Category: Christmas treats

My Mennonite Mom’s Authentic English Trifle

trifle- trust in kim

Everyone who tries my mom’s trifle says it’s the best, so naturally when I was looking for a trifle recipe for Christmas Eve dinner, I asked her to share her recipe with me.  She gave me a photocopy of a recipe that looks like it came from a magazine.  It says it is from The Best of Mme Jehane Benoit, who is apparently Canada’s Julia Child.

Rather than using fruit, which my mom says makes the cake layer too soggy, this recipe uses jam.  Of course there’s the sherry, custard, and whipping cream – so good and so bad all at the same time! It’s not very difficult to make, but you do need to make it ahead of the time so the sherry, jam and pudding can soak into the cake. It’s nice to serve this in a glass bowl so you can see the layers.  You could also make it in individual dishes, but I like the way it is beautifully layered andthen becomes a beautiful mess of creamy, jammy goodness when it is served.

Hmmm, I think there’s some leftovers in the fridge…

What you need for the cake: (or just buy a sponge cake)

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

2 cups sifted flour

1 & 1/2 tablespoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup cold water

1 teaspoon almond extract

What you need for the other layers:

4 eggs yolks

2 cups half and half cream

1/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla

2 cups whipping cream

1/2 cup icing sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup raspberry jam

1/2 cup sherry

toasted almonds to garnish (optional)

What you do:

1. To make the cake, beat the eggs with the sugar for about 5 minutes, until it is very light in colour.

2. Sift the flour with the baking powder and salt, and lightly beat it into the egg mixture.

3. Briefly mix in the water and almond extract.  Pour into a greased 9 by 11 inch pan and bake for 30 minutes.  Allow the cake to cool completely.

4. To make the custard, beat the egg yolks until they are  pale yellow. Heat the half and half cream with the 1/4 cup sugar and vanilla.  Add the egg yolks to the hot cream, beating very hard.  Cook without boiling, stirring continuously, until the custard has thickened a little. It won’t be a thick custard, but this is good because it will soak into the cake easily.  Allow the custard to cool.

5. Whip the cream with the icing sugar.

6. I like to remove the seeds from the jam because I don’t like to bite them or get them stuck in my teeth, but you don’t need to do this step if you don’t mind the seeds.  I just press the jam through a sieve with a spatula.

7. Spread the jam over the cake, then cut it into finger-sized pieces.  Dip each piece in the sherry (or just place it in the sherry bowl and sprinkle sherry over the top.)

8. Make a layer of the jammy sherried cake fingers in the bottom of the bowl, with the jam side facing up. Spread half of the custard over the cake layer, then spread half of the whipping cream over the custard.  Repeat with another layer of cake, custard and cream.

9. Refrigerate for at least 12 hours.  Top with toasted almonds, if you wish, and then indulge in creamy goodness!

Triple Ginger Cookies

triple ginger cookies

If you love ginger, these are for you!  Even with three kinds of ginger, they aren’t overwhelming, and are a favourite of several of my friends.  They aren’t difficult to make, although you do need to plan ahead because you need to put them in the fridge for a few hours, or over night.

What you need:

3/4 cup butter, room temperature

1 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup molasses

1 large egg

2 & 1/4 cups flour

2 teaspoons ground ginger

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 & 1/2 tablespoons grated ginger (I keep mine in the freezer)

1/2 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger

1/4 cup white sugar for dipping the cookies

What you do:

1. Cream the butter and sugar.

2. Beat in the molasses and egg,

3. Sift, then stir the flour, ground ginger, baking soda and salt into the batter.

4. Stir in the grated and crystallized ginger.

5. Refrigerate for about 2 hours, or overnight. If you have it in the fridge over night, take it out about 20 minutes before you want to roll them.

6. Form into balls with your hands, about 1 tablespoon each, and slightly flatten the ball.  Dip the tops of each cookie in the white sugar, then place it on a parchment-lined baking tray.

7. Bake for about 10 minutes at 350F.

Let them cool on a rack when they are done.  Store in an airtight container and put any in the freezer that you won’t be eating in the next few days, if you wish.

Cranberry Caramel Upside-Down Cake

cranberry caramel upside-down cake - trust in kim

With the holiday season comes a lot of parties and dinners, and a good excuse to try out some new recipes.  Searching for cranberry dessert recipes, I saw this one on Lotti + Doof and thought I’d give it try – and I’m so happy I did.  It is moist, and the sweetness of the caramel, and tartness of the cranberries work really well together.  I made it in a cast-iron frying pan, but you could make it in a cake pan.  It took about twice as long to bake as the recipe said, but since I’m just learning about how my new oven works, I’ve listed the original baking time.

What you need:

3/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup butter (1/2 and 1/4 for separate parts of the recipe)

2 & 3/4 cups fresh or frozen cranberries

1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

2 eggs, separated, at room temperature

1/2 cup whole or homogenized milk, room temperature

1 & 1/2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon

vanilla

What you do: 

1. Melt the butter with 1/4 cup brown sugar in a 9 inch cast-iron frying pan, stirring, until it begins bubbling. Let this cool. (If you don’t have a frying pan this size, just make the caramel in another pot, then pour it into your cake pan.)

2. Cook the cranberries and orange juice in a small pot until the cranberries begin to pop.  Pour the cranberries over the cooled caramel.

3. Beat 1/2 cup butter and the granulated sugar until it is fluffy.  Beat in the egg yolks one at a time.  Stir in the vanilla.

4.  Combine the flour, baking powder and salt.  Add 1/3 of it to the batter, then 1/2 the milk, 1/3 more flour, the rest of the milk, then the rest of the flour.  Mix only until the flour is combined.

5. Beat the egg whites in a separate bowl until soft peaks form.  Fold in 1/3 of the egg whites, then fold in the rest.

6. Pour the batter on top of the cranberries and smooth the top of it down a little.

7. Bake for 30-35 minutes at 350F.  The cake should be a little browned and pull away from the sides of the pan.  I also tested mine with a toothpick, which told me I needed to bake for a lot longer.

8. When the cake is baked, remove it from the oven and let it rest for about 15 minutes. Then run a sharp knife around the edge and invert it onto the serving plate.

Yum! Enjoy!

upside down cake

Chocolate Rum Cake

I was invited to a birthday party for a one-year-old, and I wanted to make something for the adults to enjoy.  Loving the combination of chocolate and rum, I found this recipe for a moist cake, and so full of chocolate and rum.  There’s 1 & 3/4 cups of rum in the recipe, and 1/2 cup of it is not baked or boiled, so it ends up having a nice boozy punch to it.

I found the recipe on Food in my Beard.

What you need:

6oz semisweet chocolate

1/2 cup butter

1 cup dark rum

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

4 eggs

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup cocoa

1/2 teaspoon salt

For the glaze:

1/4 cup rum

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup white sugar

1/2 cup more rum!

What you do:

1. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler with the rum and butter. Whisk in the sugars, then the eggs, one by one.

2. Sift the dry ingredients, then mix half of it to the liquids, and then the other half.

3. Pour the batter into a buttered and floured loaf pan that is 5 & 1/2 by 10 inches.  Bake at 350F for about an hour, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

4.  Just before the baking is complete, combine the butter, sugar and rum for the glaze in a pot, reserving the 1/2 cup of rum.  Bring to a boil, then boil, stirring for a few minutes.  Remove from the heat and add the remaining rum.

5.  When the loaf is baked, remove it from the oven and poke holes in the top.  Pour the glaze over top; it should soak right into the cake.

6. Put another loaf pan on top of the cake, and put a weight on top, like a bottle of rum, so the cake is squished. This will make the cake into a rectangular shape.

7. When the cake is fully cooled, invert it onto a cutting board and slice it thinly.

I served mine with whipping cream, but next time I would find some sour cherries to make a sweet cherry topping, maybe with a little bit of rum in it.

You can also make this into two loaves, and freeze one of them.  Just adjust the baking time accordingly.

Lebanese Chocolate Anise Cookies

When I lived in Halifax circa 1995 my friend and I ate a Lebanese feast every weekend at Mediterraneo Restaurant.  We were so addicted to their food that we were devastated to find they weren’t open on Easter weekend.  Luckily for us there was another Lebanese restaurant across the street, called Beirut Beirut.  I don’t think either of these places exist any more.  It was at Beirut Beirut where the owner, Peter, asked us to sample some of the desserts.  When we tasted these little unbaked chocolate cookies he made us guess what was in them.  We couldn’t, but after many visits and special orders for these cookies, he shared the recipe with me.  This is only my best imitation of the real thing, as I never actually saw him making them, so I had to guess at some of the process.

Instead of baking, you toast the ingredients, then mix them with some honey.

Today I made them into Easter egg shapes because it’s that time of year, and it was Easter weekend when I first tasted them.  Peter made them into small logs, or shaped like a Hershey’s Kiss.

This recipe makes about a dozen small cookies, but they are packed with flavour, so you don’t need a lot at one time.

What you need:

1/4 cup raw peanuts

1/4 cup raw almonds

1/4 cup raw walnuts (I used half walnuts, half pecans when I ran out of walnuts)

1/4 teaspoon mint leaves

a pinch of thyme

2 teaspoons anise seed

2 tablespoons flour

2 tablespoons cocoa

honey

a little icing sugar for sprinkling on top

orange flower water, optional

What you do:

1.  Grind the nuts, anise seeds, thyme and mint.  I used my electric coffee grinder to do this.  Spread this mixture on a baking sheet and toast at about 250F for about 15 minutes.  Every 5 minutes you need to give them a bit of a stir, and make sure they don’t burn.

2.  Mix the flour and cocoa with the nut mixture in the baking pan.  Toast for another 5 minutes or so.

3.  Let the ingredients cool, then place them into a bowl.  Mix honey in, a little at a time, until you get a firm mixture that you can make into shapes.

4.  Shape the cookies into logs, eggs, “kisses,” or whatever shape you desire.

5.  Sprinkle with a tiny bit of orange flower water, if you are using it, then dust a little icing sugar on top.

Chocolate Cherry Rum Cake

Yummy, rummy and chocolatey.  What could be better?  The dried sour cherries are soaked in rum, plus there’s chocolate chips for the extra hit that you’re craving.

This one makes half a recipe, one 9-inch round pan.  It’s from David Lebovitz’s cookbook Ready for Dessert.

What you need:

3/4 cup dried sour cherries, chopped

4 tablespoons of light rum

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons

1/4 cup cocoa

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup butter at room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg, room temperature

1 egg yolk, room temperature

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/3 cup buttermilk or plain yogurt

1/2 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped and toasted

2/3 cup chocolate chips

for the glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar, sifted

2-3 tablespoons rum

What you do:

1.  Bring the sour cherries and 4 tablespoons of rum to a boil in a small pot.  Set them aside with a lid on for about an hour.

2.  Butter a 9-inch round square pan and dust it with flour.  Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper.  Preheat the oven to 350F.

3.  Sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

4.  Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add the egg and yolk and vanilla and beat in.

5.  Stir in half the flour mixture, then stir in the buttermilk or yogurt.  Add the rest of the flour mixture.

6.  Stir in the nuts, chocolate chips and cherries.

7.  Pour the batter into the pan.  Bake for about 45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.  It might have a little bit of the chocolate chip on it, so don’t mistake that for not being done.

8.  Let the cake cool for 15 minutes, then poke the cake all over with a toothpick and drizzle with about 2 tablespoons of rum.

9.  Let the cake cool for about another 1/2 hour, then run a knife around the edge of the pan and remove it from the pan to cool.  Peel off the parchment paper.

10.  To make the glaze, mix the powdered sugar and the remaining rum.  Spoon it over the cake and let it run down the sides.

11.  The cake should last about 5 days, but if you’re going to keep it that long it’s best to glaze it shortly before serving.

Thank you Corey for editing!

Eggnog Snickerdoodles

Having never tried snickerdoodles before, I was drawn to this particular recipe by the idea that they might taste eggnoggy.  It’s the nutmeg in the sugar coating and the addition of rum that gives them the eggnog flavour – there’s actually no eggnog in them.  They are easy to make, and you can vary the baking time depending on if you like them crispy or tender.  These aren’t a fancy cookie, but if you want something sweet and simple, then this one might be for you.

I got the recipe from A Whisk and a Spoon.  The original recipe called for extracts of rum and brandy, but I just used a little more of the real thing in my recipe.

What you need:

2 & 1/4 cups flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 & 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup butter, softened

2 teaspoons rum

2 large eggs

For the sugar coating:

1 teaspoon grated nutmeg

1/4 cup sugar

What you do:

1.  Preheat the oven to 400F and line baking sheets with parchment paper.

2.  Cream the butter and sugar.  Add the eggs and beat well, then add the rum.

3.  Whisk the dry ingredients together in another bowl, then add them gradually to the butter mixture.

4.  Stir the nutmeg into the sugar in a small bowl.

5.  Scoop the dough with a teaspoon, then form into a ball by rolling between the palms of your hands.  Roll each ball in the sugar and place them on the pan, leaving a good amount of space between them so they don’t melt into each other as they bake.

6.  Bake for 8-10 minutes, depending on how crispy you like them.  I did 8 minutes, and they were fabulous the first day.  After that they got a little crunchy, so I would try 7 minutes next time.  Place the baked cookies on a wire rack to cool.  But definitely try one while they are still warm!

Mom’s Creamy Chocolate Fudge

This creamy fudge is one of the recipes my mom made at Christmas every year when we were growing up.  It’s a crowd pleaser and it’s really easy to whip up a big pan of it.   And to me it tastes like Christmas!

What you need:

3 cups sugar

3/4 cup butter

2/3 cup evaporated milk

350 grams (12oz) semisweet chocolate chips

1 7 0z jar marshmallow cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

(you could also add a cup of chopped nuts)

What you do:

1.  Coat a 9×13 inch pan with butter.

2.  Place the sugar, butter and evaporated milk in a large saucepan.  Bring to a rolling boil, then cook for 5 minutes on medium heat, stirring.

3.  Remove the pot from the stove and stir in the chocolate chips, marshmallow and vanilla.  Pour it into the pan and let it cool.

The fudge will not be too hard to cut, but it cuts more neatly if you heat up your knife in hot water between each cut.

Tiger Butter

It’s so easy to make your own chocolates, and if you like peanut butter, then you might like this one – white chocolate and peanut butter drizzled with dark chocolate on top – Yum!  I love the tiger butter they sell at Purdy’s, so I made up this recipe to imitate theirs.  I haven’t done a side-by-side taste test, but from what I remember, this is pretty close.  I don’t usually measure the ingredients, so feel free to alter the ingredients as you see fit.  Just don’t add too much peanut butter or it will end up being too soft.

What you need:

1 cup white chocolate

1/4 cup dark chocolate

1 tablespoon peanut butter

What you do:

1.  Use a double boiler, or if you don’t have one, put a bowl on top of a pot containing a little water.  Bring the water to a boil, then lower the heat to minimum.  You’ll need two of these set-ups, one for the white and one for the dark chocolate (or you could heat the dark chocolate in the microwave… although the only time I’ve done this I accidentally burned it).

2.  Put the white chocolate in the top of one double boiler, the dark chocolate in the other.  Allow them to melt, making sure that no water touches the chocolate.  If that happens, the chocolate will seize up.

3.  Stir the peanut butter into the white chocolate.

3.  Line a pan with some parchment paper or plastic wrap.  Pour the white chocolate into the pan, spreading it around a little.

4.  Drizzle the dark chocolate on top in stripes.  Pull a knife through the stripes so they form a pattern.

Let it cool, then cut into squares or just break it up.

Bacon Shortbread

Yes, you read that right – bacon shortbread.  I heard about this and had no intention of making it, but then I mentioned it to a few people and they said they’d really like to try it.  So I gave it a try, and . . . it’s actually good!  Sweet and Salty are a great combination!  Please comment if you try this recipe, as people might need a second opinion.

Really, I just made shortbread and added some bacon to part of the recipe, and made the rest regular shortbread.  So you can do that, using  just a few slices of bacon, or you can make the whole recipe below.

What you need:

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature (no substitutions!)

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2 drops almond extract

1 & 3/4 cup flour

pinch salt

1/3 cup crispy bacon, finely chopped

What you do:

1.   Cream the butter, then beat in the sugar.  Add the vanilla and almond extracts and beat until light in colour.

2.  Add flour, salt and bacon and mix with a wooden spoon until combined.

3.  Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for one hour.  (If you make the dough ahead of time you can refrigerate it, but make sure you take it out of the fridge about an hour before you want to roll it out or it will be rock hard!)

4.  Roll dough to about 3/4 of a centimetre thickness, on a floured table.  Use floured cookie cutters to cut shapes, then place them on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.

5.  Bake at 325 F for 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned.  Cool on racks, then refrigerate.