Holidays

I am delighted to say my turkey turned out beautifully after all the worry and angst of the last week or so. The only trouble is, I ended up with a much bigger turkey than I had ordered, 17 lbs., so I am going to have turkey round my ears for ages. There will be soups and pies in the offing. My friend who came to dinner, with her son, told me Santa had left a present for me at her home but she agreed to deliver it for him LOL. When I opened it, I was astonished to discover a globe. I have wanted one forever, not quite sure why, and I must have mentioned it in her hearing. I am absolutely delighted. One of the first things I noticed, explorers, photographers and such are always saying how most of the world is actually water. Looking at the world as a globe, one can really appreciate how true that is. Looking at a flat atlas you just don't appreciate the scale of everything.  For instance the Pacific is a HUGE body of water, I had never realised just how vast it is. They also brought us chocolates and wine - really did us proud.

Christmas may be over, but there are lots of people who entertain for New Year's Eve. Here is a pretty simple but luscious dessert you might like to serve. Find the richest cream you can to make this. Cream in Europe is much thicker than that available in North America.

Baileys no-bake cheesecake

Woman's Weekly recipe Baileys no-bake cheesecake makes a seriously impressive dessert when you’re entertaining friends and family, and this particular recipe is SO easy! It’s so simple to make by combining very few ingredients, including double cream and Baileys for the topping and digestive biscuits and butter for the base. There’s no need to bake this Baileys cheesecake, all you have to do is

pop it in the fridge and wait a few hours or overnight for it to set. Sprinkled with grated chocolate or cocoa powder and topped with cream, this cheesecake makes a delicious dessert than everyone will love - and be asking you for the recipe!

For the base:
100 g butter
250 g digestives, crushed
For the topping:
600 g full-fat cream cheese
2 tbs Baileys
100 g icing sugar
300 ml carton double cream, whipped
100 g dark chocolate, grated
To decorate (optional):
200 ml whipped cream chocolate, for grating
This also looks good with cocoa dusted over the top, rather than grated chocolate.

1. To make the base: Melt the butter in a pan and add the crushed biscuits. Mix well until they’ve absorbed all the butter. Remove from the heat and press into the bottom of the tin. Place in the fridge for 1 hour.

2. To make the topping: Lightly whip the cream cheese and beat in the Baileys and icing sugar. Fold in the whipped cream and chocolate. Spoon onto the biscuit base.

3. Put in the fridge for another couple of hours or overnight. Once set, decorate with whipped cream and a little extra chocolate, if you like

Servings: 12

Tips
20cm round springclip tin, buttered and lined with baking parchment

Source: GoodtoKnow

Have a great day