Bake Sale back

Eggplant is an aubergine, Cupcake is a cupcake, and this is another tale of friendship from the creator of ODD DUCK and ROBOT DREAMS.

But whereas ROBOT DREAMS was built on an early twist so unexpectedly harsh that ninety-five percent of its sales here have gone to adults (I think we've each of us at some point in our lives has felt left on the proverbial beach), this one is aimed squarely at younger, wide-eyed readers with a love of soft sponge and sugar frosting.

Cupcake runs a small bakery by day, then practises drumming in his band by night. Life's pretty good and looks even better when Eggplant invites him to visit Aunt Aubergine, a world-renowned cook in Turkey. But how to afford the air fare? Reluctantly Cupcake gives up his role in the band so he can take his tasty produce on the road and diligently develops new fondant fancies, each themed according to the festival he attends. He's slightly dismayed to discover himself so quickly replaced on drums by a potato ("A potato?! Everyone knows potatoes have no rhythm!") but soldiers on like a trooper until Eggplant breaks the disastrous news that he's out of work and can't afford the ticket himself. Having sacrificed so much for the opportunity to benefit from Aunt Aubergine's inspiration, what is Cupcake to do? Like any good friend, instead of flying to Turkey himself he buys Eggplant's ticket for him.

Gamely he waves Eggplant off, but his motivation has waned and things start to unravel when he finds himself late for work then settling for second-best with two-day old coffee, stale cakes and brownies. As for the blackboard behind the counter, instead of a long list of freshly baked Specialities Of The Day, it simply reads, "Nothing is special today". When he goes to watch his old band parade through the streets and clapped on without him, it's a physical disaster. Whatever will be left of Cupcake and his customers upon Eggplant's return?

I knew it couldn't be all sweetness and light with Sara Varon at the helm, but eventually things start to look up again and there's a life lesson worth learning very early on: there's no substitute for giving less than 100%. You know it when you do it, and it'll just make you unhappy.

Don't fret about being unable to read the full recipes over Cupcake's shoulders as he embarks on a new mouth-watering experiment: they're all printed in full at the back!