No knitting of note...

... but instead there is most certainly cake, see:

Yum, yummy, yum. I know I first read about this Chocolate Guinness Cake in connection with Nigella Lawson's 'Feast' book, but it wasn't in the book itself and beyond that I don't remember where it was I read it... What I did know was that I had to make this cake! A Google search turns up several free recipes for Chocolate Guinness Cake or Chocolate Stout Cake and I chose one of them - can't remember exactly which but they are all pretty similar.

So the cake was easy to make, the hardest part (physically at least) was whisking together the topping which is cream cheese, double cream and icing sugar - I think mine was still a little bit runny but I am a weakling ;) The cake was served as a dessert when friends came round for dinner on Tuesday and it was unanimously agreed to be very tasty - especially the topping, it's good because it's a chocolate cake which isn't at all sweet really, even the icing has a pleasant tang from the cheese - thumbs up all round.

So culinary adventures (oh well, and a bit of work) have been keeping me from knitting all that much - there have been two further repeats of the Muir chart produced, but there just doesn't seem much point in another photo when it's just more of what you've seen previously!

The other thing worth getting excited at is this:

The Frankfurt Christmas Market is back in Birmingham - the opening day was yesterday so we went along for some Prager Schinken, Bratwurst, Gluehwein and Weissbier - yum! Once the German Market rolls into town I consider it acceptable to start feeling festive and Christmassy - it's hard not to when you are faced with such seasonal cheer whenever you go into the city centre. It's definitely (one of) the best thing(s) about living in Birmingham. I am looking forward to many more visits before December 23rd!