Cake Baking, the unconventional way

About midweek last week I needed a cake. I had cake mix but only half of the actual enthusiasm needed to make it (yes I am aware using cake mix is not real baking but cut me some slack here), so I called in reinforcements in the form of A. She came bearing eggs, the only ingredient I didn't have. Now lets have a little look at the instructions shall we:

Right so first preheat oven. This I can do. This turns out to be the only easy bit.
Next mix some ingredients. Ok so the very beginnings of an issue. We had no mixing bowl. No worries, I said confidently, we'll just use a saucepan.

And so we begin. Adding the ingredients. Sachet. Check. Two medium eggs. Check. 180ml of water. Ahh. Slight stumbling block. I have no water measuring implements or more specifically no measuring jug. So we guesstimate. I think quite well really. Same problem with the oil. Guesstimate. All seems ok.

Then we are meant to whisk on a slow speed with an electric whisk. I don't have one of those. (Oh come on my entire kitchen is made up of things I had for university - and yes university was over a couple of years ago but I still have similar eating habits. In case anyone is interested I do have a toaster, a kettle, a sandwich toaster, a blender [for guacamole, cocktails and milkshakes] and a microwave [reasonably new purchase]). So instead of an electric whisk I provide A with a fork, and she manages some quite impressive non-whisking. Ending in a, virtually perfect, cake mix. A is amazing.

This (perfect) mixture should be spooned into two cake mix tins. Take a wild guess as to whether I have any cake tins. That's right I don't. So what could be the next best thing in my kitchen? The glass lid of a casserole dish! Perfect. Here is said perfect mixture in said casserole dish placed in aforementioned preheated oven.

Cake safely in oven we could begin on the next stage. Making the chocolate filling. So according to the very nice box instructions we need to weigh the butter. No I don't have any scales. So we go back to guesstimating. If the tub of marg is 500g and I have used X of Y then P will be the amount I scoop out with a spoon. So I hand all the responsibility to A, the person who is completely in charge and knows what she is doing, my helpful assistant, who achieves the perfect consistency.
Finally we create the Frosting. Now at this point i've given up reading the instructions and so do something really bad (in the world of fake cooking anyway), I open the bag of chocolate chips and tip them (?!) into a hot saucepan on top of the hob and begin to merrily melt. This is apparently a serious error, one which was almost immediately brought to a stop by A (she always knows best). She saved the day by using the magical microwave, and a fork.
Here is the frosting and filling side by side. Do you like the use of the picnic plastic camping bowls by the way? They came in useful. (And yes those are my GHD's in the background... I sometimes straighten my hair using the microwave door...)
Next remove cake from the oven:
Place out to cool. Or tip onto two plates with force.