It's Boxing Day which as far as I know is a weirdly British phenomenon though apparently now also celebrated in a number of countries that used to be part of the British Empire - here endeth the history lesson.
Professor Picklepants our younger cat (not his real name but I'd rather like it to be) is ensconced on what I'm sure he believes is his bed (it's mine) while Cato the Elder is curled up on a corner of the dining table and just today I'm turning a blind eye (again not his real name but I studied Roman History and he is the older cat).
I love Christmas but I have to say that this year I dropped the ball a bit organisationally speaking, my cards were bought (be shocked!) and I certainly didn't make nearly as many gifts as I intended, however as we journey through 2020 I'm hopeful that by 23rd December we shall all be sitting smugly with our feet up and our favourite beverage in our hands knowing everything is in hand.
This year I found myself having to make adaptions too, usually I make the cake at the end of October followed by mince pies from mid November, unfortunately my husband Iain was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in August leading me to get really stressed over how to adapt things for him. I the end I made a mini Christmas cake for us and only iced on the top, far fewer mince pies and swapped his Christmas pud for a trifle.
DIABETIC FRIENDLY TRIFLE
INGREDIENTS
(Serves 4)
8-10 strawberries
Sugar free jelly (I used Hartley's)
240ml single cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon sweetener (or to your own taste)
3 egg yolks (you can always use the whites for meringues)
Whipping cream
Decorations for the top (I used freeze dried raspberry pieces and a little sprinkle of glitter sugar)
METHOD
Chop the strawberries and divide by 4 trifle dishes, make the jelly according to the instructions on the packet and then pour the jelly over the strawberries enough to give a nice layer and pop them into the fridge to set. If you have any jelly left over pour it into a bowl and pop it in the fridge because who doesn't love jelly and ice cream.
To make the custard layer heat the cream until it is steaming hot but not boiling remove it from the heat and add the vanilla extract and sweetener. In a heatproof bowl beat the egg yolks then whisk in a tablespoon of the cream whisking all the time, you don't want to cook the eggs. Continue adding the cream slowly until it is all combined. Put some water in a saucepan and put the bowl on top - the water shouldn't touch the bottom of the bowl. Heat the water slowly. whisk the mixture in the bowl continually until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon - this takes about 10 minutes. when it is ready take off the heat and leave to cool. When it's cool pour a layer onto each jelly layer and leave in the fridge to set.
Whip the cream, I like it to be soft peaks, add a layer to the trifle then decorate the top as you please. I used freeze dried raspberry pieces and just a little sprinkling of glitter sugar but let your imagination run free.
Well I think that's all for today, I'm off to put my feet up have a cup of tea and a good look through the 2 new amigurumi books my sister bought me for Christmas, tune in tomorrow to find out what I've been up to.
Ylva
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