Christmas Cookies Part 2

And then there was one! One day left of 2019, and still so many things to do before the end of the year!
In all reality, most of them can wait. But not this last post on Christmas cookies.
 It would be anathema to me to be talking Christmas after the 1st of Jan (yes, the tree is already down and all the ornaments are packed away. We start the New Year  without having the depressing business of clearing up Christmas decorations hanging over our heads. And by we, I mean me - because while the kids are at the age where they gladly decorate the tree, they sure as heck aren't going to help un-decorate it.)

I promised (you may not have noticed, but it didn't slip my mind) that there was a part two to the Christmas cookies from 2019, so here it is...

I constructed the gingerbread men out of a standard gingerbread cutter and a pocket watch cutter - see this post for the technique: http://teacakeandcreate.blogspot.com/2019/11/halloween-zombling-cookies.html

One of my favourites was this tree with the tangled lights, but if you want an even simpler design, try this one: 

(triangular christmas tree from Treat Boutique.)

Aaaand that's a wrap for Christmas 2019 (and for 2019!)

See you in 2020 ;-) 

xxM 

Christmas Cookies 2019

Ok, so I might just be avoiding today's real task of cleaning the house and cooking Christmas Eve dinner But it is also important to get these cookies logged before Christmas 2019 comes and goes, right?!

This was the first time I made Santa and Mrs Claus cookies for a class - I've avoided them before because it's a whole other colour to consider, but I justified making flesh colour by using it for Rudolph's snout too:

I know that some gel colour ranges have a copper colour that works well for skin tones, however

I always use a mix of soft pink and ivory - because that's what I've got! And if you need to neutralise it a little - if it's looking too pink - add a tiny drop of black 

I have more Christmas cookies for 2019 to share - but those pic's are a  different colour scheme, so obviously they require a separate post!

See you then!

xxM 

Christmas Trifle with Champagne and Panna Cotta

Is Christmas Eve a little late to be posting suggestions for Christmas dessert?
It is - especially if, like us, you celebrate on the evening of the 24th!
But there's always next year...

I made this trifle for a celebration dinner we had with friends last week,  because it has been ridiculously hot and a light trifle seemed like the perfect dessert.
The other reason I made it pre-Christmas, is because I know that the family we have coming over this  evening would far rather have cheesecake than trifle....
So  of course I've made a cheesecake (it's a Nutella swirl cheesecake to be precise. I guess I should share that recipe too?!)

But this trifle went down really well, so it is something that I will make again.

Here's a little video that I put together as a summary of the process. 

A couple of additional notes:

 - I used a small cake that I had in the freezer, made with the hot milk vanilla sponge recipe that I use for  basic cupcakes - it makes a great light sponge cake, so it's not just for cupcakes. 

- any vanilla sponge cake or pound cake will do, even un-iced cupcakes. 

- I used a small squeeze bottle to drizzle the champagne over the sponge cake. The cake was moist, not sloshed!

- use this yoghurt panna cotta recipe and omit the berries

-the panna cotta has to be made in two batches because it sets (which is what you want it to do!) , but that does mean you can't put aside half the batch to pour in for the second layer. 

- if you aren't comfortable halving the panna cotta recipe for a small trifle, then pour the remainder of the panna cotta into small glasses and top with berries for extra desserts. 

I hope the rest is  sufficiently explained in the video, if not - feel free to comment with questions below!

Now I need to go and sort out that cheesecake!

Happy Christmas Eve. 💕

xxM