No, it wasn't me who won the draw down at the Plaza.

My sunny side came up when I finally found where my chooks were laying their eggs in the cold snap.

I quite understood my three hens going off the lay when the weather turned icy.

I upped their protein, let them scratch all the bark out of the garden beds looking for worms then increased their dose of kind words of encouragement, hoping to get them back on the nest, but every day it looked like a hollow shell.

Then, one glorious day last week, after I became scared when Ebony didn't scramble to meet me with the scrap bucket, I got my surprise.

Conducting a thorough search for our black fowI I found her nestled in a snug hideaway on the ground floor under her two-storey nesting box.

There was plenty of fresh straw down there, and plenty of eggs; it was an absolute bounty ... 19 eggs in all - no yolk!

I couldn't help cackling away to myself; my mind immediately flew to dreams of a double batch of friands, a ginger fluff, huge frittatas and Kym's favourite five-egg fruit cake.

Thoughts of an egg and bacon pie, bread and butter pudding with extra pudding and a winter Pavlova with poached pears flapped around in my imagination.

Flights of fancy had me making classic vanilla custard from scratch until reflections of a different breed took roost.

I realised that this windfall had happened just in time for my third daughter's 13th birthday celebrations and there would be enough eggs for a family-sized birthday cake and a party-sized birthday cake to share.

Entering the treacherous teenage years qualifies you for your favourite cake to mark the momentous occasion, and for my baby this has always been my mum's chocolate sponge.

Baked in two tins the sponges sandwich whipped cream and fresh strawberries in the middle.

Party recipe ideas simmered; I flipped between a white chocolate fudge cake and a spiced chai bundt cake - difficult to separate.

Whipped into a frenzy, I ran around like a chook with my head cut off, arranging celebrations with lots of eggs up my sleeve, and none on my face.