 |  | Charades
This time-honoured classic has the royal seal of approval, as it's supposed to be a favourite of the Queen herself.
How to play - Get each person in the room to write the names of ten books, films, plays, television programmes or songs on scraps of paper, then fold them and throw them into a large bowl.
If there are lots of you, split into teams and mime to your own team-mates. If there are fewer than eight of you, it's best to simply take it in turns to fish a piece of paper out of the bowl and mime to the assembled group, letting them first know what category of subject has been picked out.
The first person to guess correctly then takes his or her turn, and so it goes on. It's best to have a time limit of, say, two minutes per mime to keep things lively. If you make any sounds during your mime then you are 'out' and must replace your piece of paper before play passes to the next person. Whoever guesses correctly keeps that piece of paper so that scores can be tallied at the end.
Who's in the hat?
This requires quick thinking and great powers of description!
How to play - Get everyone in the room to write down the names of ten or more celebrities, book characters or other notable names on scraps of paper, then throw them all into a hat. As with charades, first decide whether to split into teams or play as individuals.
Players or teams have one minute to take it in turns to pick names out of the hat and describe them as quickly as possible without using initials, rhymes or the name itself.
Each time a correct guess is given, the player selects a new name, and continues until the minute is up, the aim being to get through as many names as possible in that time. Keep the correctly guessed names to one side so that you can keep score.
The vicar's cat
This is a word game for all ages, and one that children will particularly enjoy.
How to play - Each person takes his or her turn to describe and name 'the vicar's cat', using letters of the alphabet in order. For example, the first player might say: 'The vicar's cat is arrogant and his name is Albert' and the next may continue with: 'The vicar's cat is belligerent and her name is Bessie'.
Keep going until a player hesitates for too long, when they have to drop out or - to stay in the game - do a forfeit chosen by the previous player.
Variation: You can make this game more complicated by insisting that each new player recites the whole list so far. So, player three would have to say: 'The vicar's cat is arrogant and his name is Albert; the vicar's cat is belligerent and her name is Bessie' before going on to think of an example for the letter 'C'.
Tap the pan
A game of suspense and deduction.
How to play - Take it in turns to leave the room while the rest of the assembled players decide on a task he or she must perform on their return. It should involve someone or something in the room - for example, turn a photograph upside down or eat Uncle George's mince pie.
Give one of the group of players a saucepan and wooden spoon to tap it with. When the first player returns, he or she moves around the room trying to work out what the task is. As they get closer to the object or person in question, the tapper taps the pan faster and more loudly; as they move further away, the tapper taps slowly and more softly.
This continues until the player identifies the object or person and performs the nominated task. The tapper then leaves the room to take his or her turn and the player to their left becomes the tapper.
In the frame
A hilarious game that requires nerves of steel!
How to play - Provide an empty picture frame (or one cut from cardboard) for each player to hold in front of his or her face.
The object of the game is that the player holding the frame must stay completely poker-faced and still (apart from the odd blink) for a whole minute while the other players try to make him or her laugh by making silly faces and sounds or by telling jokes.
There must be no physical contact between players. You could have a lucky dip box of small prizes for anyone who can go the whole distance without cracking a smile. Play passes to the left.
Cut the chocolate
Messy, frustrating but ultimately rewarding!
How to play - You need to prepare in advance by placing a large bar of chocolate in the freezer to get very hard. Unwrap it and place it whole on a large plate with a blunt knife and fork.
Have to hand a hat, scarf and a thick pair of gloves, as well as a dice for throwing (or more than one if there is a large group), and let players take it in turns to try for a six. As soon as a six is thrown, that player has to don the gloves, hat and scarf and try to cut the chocolate.
Meanwhile, the dice remains in play so the next six could be thrown at any time. When a six is thrown again the person trying to cut the chocolate must quickly remove the hat, scarf and gloves and pass them (along with the knife and fork) to the person who got the six.
Players can eat any chocolate they manage to cut. This game obviously becomes easier as the chocolate begins to thaw! |  |
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|  |  |  |  | | These are small bite size cakes – ideal for a party or a hint of sweetness with a cup of tea. Use this delicious marble cake mix to make some vanilla flavoured and some chocolate flavoured. Makes 36. | | | You'll need: | | | 1 pack marble cake mix | | | 2 eggs | | | For the butter icing: | | | 75g butter, softened | | | 150g icing sugar, sifted | | | To decorate: | | | 5 tbsp icing sugar (sifted) | | | Writing icing pens | | | Sugar stars | | | Sugar balls |
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|  |  | | How to make it: | | | 1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/ fan oven 160°C, 350°F, gas mark 4. Grease and line a 450g /1lb loaf tin. | | | 2. Empty the chocolate and vanilla cake mixes into two separate bowls, add 1 egg and 3tbsp cold water into each bowl. Using an electric whisk, whisk each mix on medium speed for 2 minutes. Spoon the cake mix into each end of the prepared tin and smooth the top. Do not worry that the cake batter mixes in the middle. | | | 3. Bake in the centre of the oven for 40 minutes or until well risen. Cool in the tin for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Leave to cool. | | | 4. For the butter icing: Beat the butter in a bowl until soft. Add half the icing sugar and beat until smooth. Add the remaining icing sugar and 1 tbsp of the milk. Beat until soft. | | | 5. When the cake has cooled, crumble the vanilla end of the cake into one bowl and the chocolate end to another. Add half the butter icing to each bowl and mix to bind. Dust your hands with icing sugar and roll the mix into walnut-sized balls. Leave to set. | | | 6. Mix the 5 tbsp icing sugar with a teaspoon of boiling water, mix until a thick ribbon consistency if achieved. Drizzle over a few of the vanilla cake calls and decorate with a selection of the sprinkles. | | | 7. Decorate the chocolate cake balls by drizzling with the writing icing. |
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|  |  | | How can you resist these lovely dessert pots of chocolate and crunchy honeycomb? Go, on - they're only tiny! Serves 6. | | | You'll need: | | | 100g dark chocolate | | | 75g milk chocolate | | | 75ml double cream | | | 3 medium eggs, separated | | | 25g caster sugar | | | 3 Crunchie bars, broken into pieces |
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|  |  | | How to make it: | | | 1. Melt the dark and milk chocolate together with the cream in a bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water. | | | 2. Allow the mixture to cool slightly, then whisk in the egg yolks. | | | 3. In a large bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric whisk, then gradually add the sugar and whisk until quite stiff. Add a spoonful of egg white mix to the chocolate mixture and fold in to loosen, then fold in the rest until combined. | | | 4. Fold in one third of the Crunchie pieces. Divide between 6x125ml ramekins (or small tumblers). | | | 5. Chill in the fridge until set. Divide the remaining Crunchie shards on top and dive in! |
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|  |  | | A Cornish version of the classic American whoopie pie, this recipe uses clotted cream as its filling for extra indulgence! | | | You'll need: | | | 100g butter, softened | | | 185g unrefined light muscovado sugar | | | 1 egg | | | 35g cocoa | | | 300g plain flour | | | 1tsp bicarbonate of soda | | | 1tsp baking powder | | | A pinch of salt | | | 1tsp vanilla extract | | | 100-125ml milk | | | 1 tub clotted cream |
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|  |  | | How to make it: | | | 1. Preheat fan oven to 180°C (fan oven 160°C, 300°F, gas mark 3). Lightly grease baking sheets. | | | 2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, and egg. In another bowl, sieve and combine cocoa, flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, and salt. | | | 3. In a small bowl, stir the vanilla extract into the milk. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mix, alternating with the milk mixture; beating until smooth. | | | 4. Drop batter using two spoons (to make 20-30 halves or 10-15 whoopies when filled with cream) onto the prepared baking sheets. With the back of a spoon spread batter into 5cm (2-inch) circles, leaving approximately 4cm (2 inches) between each cake. | | | 5. Bake for 15 mins or until they are firm to the touch. Remove from oven and let cool completely on a wire rack.When the cakes are completely cool, spread the flat side (bottom) of one chocolate cake with a generous amount of clotted cream. Top with another cake, pressing down gently to distribute the filling evenly. Repeat to make 10-15 whoopies. | | | 6. Decorate in your own individual style. |
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