Sarah&Stuff

Jade is one of my best friends and I am so grateful she is. We literally have the same taste in sweet stuff and I can always count on her to eat to high hell with me. What a friend. Seeing as it was her birthday yesterday, I had to whip something up for her. A cheesecake is a super easy option and it means you can mix it up and personalise it how you want. Jade loves Oreos so I used them for the biscuit base but you can substitute with any biscuit type you like. 

Here is what you need: 

For the base: 250g oreo biscuits- crushed to form fine crumbs, 100g unsalted butter.

For the filling:  200g toblerone, 100g decent dark chocolate, 250g full fat cream cheese, 200ml whipping cream, 250g mascarpone.

For the topping: Toblerone pieces to decorate, individual dairy milk bar to grate.

1. Grease round 20cm springform cake tin. (Tip: turn removable base of tin upside down so the cheesecake base won’t stick into the groove that forms at the join. That can be reet annoying).

2. Melt butter in a pan and add biscuit crumbs. Mix well until fully combined.

3. Press firmly into base of tin. Place tin into the fridge to chill. 

4. Melt Toblerone and dark chocolate in a bowl over a pan of boiling water. Leave to cool slightly.

5. Whip cream cheese until smooth and creamy. In another bowl whip cream to medium stiffness (mine was mousse-like in texture). Add to cream cheese along with mascarpone and combine well. Stir in melted Toblerone and dark chocolate and mix until creamy and chocolatey. I added some broken pieces of Toblerone into the mixture too at this point to add more crunch to the filling. 

6. Pour mixture onto the cheesecake base. Chill overnight or for at least 8 hours. Remove from fridge and decorate with grated milk chocolate, whole Toblerone pieces and chopped Toblerone pieces. 

Now all that’s left to do is enjoy - sounds like Jade sure will. 

So... as I’ve said before, my dad is a big cake lover. Every year it’s pretty much become a tradition that I bake him a cake. So this year, it had to be biscoff. As soon as I tried the biscoff spread a few months back I knew I had to do something with it! HEAVEN IN A JAR. As well as this, butterscotch is one of my dads favorites. So this had to be included too. 

This is what I came up with...

For the sponge: 100g packed brown sugar, 120ml veg oil, 60g butterscotch angel delight, 2 medium eggs, 1/2 tbsp cinamon, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, 80g lotus biscoff spread, 295ml buttermilk, 187g plain flour, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp bicarbonate soda, 1/2 tsp salt. 

For the bisoff frosting: 226g salted butter, 226g vegetable shortening (I used Trex which can be found with the lard at the supermarket), 700g icing sugar, 280g biscoff spread.

Decoration: 1 packet of lotus biscoff caramelised biscuits, 140g biscoff spread.

Truffles: 150g milkybar, 150g cadburys dairy milk, 60g icing sugar, 140g biscoff spread, 8tbsp unsalted butter, 2tbsp vegetable shortening. 

1. Preheat oven to 180c. Line 2 x 20cm cake tins.

2. Sift the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate soda and salt over a bowl.

3. In an electric mixer combine oil and sugar.

4. Add in eggs, then the dry angel delight powder.

5. Next add cinnamon and vanilla extract.

6. Mix in biscoff spread and beat on a medium to high speed for about 30 seconds. Be sure to scrape the sides of the bowl.

7. Stir in buttermilk.

8. On lowest mixer setting, slowly stir in flour. When dry ingredients are mostly mixed in, turn off mixer and finish combining thoroughly by hand. Be sure to incorporate bottom!

9. Fill cake tins equally and bake for 25-30 minutes. If a skewer comes out clean, it’s done. Allow cakes to cool in tin for 5-10 minutes then move to cooling rack and set aside.

10. Beat butter and vegetable shortening on medium-high in electric mixer until smooth.

11. Add in biscoff spread and mix until smooth.

12. Slowly stir in the icing sugar one cup at a time. If you accidentally add a bit too much then add a little milk. 

13. Cut each sponge in half horizontally to form 4 cake layers. Place first on stand and cover in frosting. Sprinkle a layer of lotus biscoff biscuit crumbs on top. Add next sponge layer. Repeat until last sponge layer is added. Use the remaining frosting to cover entire cake.

14. Crush the biscuits to form fine crumbs and coat the cake. This is a messy job so make sure you have something to catch the stray crumbs as you attempt to cover the sides of the cake! 

15. Melt the biscoff spread and pour on to the centre of the cake allowing it to drip down the edges. 

16. Add a lotus biscoff biscuit to the top for decoration. 

17. To make the milk chocolate truffles, sift 30g icing sugar into a bowl. In a separate bowl, mix 4tbsp butter and 70g biscoff spread until smooth. Add icing sugar to this mixture and mix until a dough like consistency. Place in freezer for ten minutes. Melt 150g dairy milk with 1 tbsp vegetable shortening and allow to cool slightly. Once dough balls are out of freezer coat in melted chocolate mixture and sprinkle biscuit crumbs on top. 

18. Repeat this process but using the 150g milkybar.

19. Add the truffles to the cake in whichever way you like. GO FOR IT.

This cake is seriously amazing. If you want to spoil someone then this is the cake for you. Go for it gang. Bake it up, cut a whacking slice and get it down ya!

Chocolate and Clotted Cream Truffles

These are super easy to make and are a delicious present to give to a friend for a birthday. I did exactly that for one of my best friends. 

All you need is:

227g tub clotted cream, 100g milk chocolate, 100g dark chocolate, cocoa powder. 

Get trufflin’...

Melt both lots of chocolate in a bowl over a pan of boiling water. Once smooth, add the clotted cream and mix till combined. Chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours or over night. Once the mixture is ready, scoop out truffle sized pieces and roll into balls. Tip some cocoa powder on to a plate and coat each truffle. Place back in the fridge and eat when ready.

We need to talk about this film for a minute. 

Lost River has had completely mixed reviews - mainly that it’s not worth watching. WRONG. This is Ryan Gosling’s directing debut and in true Gosling style, sure, it’s a bit crazy, mental, cooky but it’s also so beautifully filmed. The whole story is beautiful actually. I was lucky enough to see this film play at a local cinema with a live satellite Q&A with Ryan Gosling and Matt Smith at the end. Listening to them talk about the ideas  behind the film was what made the whole experience even better for me I think. 

To sum it up real quick without giving anything away,  a single mother enters a dark lifestyle after facing economic difficulties. Meanwhile her eldest son has to take care of his younger brother because of the absence of their mother and gets into trouble with the town's feared bully, while trying to help to get some money to help his mother. A road leading to an underwater utopia is then discovered and from there things get even more Gosling’d.

Give the trailer a watch and if it all seems a bit confusing then do some research and find out the problems actually being faced by some in Detroit. This isn’t some film with an entirely made up story line. It’s a family trying to hold on to their home. It kinda makes it all the more beautiful yet all the more sad at the same time. 

Plus, as usual, the soundtrack is perfect. Johnny Jewel, you absolute genius. Have a sneaky listen... 

Ok. So this is probably my favourite thing i’ve ever made. This cake was the most fun to play around with and thank god it worked.

This was for a friends birthday and I always like to ask people what their favourite things are chocolate/cake wise. Martin, my friend, said his favourite chocolate is Cadbury Crunchie and Munchies. Pretty good choices if you ask me. 

The cake has five chocolate mud sponge layers and pressed into each are some munchies. Sandwiched between the layers is a crunchie flavoured buttercream with broken up honeycomb pieces to add the crunch in the crunchie cake. This is all coated in a chocolate frosting. 

Here’s a look at the inside... if this doesn’t remind you of a certain Roald Dahl film then I don’t know what will...

I’d say a thin slice is all you need. HA! Don’t be silly. 

So to make the cake you will need:

The ingredients used to make this sponge - http://goo.gl/EU835b

Plus 2 x packets of munchies (you could pick alternatives)

For the crunchie buttercream:

13 crunchie bars

300g butter

Approx 600g icing sugar

5-6 tbsp milk

Yellow food colouring if needed (I didn’t use any)

For the chocolate frosting:

800g icing sugar

120g cocoa powder, sifted

150g unsalted butter

600g full fat cream cheese

For decoration:

Extra crunchies - as many as you like

1. Once you have followed the link and made the cakes, allow them to cool and then set aside in tins until needed. 

2. To make the crunchie buttercream, peel the chocolate away from all 12 crunchie  bars being careful to leave as little chocolate as possible. Keep the shavings on a plate and set aside. These will be used to decorate the finished cake. 

3. Put 12 of the 13 crunchie bars in a food processor and blend until they are the same consistency as flour. 

4. In a large bowl, beat the butter until light and fluffy. Add 100g icing sugar and 1 tbsp milk and mix well using an electric whisk. Add the crunchie powder and mix. Then add remaining icing sugar and milk until desired consistency. If at this point you wanted to use yellow food colouring, mix some in. Set aside. 

5. To make the chocolate frosting, mix the icing sugar, cocoa powder and butter together on a low speed until fully combined, sandy in texture and there are no large lumps of butter. Add a little cream cheese to loosen the mixture and beat until smooth then add the remaining cream cheese and continue to mix until light and fluffy. 

6. Slice the cakes horizontally through the middle - I used five tiers and had a half leftover (me and mum munched on the leftover). Place the first layer on your cake stand or plate. Add a layer of crunchie buttercream. Break small bits of crunchie from the remaining bar you didn’t add earlier and sprinkle over the top. Add next cake layer and repeat until you have formed a cake as tall as you like. 

7. Cover the whole cake in chocolate frosting using a palette knife to help you cover evenly. I then decorated with broken crunchie pieces and the chocolate shavings saved from earlier. 

This is one heck of a cake. So don’t expect to eat anything else for the next few days. That’s cool though right?!

I bloody love Terry and his chocolate oranges. 

You know when you want to make something real simple and real quick, I don’t know about anyone else but I always opt for cheesecake. Tastes amazing  but doesn’t take forever to make. I made this for my mum as she was having friends over and for once (!!) she remembered to save me a slice so I could try some the next day. I obviously waited till after breakfast to try it. Ahem. 

Here’s what you’ll need:

400g hobnobs, 200g butter, 220g caster sugar, 250ml double cream, 300g Terry’s chocolate orange, 400g cream cheese, plus extra segments and orange matchsticks to decorate if wanted. 

1. Crush the biscuits and let out any frustration you have. 

2. Melt the butter and mix with the biscuits. Press into your tin (think mine was about 20cm) and set aside in the fridge. 

3. Melt the chocolate and then leave to cool slightly. 

4. Whip the cream until it begins to stiffen up. Soft peaks should form. 

5. Add in the cream cheese and sugar and then beat well again. 

6. Pour the mixture on top of the base and refrigerate. 

7. Decorate with chocolate shavings, segments, and orange flavoured matchsticks. 

See! Easy. 

This cake was so much fun to make! It was for a friends birthday and because I’ve been real busy, I wanted to make something that didn’t require me to think up any new stuff! 

The bottom tier is white chocolate mud sponge and sandwiched in between the four layers is a Cadburys milk chocolate crispy cake layer. This is then all coated in Milkybar frosting. 

The top tier is milk chocolate brownie sponge and sandwiched in between the three layers is a Milkybar crispy cake layer. This is then all coated in a milk chocolate frosting. 

The bottom white chocolate tier is then drizzled with melted Cadbury Dairy Milk. 

This gives you a little more of an idea as to what the inside of the cake looks like... I had to ask my friend to take a picture for me as otherwise I’d have never seen the inside! 

Here goes...

For the white chocolate mud sponge and Milkybar frosting you need to use the same ingredients I used for this sponge here - http://goo.gl/jNkFsI

With this sponge, you don’t need to worry if it comes out the oven a little crispy on top, slice a thin layer off and underneath is a beautiful moist sponge. 

For the milk chocolate brownie sponge you need to use the ingredients I used in this sponge here - http://goo.gl/EU835b

The quantities shown however will make too much mixture for this cake so if I were you I would halve everything. OR, just a heads up, this sponge freezes perfectly and when defrosted tastes equally as good. So if you want to have a quick go to sponge for maybe a last minute birthday surprise, you could always make the full amount. 

For the milk chocolate frosting you will need:

400g icing sugar

60g cocoa powder

75g unsalted butter, softened

300g cream cheese

This is what you will need for the milk chocolate crispy cake layers: 

300g Cadbury Dairy Milk

1 large knob of butter

1 splash of double cream

100g rice krispies

For the white chocolate krispie cake layers you don’t need quite so much as this is for the smaller tier. So either go with the same quantities and if there is any left over, munch on it, or halve the quantities. 

As well as this, remember you need a little extra Cadbury Dairy Milk to melt and drizzle over the cake at the end. 

So lets get cracking...

1. Follow the instructions in the first link to make the white chocolate mud sponge using 20cm cake tins. 

2. Then make the milk chocolate brownie sponge following the second link remembering to halve the quantities if you like. I used 20cm cake tins again and then had to cut the cake down into a smaller circle to form the top tier. If you have lots of different sized cake tins then I’d just use one that's maybe 18cm or less.  

Allow cakes to cool and pop in tins till needed. 

3. Make the Milkybar frosting using the first link. Set aside in fridge.

4. Make the milk chocolate frosting by mixing the icing sugar, cocoa powder and butter. An electric mixer is best. It should be sandy in texture with no large lumps of butter. Add a little cream cheese to soften the mixture and beat until smooth then add remaining. Beat until light and fluffy. Set aside in fridge.

5. For your mega-crispy chocolatey rice layers: 

Smash up the chocolate and melt with the butter and cream in a large heatproof bowl over a pan of gently simmering water until smooth and glossy. Leave to cool for 5 minutes (to avoid soggy cereal!), then stir in the rice krispies until evenly coated. Set aside and repeat with the other chocolate type.  

6. Then it’s just a case of assembling it all together! Your two white chocolate mud sponges need slicing horizontally though the middle to form four equal layers. I went with three layers for my milk chocolate tier but feel free to stack um up higher! 

So it goes a little something like this...

White chocolate sponge, milk chocolate crispy layer, white chocolate sponge, milk chocolate crispy layer, white chocolate sponge, milk chocolate crispy layer, white chocolate sponge. 

Coat it all in Milkybar frosting. 

Then, milk chocolate sponge. white chocolate crispy layer, milk chocolate sponge, white chocolate crisp layer, milk chocolate sponge. 

Coat it all in milk chocolate frosting. 

7. Melt the extra Cadbury Dairy Milk and drizzle over the bottom tier.

AND BREATHE! Now sit and bask in your amazingness. 

This was basically just an excuse to try out the new ‘partyparty’ app on my iphone and what did I learn? It’s amazing. 

For this, I cheated big style. But like I say, it was mainly for the cool gif, not for the quality of the pie!

I used shop bought pastry and tinned pie filling (don’t judge me!!!) then used my heart shaped cutters to make the lid. All you do is start at the outer edge, layering them round the pie and then working your way in to the middle.

Looks real cute.

This wedding was the best. It was so beautiful and cute and quirky all at the same time. My boyfriend’s brother and his now wife (!!!) tied the knot in style.

The flowers from the bouquet were used for the headdress too. Amy’s dress was so beautiful and had a cut out at the back.

This is little Seth their son. Both their children were matching and wore converse trainers - too cute!

I lent them my typewriter as Amy had a really good idea to use it to leave a message to all the guests. They could then sign the guestbook - I always think it must be so much fun reading back through all the comments!

They decided to have a ‘sweet treats’ table and asked if I could make the cakes, so below are a few pictures to show you what I went for! 

As well as all this they had an ice cream trolley - literally the best idea ever!!! So many amazing flavours to choose from…

All the little details were perfect…

This is Fintan their other son. All the children had colouring to keep them occupied and even a room with a tv and games!

The cake was beautiful and it was a real surprise when it was cut into. I even got to take some home (YES!)

Beautiful couple, beautiful wedding. 

Garden Party!

My mum was throwing a big family party and the weather was on our side so we decided to take it outdoors in the sunshine. It’s really nice making the most of eating in the garden so we wanted lots of summery food and drinks for everyone to enjoy. 

We have loads of jam jars as we often use them to hold candles so we can light up the garden on summer nights. I went out and bought some cheap flowers, trimmed them down to fit in the jars and then made them look all pretty by tying a doily around with ribbon. SO easy yet so lovely looking on tables.

As usual, we had to make sure we had pudding for the children so we chose fun letter jelly and a different flavoured version of this bowl of amazingness - http://goo.gl/U6H3Wv

As well as all the other treats, I wanted to make a summer classic but shake it up a bit. 

Boston Cream Trifle

This trifle is a slight twist on a classic and it went down a treat. 

You will need:

225g (8oz) plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

A pinch of salt

115g (4oz) butter, softened, plus extra for greasing 175g (6oz) caster sugar

2 eggs, at room temperature 1 tsp vanilla extract

120ml (4fl oz) milk

600g (1lb 5oz) berries, such as blackberries, strawberries (hulled and halved), raspberries, and blueberries

For the custard:

250ml (9fl oz) milk

250ml (9fl oz) double cream 1 vanilla pod, split and seeds scraped

3 egg yolks

2 tbsp cornflour

75g (21⁄2oz) caster sugar pinch of salt

1 tbsp unsalted butter, softened

1 tsp vanilla extract

For the ganache:

350g (12oz) plain or dark chocolate, broken into small pieces

250ml (9fl oz) double cream

How to make:

1. For the custard, heat the milk, cream, and vanilla pod in a saucepan over a medium heat. Bring it to a simmer and remove from the heat immediately.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the yolks, cornflour, caster sugar, and salt. Gradually add the hot milk mixture, whisking constantly. Transfer to a clean saucepan and cook over a low heat, stirring constantly, until the custard is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Sieve the custard into a bowl to remove the vanilla pod and any lumps. Stir in the butter and vanilla extract. Place a sheet of cling film over the bowl, making sure it touches the top of the custard, and chill.

3. Preheat the oven to 180c (350f/Gas 4). Double sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl and set aside. Using an electric hand whisk, cream together the butter and sugar in a separate bowl until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, whisking between additions, then add the vanilla extract. Fold in the flour mixture using a large metal spoon, one-third at a time, alternating with the milk. Continue to fold until the batter is smooth and everything is well incorporated.

4. Grease and line a 23cm (9in) square cake tin and pour the batter into the pan, making sure it spreads evenly. Bake for 25 minutes, or until golden brown and springy to the touch. Remove from the oven and let it cool.

5. For the ganache, heat the chocolate and cream in a small heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (see technique for melting chocolate on p238). The bowl should not touch the water. Stir occasionally until the chocolate melts. Remove from the heat and set aside.

So I’ve been real busy training to be a teacher. As crazy as it sounds, this trip was last July time. I want to catch up but it’ll mean some of these posts are a little outta date. I’m looking forward to updating this lil blog.

I've never made cakes for a wedding before so this was a first! (WOOP!) I wanted to make cakes that fit well with a wedding atmosphere, drinking, dancing, partying etc. I also didn't want to make anything too heavy if that makes sense. Something small and delicate is what I was going for. These cupcakes are PERFECT for that. Little, alcoholic sweet treats. Yum.

The cakes are bite size and the bottoms are filled with rum soaked strawberries. The sponge also has rum soaked into it and each is then topped with a creamy lime flavoured frosting.

I also made some Mojito mini cupcakes which you'll find in the post below. Presented together at a party, wedding or celebration, they really do look impressive.

FOR THE SPONGE:

100ml white rum, 170g caster sugar, 150g strawberries, 40g unsalted butter - softened, 120g plain flour, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp salt, 1 large egg, 120ml whole milk, 1/2 tsp vanilla essence. 

FOR THE FROSTING:

80g unsalted butter - softened, 250g icing sugar, 1/2 tsp finely grated lime zest, 4 tsp whole milk, sliced strawberries and lime zest to decorate.

ALSO, one or two 24-hole mini muffin tin and cases. My tin was from Sainsburys and wasn’t too expensive. Around a fiver I think. The cases were from Asda. They were really brilliant as they came in different colours which can really make a difference to the final look of the cakes.

1. Preheat the oven to 170c and fill a mini muffin tin with mini muffin cases.

2. Add the rum and 30g of the sugar to a small saucepan and bring to the boil, allowing it to reduce by about half, then set aside to cool slightly. Hull and chop the strawberries into small pieces, then soak in the rum and sugar reduction for 30-40 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, using an electric mixer, slowly mix together the butter, flour, remaining sugar, baking powder and salt. Mix until the ingredients have come together and resemble fine breadcrumbs.

4. In a jug whisk the egg, milk and vanilla essence together. With the mixer still running on a low speed, gradually pour the liquid mixture into the flour and butter and mix thoroughly. 

5. Drain the strawberries from the rum reduction, reserving the liquid, and place a few small pieces of strawberry in each cupcake case. Spoon the cake batter on top, filling each case by two-thirds. Any remaining batter can be spooned into more cupcake cases in a second mini muffin tin. 

6. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the cupcakes are a light golden-brown colour and bounce back when lightly pressed. If like me you only have a single oven you may need to bake in two batches. While they are still warm, spoon about 1/2 tsp of the rum reduction over each cake then leave to cool completely before frosting. 

7. Using the electric mixer, beat together the icing sugar, butter and lime zest until combined and crumb-like in texture, then mix together the milk and 4 tsp of the reserved rum reduction in a jug. Pour the milk and rum into the butter and icing sugar mixture, still mixing on a low speed. When all the liquid has been incorporated, increase the speed to high and beat the frosting until soft and fluffy. 

8. Smooth the frosting on to the cupcakes using a palette knife. Then top them with sliced strawberries and lime zest.

These cupcakes are so fresh tasting. Full of zesty lime and fresh mint and of course, a little bit of rum.

FOR THE SPONGE:

100ml white rum, 170g caster sugar, 40g unsalted butter - softened, 120g plain flour, 1/4 tsp salt, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp finely grated lime zest, 1 tsp finely grated lemon zest, 1 tbsp finely chopped mint, 1 large egg, 120ml whole milk, 1/2 tsp vanilla essence.

FOR THE FROSTING:

80g unsalted butter - softened, 250g icing sugar, 1/4 tsp finely grated lemon zest, 1/4 tsp finely grated lime zest, 4 tsp whole milk, 4 tsp white rum, 1 tbsp caster sugar, mint leaves and lemon zest to decorate.

ALSO, one or two 24-hole mini muffin tin and cases. My tin was from Sainsburys and wasn't too expensive. Around a fiver I think. The cases were from Asda. They were really brilliant as they came in different colours which can really make a difference to the final look of the cakes.

1. Preheat the oven to 170c and line the muffin tin with  mini muffin cases.

2. In a small saucepan, bring the white rum and 30g of the sugar to the boil, allowing it to reduce by about half, then set aside.

3. Using a hand held electric mixer, set on a low speed, beat together the butter, flour, salt, baking powder, lime and lemon zest, mint and remaining sugar. Mix until the ingredients have come together and are crumb like in consistency.

4. Mix together the remaining ingredients for the sponge in a jug. With the mixer on a low speed, gradually pour the liquid ingredients into the flour and butter mixture and mix thoroughly, scraping down the sides of the bowl.

5. Spoon the cake batter into the paper cases, filling each up to two-thirds full. Any remaining batter can be used to fill more cases. If you only have a single oven like me, you may have to bake two batches one at a time. Place in the oven and bake for 12-15 minutes or until the cupcakes are a light golden brown on top and springy to the touch.

6. While the cupcakes are still warm, spoon about 1/2 tsp of the rum reduction over each cake, then leave the cakes to cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.

7. Using the electric mixer, mix together the butter, icing sugar, lemon and lime zest on a low speed until combined and sandy in consistency. In a jug stir together the milk and rum, then pour this into the butter and icing sugar while still mixing on a low speed. When all the liquid ingredients have been incorporated, increase the speed to high and beat the frosting until light and fluffy.

8. Divide the frosting between the cupcakes, smoothing it on with a palette knife. To finish, I topped each cake with a fresh mint leaf and some lemon zest.  

I can always tell how much I've enjoyed a book by the length of time it takes me to read it. This one, I flew through. I couldn't put it down. Also, will you just look at that cover. Beautiful. Love it. 

The Sisters Brothers begins with a cruel image. A good opening to keep you instantly hooked. A horse is being burned in a fire 'his kicking, burning legs, his hot-popping eyeballs'. If you don't appreciate that first line and you're not happy with that kind of description then this book probably isn't for you. Especially seeing as though it is blurbed as 'hilarious' and 'relentlessly absorbing'.

Eli Sisters, the narrator of the story, is a hired killer alongside his older brother Charlie Sisters, on the American west coast in 1851, around the time of the gold rush in the Sierra Nevada mountains.

It becomes quite clear quite quickly that Eli's brother, Charlie, is the dominant force in the pair and killing duo. Whilst Eli is reflecting on the death of his previous horse and commenting on the nature of his new, somewhat slow (in every sense of the word) horse, Charlie is taking orders from a commodore.

The Sisters brothers are to head to San Francisco and kill a stranger called Herman Kermit Warm. We have no idea why this is or what the commodores reasons for wanting this man dead are at this point.

The brothers relate their odyssey throughout the book and like most odysseys, it is full of both strange adventures and revelations. So much comes from the request to kill a man and the story is gripping.

It was one of my best friends birthdays the other week and she had a cocktails and cake party round at her house. Probably my favourite combination ever I have to say. 

It involved homemade cocktails, cut little jam jars, yummy cakes and nibbles, fancy straws and lots of laughs.