Father's Day Gift Ideas for the Man In Your Life

This year, June the 16th is Father's Day.  A day where we are encouraged to celebrate the men in our lives.  Now, although in our household we are always letting Ian know how much we love and appreciate him, we still enjoy the excuse to celebrate with the masses and enjoy spoiling him that little bit extra on Father's Day.  Plus it's a good reason to indulge in some cake - how about a deliciously grown-up and indulgent Chocolate and Whisky Layer Cake - and buy some fun pressies that Ian will love.

Here is a round up of some present ideas that will be perfect for dads on Father's Day whatever their taste and whatever your budget.

If you want to treat your dad this Father's Day without spending too much money, you can show you care by giving a gift that costs just £1 at Poundland.  From snazzy gift bags and cards to presents that will make dad's day, Poundland has it covered.  An official Family Guy beer glass or insulated bottle jacket make a great gift (especially if given along with a bottle of dad's favourite beer!)  Or how about a Grow Your Own Football Pitch or a wooden cube puzzle for a good novelty present?  Cuddly toys are always a much loved gift idea and Poundland always has a great selection!  All these things and more can be purchased in store at a Poundland near you, for the budget-busting price of just £1 each!  Find out more at www.poundland.co.uk/top-tips/fathers-day/

If you have a bigger budget you could treat your dad to an experience day he will never forget. There are a great range of exciting experiences available online to suit any dad.  From a short break to beer tasting to a tour of a football stadium to a bungee jump, there is a whole host of things to pick from.  My favourite experience on the Buyagift website, and the thing that Ian would love the most is the Zombie Experience at an Abandoned Manor House in Manchester.  This adrenaline pumping zombie survival experience for two, lets you live and breathe the horror of a zombie apocolypse.  How awesome would that be!  Perfect for the horror film loving dad.  It costs £214 for two for a 3 hour experience and comes with excellent reviews from satisfied customers. One day we will do this together!

If films are more your thing, the brilliant film Wreck it Ralph has just been released.  We adore this latest Disney feel good offering and it would make the ideal movie for a Father's Day family film afternoon served with popcorn and nachos!  If your dad is more like my Ian, then Texas Chainsaw is out now on DVD, Blu-Ray and 3D.  It's a real gore-fest for fans of the franchise, seeing the return of Leather Face and his trusty power tool.

If your dad likes a little tipple, how about a bottle of Single Malt Scotch Whisky.  Morrison's currrently have 70cl bottles of Glenfiddich whisky down from £33.99 to just £20!  Small bottles are just £10.

If your dad has a sweet tooth, there is a range of Guiness confectionery that he might enjoy including truffles and little chocolate pints for just £2.99, available at Morrison's.  There are lots of other choccie treats too, marketed especially for Father's Day.

Whatever you decide to do for your dad this Father's Day, I hope you all enjoy celebrating the men in your life!

Celebrating Father's Day with Glenfiddich Whiskey #cbias

I am a member of Collective Bias Social Fabric Community. This content has been compensated as part of the social shopper insights study for Collective Bias and their client.

My husband Ian is a fabulous, hands on father to our five children who completely adore him, and he fully deserves to be treated to the finer things in life.  When Father's Day comes around it provides an extra excuse to do just that!  Celebrating having a great man in my children's life is something I do everyday, but this one day a year gives us a licence to go that step further and go to town with good food and gifts as we come together as a family to let Ian know just how special he is to us and how lucky we all are to have him.

One of Ian's favourite tipples is Single Malt ScotchWhiskey - possibly due to the fact that Scottish blood runs through his McDonald veins!  Taking part in a shop for Collective Bias to purchase a bottle of Glenfiddich 12 Year Old Whisky as a Father's Day gift, put a big smile on the face of my husband and gave me an opportunity to really spoil him.  

Take a look at our photos from our shopping trip to Morrison's in my Google + album where we looked at Father's Day Gift ideas and bought our Glenfiddich which was on special offer at just £20 for a 70 cl botttle!

Buying the Glenfiddich was just the start of Ian's treats, as I wanted to use the whiskey, not just as a smooth, warming drunk, but also as an ingredient in a recipe for an amazingly delicious sounding Chocolate and Glenfiddich Whiskey Layer Cake.  I found a recipe at The Little Loaf and tweaked it everso slightly.  The resulting cake is rich, indulgent, dark, moist and absolutely divine. The Glenfiddich Whiskey adds a grown-up and rather masculine twist to the chocolate cake which will make it a hit for any dad on Father's Day.  So buying a bottle of Glenfiddich is a great gift idea.  What's more, dad gets to finish what's left of the bottle at the end of the baking session. A gift that just goes on giving!

Chocolate and Glenfiddich Whiskey Layer Cake

Ingredients:

For the cake

340g plain flour
525g golden caster sugar
128g cocoa powder
2 ¼ tsp baking powder
2 ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
3 large free range eggs
375ml milk
188ml rice bran oil
3 tsp vanilla extract
375ml boiling water

For the whiskey syrup

100ml water
100g caster sugar
50ml Glenfiddich whiskey

For the buttercream

150g softened butter
350g icing sugar
4 tbsp condensed milk
2 tbsp Glenfiddich whiskey

For the ganache

250g dark chocolate
250ml double cream
100g light brown muscovado sugar

Method:

For the cake

• Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Prepare three 20cm cake tins. I use Cake Release.
• Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda into the bowl. Add sugar.
• In a separate bowl, beat the eggs then add the milk and rice bran oil. Pour into the dry mixture and whisk for two to three minutes until well combined.
• Whisk the boiling water to your mixture a little at a time until combined. The batter will be extremely liquid.

• Pour into your prepared cake tins and bake in the centre of the oven for 25 – 35 minutes. Remove from oven when cooked through.

For the whiskey syrup

• Combine the water and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to the boil. 
• Simmer for a couple of minutes until the sugar has dissolved. Add the whiskey and simmer for one minute more then remove from the heat.
• Drizzle the syrup over the top of each cake.

For the buttercream

• Beat the butter until pale and fluffy. 
• Sift in the icing sugar and whisk to combine, then add the condensed milk. 
• Continue to beat, slowly adding the whiskey.

For the ganache

• Place the chopped chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl.  
• Heat the cream and sugar until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to the boil and simmer for one minute. 
• Remove from the heat and allow to stand for one minute then pour over the chocolate and stir until smooth and glossy. Allow to cool to a spreadable consistency.

To assemble the cake

• Smear ganache on top of one of the cake rounds.  Spread buttercream onto another round and sandwich together.
• Repeat by smearing ganache on top of the cake and spreading buttercream onto the third round and placing on top.
• Use the rest of the ganache to coat the top and sides of the cake and smooth over.

I really enjoyed making this cake with help from Kizzy who loves baking. The aromas that emanated from the kitchen were amazing.  Seeing the end result made us know that all our hard work was well worth the effort.  When Ian saw the cake he was very keen to sample it along with a wee dram of Glenfiddich Single Malt Scotch Whiskey!  He said the cake was amazing.

We may have started our Father's Day celebrations a bit early this year, but I wanted to share this cake recipe with you in case you want to treat the man in your life.