JUNK RUNTAH

You may remember that I wrote a review about Degustabox recently. They kindly sent me their Degustabox Winter Box to sample. Just a quick reminder about what its all about....  Degustabox sends you a monthly surprise box with 9 to 14 surprise products, most of which are new to the market. A monthly subscription including delivery costs £12.99 which is less than what you would pay if you were to buy the items individually. They also give you a chance to feedback directly to the brands about whether you like the products or not. I have a special discount code for all my readers if you are interested in signing up a box for yourself or for a family memeber/friend as it would make a great Christmas present. You get a £3.00 discount when registering by using this code:  P8SI0

I really enjoyed my last Degustabox and theres not much left so it was quite timely getting another box. I love the surprise element and I also see it as a challenge particularly if I want to bake something from the ingredients. There were a few cooking ingredients which I could not really turn into a cake so I had to really think about what to make. Before I tell you about the cake, let me tell you a little about what was in this months box.

1 x Kettle Chips Salsa & Mesquite flavour - I love Kettle chips and these are no different. They really taste like proper potatoes and I love the salsa flavouring here. Its a limited edition for Christmas as it combines the flavours of tomatoes, chillies, peppers and barbeques. Perfect for your Christmas party!

2 x Cool Dawn Recovery Herbal Drink - this is a detox herbal drink that helps to prevent and cure hangovers which again is perfect for the upcoming party season. It has a unique taste of citrus and liquorice and contains no stimulant ingredients. Im not a fan of liquorice so this was not to my taste at all. 

5 x Lindt Lindor My Melting Moments - Lindt chocolates are one of my favourites so I was really pleased to see a few of these in the box. They are individually wrapped and are in a snowflake shape. 

1 x Kents Kitchen fajita flavour shots - Ive not tried these yet but I love the idea of them. Just add to meat or prawns for a quick fajita meal. There are 4 portions in a pack. 

1 x Branston Mediterranean Tomato Chutney - Weve used up almost half a jar already as its brilliant in our lunch sandwiches which we have been pairing with cheese, tomato and lettuce. It is tangy and you can really taste the tomatoes. Would be great on top of cheese and biscuits which you can serve at a Christmas party. 

2 x Pip Organice cloudy apple juice - I used one bottle for the cake and drank the other one. The juice is nice and refreshing which reflects the 100% organic fruit ingredients. There are no added sugars, water or preservatives 

1 x Montano cider - This is an Italian cider made from apples grown in the foothills of the Trentino region of Northern Italy. Ive not sampled this yet as we are saving it for the weekend. 

2 x Holy Cow Indian curry sauce. I love the convenience of this ready to cook pack and its also gluten free and suitable for vegetarians. 

1 x Drink me Chai - Chai Latte drink mix - I used this in the cake as well. Its a blend of exotic spices, milk and sweetened tea, just add water or milk for an instant taste of India! 

These are the 3 ingredients that I felt would work in a cake. I created this recipe based on one Ive used previously and incorporated these 3 key ingredients - Chai Latte drink mix, Pip organic apple juice and Lindt Melting Moments. I added more ground cinnamon for extra spice and some chopped apples for freshness. The cake itself was absolutely delicious. The apple was the predominant flavour mainly from the juice and the chunks of apples. The spice was quite subtle so Id recommend using more and the chocolates were a nice surprise if you happened to get a bit in your slice. I also made an apple juice glaze to go with the cake.