We had a mini-celebration at work for having finished a feature we’ve worked on for a while. For some reason, Swedes’ go-to celebration cake is princess cake which is the most unsatisfying cake ever. It looks sort of festive, I guess, but what you get is a large amount of marzipan, covering a cloying sponge, loads of sweet whipped cream, and a bit of raspberry jam. It’s sugary and fluffy and that’s it. There is no texture and barely any flavour. If I never see another princess cake in my life, I won’t feel even a moment of sadness.

I took a sliver to be polite and felt no temptation to eat more. And then I got a stomach ache from all the lactose in the cream. I thought the sliver was small enough to be safe, but no. Not worth it.

In the evening Ingrid came home with tartelettes from the bakery where she works. A thin, crumbly crust; blackcurrant curd; Italian merengue with a delicate raspberry flavour. A flavour explosion in every bite. This is what a cake should be like.