A sweet little e-Book

As a child, I loved to spend time in the kitchen cooking alongside my mother and aunt. Like most kids, I had a sweet tooth and especially loved making candies and cakes.
When the annual school fete came around, my mother would make batches of toffees and lollipops to sell at the sweet stall – my job was
to decorate and package them. I’d help make the coconut ice, spoon the chocolate crackle mixture into paper cases, and break up the honeycomb when it had set.
As I grew older, I would often bake a cake or make a batch of fudge to give to friends as gifts for their birthdays or for Christmas. They were always well appreciated.
Receiving something handmade is a real joy, don’t you think?
In our frenetic, fragmented lives, a gift of food made at home with love
and care is so special, no matter how simple or inexpensive the ingredients. An exquisite box of sweets or a cake made with your own hands can give enormous pleasure – and it’s so easy!
Today, the art of making candies, cakes and sweets for that special someone has almost become one of life’s forgotten delights. Yet these gifts can inspire us to be more creative and to think of new ways of saying “I love you”. To make something yourself, to use your hands to transform simple ingredients into a unique gift, can be deeply satisfying.
Every year presents us with many reasons to celebrate – whether it’s the birth of a child, a wedding, Easter, Rosh Hashanah (Jewish new year), Eid Al-Fitr (the end of the fasting period of Ramadan), Christmas, Mother’s Day or Father’s Day. Each of these occasions can be acknowledged with a particular gift, each person remembered on his or her day with something made by you and your children. Homemade sweets are also a lovely way to say thank you.
No matter what size or shape, this kind of gift will always have your own personal stamp. Experiment, be inventive – you’ll find such sweet kindness will be warmly received.