Gingerbread Christmas Trees

I've always been a biscuit maker, even as a child. Over the years though, my biscuit repertoire has grown. I've collected recipes from all kinds of places, friends, family, books, magazines, and even the internet now. As I have gone along, I have looked for and collected a variety of biscuit cutters too, and now have quite a collection.

The Christmas tree cutter has been in my collection for about ten years now. I spotted the  set of four Christmas cutters in a kitchen shop one day so quickly made them mine. The gingerbread Christmas trees have been part of our Christmas now for the last few years.

Initially I was inspired by one of my stitching friends who makes the most stunning shortbread Christmas Trees drizzled in white chocolate. So I dug out my cutter, made a batch of gingerbread, drizzled them with melted chocolate, and sprinkled over hundreds and thousands before the chocolate set.

The drizzled chocolate and hundreds and thousands add just enough sweetness, and if kept in an airtight container, the biscuits will last quite a while. A good one to have over the Christmas week.

Trifle

Back when I was a child my Mum used to make trifle, and I ate it under sufferance. As I grew older, my new M-I-L also made trifle. It was always one of the desserts of choice at Christmas time.
My M-I-L's trifle was so much better than my Mum's, and it  took me years to work out why, as I watched her make it one year. It was many years before I tried to make one for us. It involved making sponge cake, something I had never been good at so had avoided like the plague for years.

So about ten years ago I thought I would try. First to tackle was that dreaded sponge cake, so out came my trusty Women's Weekly cake book. Perfect! My mum would make sponge cakes without a recepie, and so would my M-I-L, but I found I needed the little hints written in the book. Since then I have made a few sponge cakes.

When I first started making trifle, I put strawberries in it, but a chat with my friend has led me to now use peaches, nectarines and blueberries. The strawberries go to mush too easily.

So my trifle goes like this:-

1. Sponge cake spread with home made strawberry jam, then sprinkled with coconut. Something learned from M-I-L.

2. Jelly - preferably red. Port wine is always good. I always use a packet jelly, but one day I may try one from scratch.

3. Thick home made custard.

4. Fruit - fresh yellow peaches and nectarines, added blueberries, all drizzled  with maple syrup and a touch of cinnamon.

5. Whipped cream flavoured with vanilla and with a touch of icing sugar.

The top is finally sprinkled with blueberries and coconut.

Its better left for a day if you can, then the flavours will meld together better. The sponge cake can be sprinkled with some kind of alcohol to taste too if desired, sherry is always good. Yummo!