old and that she starts school next year.

 

She is certainly going through the princess stage, but friends tell me that it doesn't last forever. She loves the camera at the moment and has been practicing her poses ...

 

As usual I tried to make the cake. Every year I try to do a sponge, and every year I fail. I am starting to look upon the ritual as a sacrifice to the baking gods.  After the sponge failure, I return to an old faithful recipe that always turns out well. Some jam and cream and pink icing courtesy of blood orange juice.

Tori has had one hell of a month with her eczema, so I baked a bunch of cakes and cookies for her birthday so that at least she would have something that she could eat.  We are booked into an allergist to get some testing done, but until then, she has to be so careful about what she eats and also what we use to wash her clothes in.