Christmas is a time for fruit cake. The boozy variety, with 12-year-old whiskey grown even older in the bottle.
But the liquor can't mask the sweetness of the fruit cake now deemed too cloying by taste buds accustomed to a low sugar, low fat diet.
The alternative this Christmas - something with much less sugar.
Make a dough in the bread machine, roll it out and fill it with organic dates from Egypt and home-made marzipan.
After allowing the ring to rise for about 20 minutes, bake it in the oven for 35 minutes at 180 degrees.
When it's done, let it cool and decorate it with icing sugar.
Some plastic reindeer and fake holly wouldn't be out of place.
Maybe because there was also carrot cake with cream cheese icing.
And a drunken reindeer in the corner.
Nephew Number 3 says that's Rudolph with his nose all red from one drink too many.
Perhaps it was the whiskey saved from the fruit cake that never was.
