Last week I got sent the cutest thing in the post. That is one of the plus's of having a food blog. You get to try out new things. It was a Gingerbread Christmas Tree Kit from Waitrose and the challenge to create a tree special enough to be put onto their Facebook page.
Isn't that just the cutest thing you have ever seen??? I thought so too. They also sent me some extra's to use to dress it up really extra special . . .
Gold edible glitter, silver pearls and some ready to roll white fondant icing. Hmmm . . . not sure about the fondant icing. I am not a fondant fan . . . but I am a sparkle gal so the other things looked quite promising.
Essentially the kit had everything in it you needed to build your very own Gingerbread Cookie Christmas Tree . . . white icing, green icing, gingerbread dough, green sparkles and a sturdy carboard template to use to cut out the gingerbread with.
Now folks . . . I have a confession. When my children were growing up I used to create a beautiful Gingerbread creation for them every year during the month of December. Sometimes they were simple, sometimes they were incredibly complicated, always they were fun. I enjoyed making them, the kids enjoyed eating them . . . it was a win/win situation all round!
One year I made a house that was literally covered with every type of candy you could imagine . . . candy which disappeared on a daily basis, but which I never saw anyone taking or eating . . . however there was one of my children who pretty much sat on top of it every day, so I had a pretty good idea of who was the culprit!
Who me???
Anyways, I was really looking forward to making this gingerbread cookie tree. I thought I had read everything on the back of the package that I was supposed to do, and so I kneaded the dough to make it soft . . . it did take a lot of kneading, but I got there in the end. I found the cardboard template a bit annoying . . . but that's because I am a little bit lazy and I didn't like having to stop and keep cutting the stars down as I went along . . . there was a lot of rolling, and re-rolling and cutting.
They all fit onto my lined cookie sheet though so that was good. I had a big clump of dough leftover, so I cut out a few gingerbread snowmen, which I planned on sitting around the base coz . . . well, this is The English Kitchen and my Gingerbread Christmas Tree was just going to be the best ever don't you know! It smelled heavenly when it was baking. BOY!! If this tasted even half as good as it smelled, it was going to be fabulous!
Mistake one. Don't ever trust the timings on a package of anything. Always check sooner than you think they will be done. Mine ended up a tad bit on the burnt dark side. Obviously my oven runs a bit hotter than normal. (I must get that checked out!)
There is an old saying about Pride going before the fall . . . tis so true. I baked all the biscuits on one day, and then because the light was fading and I like to do all my photography in natural light . . . I decided to wait until today to put it together.
The icing was really hard to squeeze out of the icing bags . . . and I have to say in all honesty, it was a bit on the sparse side. If you plan on making this tree, I'd plan on making extra icing. I didn't, and found myself panicking a little bit because I felt I was going to run out and so I was being a real scrooge with it on each star. But that's not the worst of it . . .
Remember that nice clump of dough I had leftover and made gingerbread snowmen with? Well . . . I didn't read the instructions on the back of the box properly . . . I was supposed to use that to cut out a whole bunch of extra small stars to put between the star layers. DOH!!
I decided to improvise and cut up a digestive biscuit cake thing I had into slices and place the slices in between the layers.
See that hand in the above picture. I think my tree fell over about a dozen times . . . the improvised layers just didn't cut the mustard. That is Todd trying to hold it up so I can get a photo of it.
It didn't work . . . waaahhh!!! That will teach me to not read the instructions properly before doing something.
As you can see the sliced digestive cake things just did not work very well at all . . . boo hoo . . .
I ended up removing them altogether and just layering the stars together without anything in between . . .
This actually worked quite well . . . even if by then, having fallen over more than once or twice and being pried apart my tree looked a bit more than worse for the wear!
Perfectly edible, although . . . but . . . let's be honest here. It's not going to be winning any Prizes I don't think . . . well not unless they give one for the most miserable looking tree!!
Sometimes you just have to laugh, and get on with it, and laugh we did.
Many thanks to Waitrose for sending me their kit. I think this would be a fun activity to do with the kids during the days in the run up to Christmas. A lot of good family entertainment for only a fiver, and quite tasty as well. My recommendation . . . read the instructions thoroughly before making! (A good cook should really know that don't you think? I am humbled.)
Waitrose Christmas Gingerbread Tree Kit
£5 at Waitrose shops all over the UK
Well we finally got some sunshine today and it's beginning to feel a bit like summer should feel! Yayy!!! I took advantage of the sunshine and whipped up a really quick little dessert for the Toddster and I to enjoy . . .
I'm almost embarassed to call it a recipe . . . they are such a doddle to put together . . .
But it's also nice to know that if you keep some pre-baked tartlet dessert pastry cases in the cupboard . . . along with some double cream in the fridge and some lemon curd . . .
not to mention sweet summer berries . . .
then you can make an impressive dessert lickety split!!
Almost instantaneously actually.
But don't tell anyone . . . let them think you slaved all day to create these tasty little delights!!
It's only a little lie . . . I think you could also fold the lemon curd into thick Greek yogurt if you were wanting to watch the calories a bit more and it would be every bit as scrummy.
*Simple Summer Berry and Lemon Tartlets*
Makes 4
Printable Recipe
These are so simple and so tasty. People will think you slaved away for hours to make them. Little do they know . . . you cheated!
1 small punnet of blueberries (about 1 cup)
1 small punnet of raspberries (about 1 cup)
4 individual medium sweet pastry cases (about 3 inches in diameter)
225ml of double cream
3 dessert spoons of lemon curd
Whip the cream until it just begins to mound. Gently swirl the lemon curd throughout. I like to leave streaks of lemon curd. Divide it equally between the four pastry cases. Top with the berries and serve immediately.
I cannot imagine my kitchen without a bowl of lemons sitting on the counter. Bright and sunny and oh-so-very handy for lots of things.
Lemons are probably one of my most used fresh ingredients.
I usually buy the unwaxed ones, and even if a recipe calls only for the juice, I used my handy dandy microplane fine grater tool to remove the zest and I pop it into the freezer for later use.
And then there is candied lemon peel, so very easy to do, and so tasty. It's also quite handy to have on hand to use as garnishes for cakes and cookies, muffins, and desserts.
I also dry my own citrus peels to be used in cooking stews etc. Just remove the peel, without any of the white pith, and string it up on strings. Hang it in a dry place for a time, until completely dry and then store it in an airtight container.
It comes in plenty handy as well. I once had to cook some shrimp for a dinner party starter at work, that called for three types of dried citrus peels, made into a powder to dust the shrimp with before cooking.
You cannot imagine how happy I was to know I already had peel dried and at the ready to use!! It's very easy to dry lemon, lime and orange peels. You won't be sorry you did, and I'm sure you will find all sorts of uses for them.
Anyhoo, I digress again . . . lemons. My favourite ingredient and one that I use often. Always with pleasure . . .
Like in this easy, very tasty and impressive dessert. Note - the finished dish contains raw eggs, so please take this into consideration before serving it to your guests.
*Frozen Lemon Souffle*
Makes 1 large, or 12 individual souffles
This is a fabulous dessert that is not only delicious but impressive. Perfectly light and tasty for after a heavy meal. This contains raw eggs so be careful not to serve it to the very elderly and the very young.
250g shortbread biscuits (1/2 pound or 8 ounces)
50g butter, melted (3 1/2 TBS)
4 large free range eggs, separated
the juice from two large lemons
the finely grated zest from two large lemons
185g of caster sugar, divided (scant cup)
1/8 tsp cream of tartar
1/8 tsp salt
375ml double cream (1 1/2 cups)
Lemon peel and black berries to garnish
Crush the shortbread biscuits in the food processor. Mix with the melted butter and blitz once more. Press the mixture into the bottom of a 9 or 10 inch spring form pan, or in the bottom of 12 3-inch rings that you have laid out on a cookie sheet lined with foil.
Beat the egg yolks in a large bowl. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice and 50ml of the sugar. Blend together well.
In another, but very clean, bowl, beat the egg whites until foamy. Beat in the cream of tartar and the salt. Continue to beat until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in the remaining sugar, beating until stiff peaks form.
Whip the cream in another bowl until soft peaks form.
Fold the egg whites and whipped cream into the egg yolk mixture.
Spoon into the prepared pan(s). Cover with foil and freeze for at least 8 hours.
Allow to soften in the fridge for 30 minutes before serving if you have made a large one. If you made small ones, you can warm the sides of the rings with your hands and push them out carefully. Place on individual plates and garnish with some lemon peel and blackberries.
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