I am pleased to report that Googley Eyes is a fun family game that we all love. Infact the boys haven't stopped asking to play it since we were sent it to review. The game is aged at children 7+ so I wasn't expecting little man to be able to join in. However, he wasn't going to miss out on the fun and with a bit of help had a go.

Googley Eyes Game Landing Page (Automatic)

Num Noms Series 3 Bundle

On Sunday morning, my husband turned to me and said "this coffee is good." I agreed and said I actually have no idea how much it costs though. Cost is generally a factor on whether I would actually buy coffee and when I looked up to see that the Rombouts Laos single origin ground coffee was only 50p more expensive than my usual coffee brand I was pleasantly surprised.


Rombouts sent me a variety of products from their ground and one cup range to try. They also sell pods if you have one of those machines. I have to say I have enjoyed all of them. I really liked was the one cup filters and they were not a product I would have usually bought. I am a total coffee snob and will not drink instant. Infact if I go round someones house and know they would serve me instant I will ask for tea. Obviously, it is not always easy to have ground coffee though. For instance when I used to work as a teacher, I would drink tea as the staff room wasn't really equipped with much more than a kettle. These filters would have been perfect. You just give the filter a little shake, pour in the hot water and wait for the coffee to drip through. I am thinking it would also be great to have if you travel. Most hotels only have instant, and they would also be great for self catering holidays.

Both me and my husband really enjoyed our selection of Rombouts coffee and it is certainly a brand I will look at buying in the future. If you fancy trying it, Rombouts are offering a generous selection to one of my readers too. Just complete the Gleam entry below. Good Luck! Rombouts Coffee Bundle

Fried Egg Biscuits

• 200g butter
• 200g caster sugar
• 400g plain flour
• 1 egg
• 1 tub of royal icing (I used renshaw)
• 1 packet of yellow candy melts

Don't forget to check out my other easy Easter bakes, including MaltEaster bunny cupcakes, bunny butt cake pops and a buuny butt cake using a tunnocks tea cake.

When I saw the Jamie Raven Card Magic set, I knew that big man would love it. He didn't watch Britain's Got Talent so wasn't aware of who Jamie was, but what 9 year old boy doesn't like magic tricks. The set is small and focused on card tricks, other sets in the series include magic of the mind, sleight of hand and street magic.


On opening the box I was initially shocked that there were no instructions. To be honest I was a little disappointed that big man would need to access the internet in order to learn how to do the trick. However, I was wrong. This is the beauty of the set. How many times have you tried to work out the instructions on how to do a trick? It isn't easy reading instructions and trying to work out what to do. A video tutorial is infact much easier to follow.

I signed up on the website and gave my email. I was then sent the password to access how to do the tricks and set big man off on his own.

In about half an hour he came downstairs and was beaming from ear to ear after he performed his first card trick for me.



Here is a little vlog we have made.



I am really impressed with the kit, as is big man. He now has the other magic sets in the series on his Birthday present list! Oh and he would also like to see Jamie Raven on tour.

You can purchase the Jamie Raven Card Magic from Amazon

I have to admit that I am sure I read somewhere that there was loads of sugar in a jar of Dolmio, but there is just 2 teaspoons of sugar beet in there. The best thing about Dolmio Bolognese  sauce for me is it's versatility. It can be used for Bolognese  as the name suggests, but it can also be used in lasagne, meatballs and a whole array of other dishes.

Dolmio kindly sent me a hamper of food and for one meal (at little man's request) we had slow cooked meatballs using the Domio as the sauce and adding some mushrooms and courgettes too. I kid you not, middle man asked for thirds!

I decided that I would use the other jar to make a Parmesan chicken dish. When the boys were younger I used to chop the vegetables really small so that they couldn't see them and complain. Thankfully now they are older they are usually less fussy and more willing to try new things. Plates were clean so everyone including me was happy!

Parmesan Chicken In Bolognese Sauce 

• 4 chicken breasts
• 25g grated Parmesan plus extra to top if you wish
• 1 slice of bread 
• 1 medium egg
• 1 small aubergine peeled and sliced
• 1 courgette sliced
• 2 garlic cloves chopped
• 1 small onion chopped
• 1 jar of Dolmio Bolognese Sauce

Unicorn Cupcakes

• 4oz self raising flour
• 2 eggs
• 4oz caster sugar
• 4oz margarine
• 5oz butter
• 10oz icing sugar
• ready rolled icing in white, pink, blue and peach
• sugar decorations - I used smarties, flowers and stars
• food colour gels
• chocolate writing icing pen 

I hate to say it but Easter is around the corner (seriously it was only Christmas yesterday) and these bunny butt cake pops are sure to put a smile on everyone's face.





Cake pops are easy to make, once you know how to make them. The key is not to rush and to keep cooling them. It is so much easier to make them if they are cold. Another tip is not to make the balls too big. The heavier they are, the more likely they are to break.

Cake pops are also great to make if you are sculpting a celebration cake and have a lot of excess trimming. I always like to make use of my leftovers - especially when it comes to cake!

Bunny Butt Cake Pops

• 3 plain cupcakes
• 2tbsp chocolate frosting
• chocolate cake covering or candy melts
• chocolate flavoured icing
• white mini marshmallows
• Pink icing
• cake pop sticks

This lamb Dhansak curry tastes delcious and is easy to make. I love curry and Friday night is our curry night. I would love to have a takeaway every week but there are two things stopping me. 1.It is expensive and 2. it isn't that healthy. I have therefore decided to make more of an effort to make more of my own healthier curries.



Recently, I reviewed a Date Delivered subscription box which contained a spice box from The Spicery. Inside amongst lots of treats was a recipe for a lamb dansak. I have played around with it a bit and come up with this one. It serves 2-3 depending, depending on how many accompaniments you have with it.

Lamb Dansak

• 300g diced leg of lamb
• 1 large tin of chopped tomatoes
• 2 cloves of garlic crushed
• 1cm cubed of ginger chopped
• 1 small red onion chopped
• 1tbsp curry powder
• 2tbsp brown sauce
• 50g dried red lentils

Have your cake and eat it is the new book from Mich Turner MBE founder of Little Venice Cake Company. The idea behind the book is that the bakes included are more nutritious and healthier than your average bake. This generally means that the bakes include fresh and dried fruit, along with nuts and seeds.


The photography in the book is inviting and makes you want to get baking. I decided to try the plum and nectarine upside down cake. I would love to show you a picture, but I'm afraid it didn't go quite to plan. Not the books fault I might add. Just mine. I used a slightly smaller cake tin than recommended (note I did not listen to Eric) which resulted in a well cooked cake on the sides and top, but not cooked in the middle. Not to worry, I served it us as plum and nectarine mash cake and my boys were more than happy with the result! The recipe didn't use less fat or sugar than I would normally use in such a recipe, but it did contain fruit. I guess life is all about moderation and if you have some cake with your fruit it is ok.


At the front of the book, there is a section on ingredients as well as cake dos and don'ts. This covers the different terms in making and some handy advice on sugar temperatures.

The book is then split into sections including muffins and cupcakes, biscuits, flapjacks, cakes and meringues. There are recipes for both the novice and experienced baker.


I am also excited to announce that I have a copy of the book to giveaway to one of my readers. Just complete the Gleam entry below. Good Luck!

Have Your Cake And Eat It

Regular readers will know that I like to bake. So imagine my excitement when I went up to London to cupcake decorate with master patissier himself, Eric Lanlard. As a Red Letter Ambassador I was there to try out two of their experiences. cupcake decorating with Eric and champagne afternoon tea at Cake Boy. 

Photo credit RLD

Before the rest of the bloggers joined us, I had the chance with fellow ambassador, Kip Hakes, to interview Eric. I always worry about things like this as:
 1. I worry I will forget my questions (luckily Kip was on hand to help me out of that situation!)
 2. What if it turns out that Eric isn't as nice as he comes across on TV?
Luckily I had nothing to worry about as he was charismatic and down to earth. We chatted about the types of cake he suggested for a novice baker. He said that it was important to follow the recipe (note to self) and start with simple dishes. Maybe a fridge cake with the kids, then brownies and tray bakes.



When it comes to celebrity cakes, he made a point of saying that all customers are celebrities to them. He did, however, mention how proud he was to have made a Birthday cake for the Queen Mother, and even met her, out of the blue whilst he was delivering it.

As I follow Eric on Instagram I was keen to find out how his travels influence his baking. He always seems to be somewhere exotic. He pointed to the cake before me and said that the small lychee balls on this rather stunning strawberry mousse where inspired by a trip to Austrailia. He did point out that he never copies others work, just takes ideas which develop into something new.

Image credit RLD

Next up was our cupcake decorating course taster. Here Eric showed us how to mould cake decorations using petal paste and silicon moulds, before paining them and adding glitter. You know when someone makes it look so easy? Well it was like that! Much harder than he made it look, but it got easier with each design.

We were then handed some different flavoured cupcakes and shown how to frost them. Here are my beauties. Lets just say my boys were extremely excited when I walked through the door holding these!


Next up was afternoon tea. And it was afternoon tea with a difference. Forget tiny little finger sandwiches. There were mini filled croissants, focaccia and ciabattina.

Image credit RLD

The petit fours included a mini berry waffle cone and wild berry "Magnum"

Image credit RLD

As Eric had recommended the liquroice macaroons, I had to give them a try. Subtle rather than over powering in flavour and absolutely delicious.



Washed down with a glass of champagne and a black tea, it was a real treat which anyone with a sweet tooth would enjoy.

Cake Boy is based in Battersea, a short walk from Clapham junction. Thanks to Eric and the Red Letter Days team for such a fantastic Red Letter Day. Check out the Red Letter Days website for more fantastic experiences.

I was also treated to Three Sixty Guatemala Antigua coffee and Organic Peru coffee. Both tasted smooth and full of flavour. It was nice to try some different flavours, rather than stick to my regular coffee. Three Sixty Coffee is stocked in Waitrose.


These cinnamon and cocoa bars are delicious. I had to vary the recipe from the original, as it turned out my baking cupboard wasn't as stocked up as I thought. However, that is the beauty of these bars. You can swap ingredients about to make them taste as you want. Maybe swap he cocoa nibs for dried fruits. Or half the quantity and add nuts. You can make them tastes as you want.

Cinnamon and Cocoa Bars

• 175g porridge oats
• 5g cinnamon
• 15g cacao nibs
• 75g butter
• 50g muscavado sugar
• 35g golden syrup