My husbands fat tummy!

Every night when my husband is getting ready for bed he catches sight of himself in the mirror. This causes him to stand up straight, draw in his breath and suck in his tummy. Then he pats it, says, "I must get rid of this." He's not particularly fat, you understand, he just has a mental image of himself as a fit 18 year old and the sight in the mirror always comes as something of a surprise!

Whenever he talks about dieting he always sees having "afters" as either the biggest problem or perhaps as the easiest area to tackle. He likes to have something sweet after dinner, as is so often the case, something we seem to get trained into somehow. I know that after dinner he will go looking for the cake tin to see what delight I have cooked up today.

At first sight it would appear that if I stopped making cakes, flapjacks and biscuits for him he would stop eating them and this would help his belly. As obvious as it seems, that solution doesn't work. I know, I've tried it! Instead, when he finds the cake tin empty he opens the food cupboard and sees what else he can find. This often results in him eating something a good deal more fattening than the relatively health bakes I make, such as shop bought shortbread fingers.

I have pointed out to him that what I make is supposed to last 4 to 5 days not the usual 2 to 3!This week we have agreed upon serious rationing - just 2 flapjacks a night. He did well, managing to eek out the batch of flapjacks from Monday to Thursday.

So today the cake tin stands empty again and this afternoon I have friend popping over for a chat. So at the moment the appetising smell of lemon and sultana cake cooking fills the air. I wonder how long the cake will last?

Lemon and Sultana Cake

1 lemon
4 oz (110g) sultanas
5 oz (145g) caster sugar
3 fl oz (85ml) corn oil
2 eggs, beaten
7 oz (200g) plain flour
2 oz (55g) wholemeal flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
Pinch salt
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
2 tablespoons oat bran

Preheat oven to 180°C (gas 4). Grease and line a loaf tin. Place the sultanas in a bowl and cover with the juice and zest of the lemon, made up to 6 fl oz (170 ml) with warm water. Set aside. In another bowl, sift together the flour, salt and raising agents. Make a well in the middle. To the fruit mix, add the sugar, oil and eggs. Carefully stir the wet mix into the dry mix. Add the oat bran and combine well. Spoon into the loaf tin and bake for 55 to 60 minutes and test with a skewer.