Well, it seems this is turning into a cookery blog! It turned out that the second half of the Accidental Brownies was so burned that it was not worth eating.

Attempt 2 (using more baking powder, a little bit of Xanthan Gum, more oil, less water, and some Stork - as shortening is impossible to get hold of round these parts) was made Wednesday, and was slightly more successful. The cake rose massively at the edges, overspilling the tins, but failed to rise in the middle. It also turned out to be rather greasy (oil needs to be replaced with water, I'd guess). It has less of a tendency to fall apart than did the last attempt, and now it's iced it doesn't taste half-bad. Although it's not the sponge I was going for. I've ordered some Allergycare Egg Replacer from www.goodnessdirect.co.uk; I'll make another stab at the sponge once that arrives.

Well, today I tried to expand my range of allergy-compatible cakes by baking an egg-free cake. Unfortunately, I didn't manage to properly account for the lack of egg, and the cake didn't rise. Well, it rose for about 5 minutes in the oven before it exploded and collapsed back into the base of the tin. As I was scraping the remains out of the tin and wondering whether to throw the other half of the mixture (my college oven can handle only one half of a cake at a time), I tried a crumbling, flaking bit of the residue (which was unable to hold itself together, at all). It was gorgeous! I had, as many before me also had, discovered Accidental Brownies. I'm now going to get very fat, as I've already eaten one entire half; the other is waiting downstairs (although that is a little overcooked, so I'll have to leave it to soften before eating it).