Degustabox January 2015 review and a gluten free lemon cake

I know it's already halfway through February and this is the January Degustabox review but I received the box late in January and I just haven't gotten round to posting this. In case you have no idea what I'm on about, Degustabox is a no obligation monthly subscription which costs £12.99 including delivery. You get 9 to 14 surprise products and it's usually a good mixed selection of goodies. 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. You get a £3.00 discount when registering by using this code F3TJ1 which makes it just under a tenner for a goodie box including delivery. 

It's a bit hit and miss what you get with the box. I was really pleased with my first box then less so with the next 2 boxes but am back to being impressed with this one again. The January healthy box has 2 versions, an alcoholic and a non alcoholic version but I received both drinks which was great! 

As usual I baked something from the contents of the box and it was a no brainer this month as there was a cake mix in the box. It's far from an ordinary cake mix as it's a sugar free, gluten free and wheat free cake mix. Just add water, eggs and vegetable oil and bake. It was extremely timely as I had to bake a gluten free cake for someone at work. I decided to use lemon as the flavour as she had mentioned that lemon drizzle cake is her favourite. The cake was really easy to bake and turned out beautifully. I added a simple lemon glaze and some lemon zest on top. The recipient was really pleased with the cake and said it tasted just like 'real' cake! I had a small slice and it was wonderfully moist and lemony. The sweetness was also perfect as I was slightly worried about the sour lemons. I was alittle sceptical that the cake would have a fake sweetener taste but it didn't! I was also impressed with the height of the cake as sometimes my gluten free cakes turn out a little flat. 

So what else was in the January Degustabox?

 A lovely selection of healthy-ish goodies 

 This is the non alcoholic drink. Simplee Aloe which is a natural Aloe Vera drink. It contains Aloe blended with fresh grape juice and lemon and it tastes a little sour but not overly so 

 Koko Dairy Free milk is a unique alternative to cow's milk made with freshly pressed coconut milk. It's allergen free and does not curdle when you add it to tea or coffee. It's great for drinking, baking or cooking. 

 Finn Crisp - these are great to accompany my soups at lunch which I am having quite frequently at the moment. They are light and crispy and I personally like the sourdough taste. 

 Haywards Piccalilli - pickled vegetables in a tangy mustard sauce. Brilliant with pork pies! 

 Special gift for this month is a box of Clipper Fairtrade Green Tea with Lemon. This is a really nice refreshing drink and I love the lemon zing which pairs well with the green tea. 

 Special for Chinese New Year - Kabuto Noodles. Just add water and you have a delicious ready meal. It had a good flavour and was quite filling. 

 Mornflake Top Porridge Pots - great for breakfast on the go and I love that it comes with a little packet of Nutella. 

 Mornflake Top Porridge Pots -this one with Lyle's Golden syrup. 

 Sukrin Cake mix - sugar free, gluten free, wheat free, egg free (but you can add eggs to the recipe if you wish) A great base for creating gluten free cake- just add whatever flavour you want. 

 Little Miracles organic energy drink which is a blend of organic tea, juice and ginseng. It's sweetened with agave and contains less than 90 calories per bottle. 

 Another Little miracles drink but with black tea and peach. 

 The alcoholic version for this month's box - a bottle of Magner's Light Orchard Berries cider which was a little too sweet for us. 

 Alfa One Rice Bran Oil which is high in natural antioxidants such as Vitamin E and Gamma Oryzanol, a naturally occuring plant sterol which has been shown to reduce cholesterol absoprtion.

 For the gluten free lemon cake 

 ready to bake 

 fresh from the oven 

 The cake had a good height to it 

 with a simple lemon glaze and lemon zest 

For the cake
1 pack of Sukrin ake Mix
3 eggs
150ml water
75ml vegetable oil
Juice and zest of 1 lemon

For the lemon glaze
Juice of 1/2 lemon
100g icing sugar
zest of 1 lemon for decoration (optional)

• Preheat the oven to 180C.
• Mix the eggs, water and oil in a large bowl. 
• Add in the cake mix and whisk until smooth.
• Add in the juice and zest of 1 lemon.
• Pour into a cake tin and bake for about 30-35 minutes or until golden brown and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. 
• Allow to cool completely.
• To make the glaze, sift the icing sugar into a large bowl. Slowly add the lemon juice and mix until you get the consistency required. 
• Pour glaze over the cooled cake and top with some lemon zest if you wish.

Disclaimer: I was sent a Degustabox for review purposes. I was not required to write a positive review or to create a recipe. All opinions expressed are my own. This is not a sponsored post.