CAKE tastes better together, is the motto being used to promote the Macmillan Giant Coffee Morning which takes place today.

I know this because I attempted to sprinkle those very words in icing sugar across the bumpy top of my home-made cherry and almond cake, using the plastic stencil the charity sent after I signed up to join the fundraising.

The recipe did not suggest a decorated topping. But then it didn’t mention that the cake would turn a darker than appetising brown if baked for the recommended hour either.

After spending far too long quartering sticky glace cherries and pounding a packet-full of almonds (the recipe said ground almonds, which I achieved with a mortar and pestle before realising I could’ve just bought the powder form), I watched my creation rise magnificently through the oven’s tinted window, only to come out the colour of burnt toast.

To make matters worse, I’d made two. My husband is running the Yorkshire Marathon for Macmillan and his workplace had agreed to host a coffee morning as well, hence the double dollop of disaster.

I couldn’t help bemoaning how rubbish I was in the kitchen as I surveyed the fruits of my day off.

My eight-year-old momentarily lifted my spirits when he assured me I wasn’t – but then ruined it by adding solemnly: “I just hope Dad doesn’t say ‘this is my wife’s best baking’ when he takes it to work.” When did back-handed compliments stray into children’s parlance?

With all the ingredients used up, there was no possibility of starting again so I did my best with a serrated knife to shave off the edges before reaching for the stencil. Hopefully, the cake will still raise a few pounds for the cause but maybe next time I’ll just donate and eat to show my support.

My husband chose to run for Macmillan after his Nan died last year. She was 94, a grand age to reach, but had cancer in her final years.

She enjoyed a good, long life but, as we are painfully reminded, cancer can strike people of all ages, including the young.

People say everyone knows someone affected by cancer. I was several months off reaching an unmentionable milestone birthday before that was true for me. Then two friends lost their husbands to cancer within a fortnight. They were a similar age to me, and both left behind young families.

It was difficult to know how to help in a seemingly helpless situation. I can’t claim the lasagne I made and delivered was any better than the cherry and almond cake I’m offering up today. But I think the food parcels friends quietly left on the doorstep were appreciated and helped on a practical level, and thankfully Macmillan nurses knew what support to offer, both medical and emotional, and what advice and assistance would be of value.

Hopefully, all the cups of coffee and slices of cake being enjoyed across York, North Yorkshire, and in the rest of the country today, will help spread that support to those who need it.

Macmillan says 2.5 million people in the UK are living with cancer. That figure is expected to reach four million by 2030. The charity’s goal is to make sure no one faces cancer alone.

So, if you raise a cup today and indulge in a slice, pretend not to see any burnt bits lurking beneath the icing, and know that your small donation makes a big difference.