Marzipan Cats and a Schwedentorte: A Birthday Cake Made Together

The decision was made the evening before the birthday: we would bake the cake ourselves rather than buy one. Choosing what to bake took longer. The birthday girl loves cats, drinks a great deal of coffee and makes things constantly, so a plain sponge would have missed the point.

A friend came up with the answer - a Schwedentorte, the Swedish cake, decorated with cats. We jumped at it and headed to Coop for marzipan and the rest of the ingredients.

The shopping list

Marzipan, marmalade and candles formed the heart of it, along with the usual baking supplies. A recipe was found online and we followed it more or less exactly, since none of us had made a Schwedentorte before.

Cats in every colour

Fortunately, the kitchen already had a cat-shaped cookie cutter, one of a set that also included a donkey and other shapes. We rolled the marzipan flat and pressed out cats in several colours, then set about giving each one a different character. A friend cut green grass patches to sit them on, and between us we produced a small population of cats in assorted poses.

I have never thought of myself as a cat person, but this was enormous fun - the same absorbed pleasure as being a child with a lump of modelling clay, except that this clay smelled of almonds. Making something unplanned with friends, all crowded around one table, is a dependable way to shake off a difficult week.

Two and a half hours later

That is roughly how long the whole thing took, start to finish. We ended up with the finished cake and a surprisingly large quantity of vanilla sauce, more than the recipe seemed to promise. Nobody complained.

Anyone who knew me at school would laugh at the idea of me co-baking a cake or spending an evening on Arts&Crafts. That is part of the pleasure: there is a first time for everything, and no age at which trying something new stops being allowed.

So, what type of cat are you?