We’re all somewhat familiar with the timeless saying it’s what’s on the inside that counts. And, whether giving or receiving this little tidbit of advice, you’ll be no stranger to the eye-rolling that accompanies it.

Don’t worry, this isn’t going to be a condescending ‘new year new you’ post, just a wee something that crossed my mind over the weekend.

As my previous post detailed, I fuck things up. Not on a grand scale, but if a bit more time and care had been taken, I’d probably have succeeded a lot more successfully. So this weekend, I decided to bake some glorious gingerbread cupcakes (the recipe will be coming online soon) and this was the result:

Not all that bad, right? Admittedly they were ok. But when taking in to consideration that the icing was meant to rise in mountainous peaks from atop the spongy goodness, well, mine look a little flat. I exclaimed to my other half that I’d ruined them and, in danger of me throwing a tantrum, she shoved a cupcake down her throat before my toys had even left the pram. I watched as she chomped her way through the cake, appreciative sounds galore, and I had a mini-epiphany.

It is the inside that counts.

Sure, my cupcakes might not have rivalled a GBBO contestant’s bake, but they were pretty damn good.

It just goes to show, it doesn’t matter what a cupcake looks like, people still relish in the sweet, sugary goodness. Rather than comparing my cupcakes to the images of what they were supposed to look like, I’m proud of their imperfections. I could disguise it as a purposeful fuck-up; I was going for ‘shabby-chic-cakes’ or maybe rustic?

Whatever you try to hide behind, it’s plain and simple to see. Something can look crappy, no matter how hard you try it can still look crappy, but deep down someone will still appreciate the sweet goodness that’s hidden inside. All it takes is a little nibble to find it.