There will be days like this my mother said. For example change of season, which is throwing my sinuses into disarray, which means all I am doing is sneezing and in this pandemic we are currently experiencing, I am getting dirty looks left right and center.

Which also means that I am high as a kite on allergic , combined with wine, sleep deprivation and the boring President’s speech I am bound to be knocked out like a baby.

I was lying ready, under the blankets in front of the television, waiting for my future to be broadcast, the time on the screen showed 20:10 and I really thought I could just rest my eyes for 20 minutes while I waited and then 20 minutes turned in 4 hours. I landed up sleeping right through the entire speech, good news there is going to be another speech on Thursday, hopefully this time I will stay awake.

Yesterday I was all pumped, full of energy, just ready to tackle the world. And I was also itching to proof my dad’s friends wrong. I sent the left over refried beans with him to work for the guys lunch and apparently it was not a hit… how ungrateful, I enjoyed it, my mother enjoyed it but the work family didn’t apparently there was no meat and it looked funny, of course it looked funny it was refried beans, something they have never eaten before.

My mother came to my rescue, when I told her how they didn’t like my food, she told me straight not to feed them, when my dad heard he was crying no no no, in his defense the guys ate every last bean, they just didn’t enjoy it. I also sent along the left over dry vermicelli and again 3 out of 4 of the buddies enjoyed it. There is just no pleasing everyone I tell you. Either I make something they don’t enjoy or I make the food too strong or I give too much or I give too little, next time I am going to give nothing and see who complains. Teach these young men I tell you, teach them well from a young age. Just kidding they are all old enough to be my father.

Seeing as we didn’t have a cake for Sunday tea time, there was nothing to nibble on in the sly during my night raids of the fridge, so I set out this morning to make something and nothing screamed out at me, so I decided to look for inspiration in Donna Hay’s cookbooks. Her recipes are my current obsession especially after watching her cooking show which is currently on TV.

I came across a recipe for a spiced chia Bundt cake which was really up my street, it would mean I finally open the bag of chai tea bags I bought on an impulse and I would finally get to use my Bundt cake tin that also got me questioned by customs way back in the day. Seriously it was just a cake pan, nothing illegal but I was so scared I shoved it right right at the back of the cupboard in the hope that if I didn’t see it, I would be safe and I should have learnt that online shopping is bad for you, but it is so therapeutic, nothing releases stress more than adding to cart.

Well in my mother’s case nothing makes her more stressed out than seeing my boxes being delivered. Takealot is soo addictive that’s what I keep telling her after I lie about the prices of things when she asks how much this all cost… I know it is bad, but sometimes the truth hurts. She is most likely going to skin me alive after reading this and sell my leather online at takealot.

The cake itself was super-duper easy to make, no need to whip out the mixer, everything could be whisked with a whisk and though the original recipe asked for eggs, I substituted it with my homemade vegan eggs… if Mary Berry were around, she would say that this cake is what you call an “All in one.”

Results were perfect, my dad enjoyed it, my brother ate 3 slices in one sitting and my mother enjoyed it as well, of course she couldn’t just let it rest, she had to give her detailed opinion and that was that the cake was soft and moist but oh so rich from all the butter and she hoped in God’s name that she would not get indigestion from the mixed spice…all I could do was roll my eyes and pray that they did not get stuck at the back of my head.

I am still undecided as to whether or not the “Cheesy Boys”… yes that is their crew name… whether or not they deserve a few slices for their tea time, maybe I should sleep on it and see how I feel in the morning.

Ingredients:

• 1 x tbsp. chai tea powder.
• 2 x tbsp. boiling water.
• 2 ½ x cups self raising flour, sifted.
• 1 ½ x cups castor sugar, sifted.
• 2 x tsp mixed spice powder.
• 4 x vegan eggs.
• 1 ½ x cups milk.
• 250g x butter, melted.
• 2 x tsp vanilla essence.

Method:

• In a bowl, mix together the chai and boiling water and leave to stand for 5 minutes.
• In a separate bowl, add the chai mixture and all the remaining ingredients.
• Whisk till everything is well combined and there are no flour lumps.
• Pour into a greased bundt cake.
• Pop into a preheated oven.
• Bake at 180 degrees for 30 – 35 minutes or until the cake tester comes out clean.
• Remove from the oven and allow the cake to cool in the tin for 15 minutes.
• Turn the cake out onto a cooling rack and allow to cool completely before serving.