HOW I SLIMMED INTO MY PARTY DRESS

After giving up baking, Sylvia Davis, 52, lost half her body weight

- DONNA SMILEY

Taking the brandy bottle out of the cupboard, I sprinkled a capful on the Christmas cake I’d been feeding with alcohol every week for the last three months.

It was Christmas Day 2016, and I was up early to put the turkey in the oven. I had a lot to do, but I didn’t mind. I loved being in the kitchen, and preferred to be left alone to get on with the cooking in peace.

Baking was my real passion. My specialities were cakes, especially Victoria sandwiches and fairy cakes. I baked spectacular birthday cakes for my husband Paul and my three children every year, too.

Christmas gave me another excuse to bake, and my alcohol-laced cake was my favourite. After a Christmas turkey dinner with all the trimmings – roast potatoes, stuffing, pigs in blankets, gravy and bread sauce – and a few hours of games and TV, it was time for Christmas tea.

As I laid homemade chocolate Christmas logs, a giant Christmas pudding, mince pies and the cake on the table, Paul, then 46, and the kids smiled with amazement.

‘You’ve outdone yourself this year!’ Paul said.

As we all tucked in, I savoured the buttery, sugary delights. But I already knew they were delicious because, as I baked, I tasted, and would polish off cake batter and offcuts, nibbling on leftovers throughout the day.