Fake it, don’t make it- Three pre-made Christmas desserts you can hack

We have collaborated with Woolworths to create these desserts

Who else is feeling tired and stressed about Christmas and it’s not even here yet? My to-do list is a mile long- I need to finish kindy class and teacher presents, buy the last Christmas presents, prepare the house for hosting Christmas Day for 22 people, plan the shopping lists and so, so much more.

My job at Christmas is the desserts, and with everything going on this year, plus working up until the end of the week, I’m going to fake it instead of making it with a little help from some Woolworths Christmas desserts and some extra ingredients. I’ve pulled together some Christmas favourites that will only take you a few minutes to prepare, but no one will know you didn’t make them yourself!

Christmas Desserts- Pavlova

First up is the traditional Christmas pavlova. Christmas isn’t Christmas here unless it involves pavlova. But if you don’t have time to make the pavlova from scratch here’s my faking it tips-

Grab a $6 Woolworths pavlova base, some Woolworths thickened cream and all the fruit you like!

First, remove the pavlova from its packaging. Make sure you remove the cardboard base as well- it’s a dead giveaway! Then plate it up on something pretty- I love my gold cake stand from Woolies for this- it’s so shiny! Run a knife underneath first to help lift it, but don’t stress too much if it crumbles a bit- after all, the key to looking homemade is to not have it looking perfect!

Then, beat the cream, adding a tablespoon of icing sugar and some vanilla bean paste (this is my secret recipe and everyone always comments on how good the cream is.) If you don’t want to even beat the cream, grab a few tubs of the Woolworths Gold Label Indulgent Vanilla Bean Cream and spoon it straight on!

Pile your cream on top of the base and then add all the fruit you like. Don’t worry about perfect placement- just pile it on there!

Now, look at that- easy dessert in just a few minutes!

Christmas Desserts- Trifle

Now I’m not a jelly and custard fan so I like this Gold Red Velvet trifle (but if you are traditional trifle fan they have that as well). The key to making this look homemade is just to freshen it up a bit.

Premade desserts have a ‘settled in’ look, like they were made a while ago- particularly the cream looks a little yellow and they often look a bit too perfect. So, here’s what I do-

Firstly, the trifle comes in a plastic bowl so you need to leave it in there or it will fall apart. So, what you need is just some Woolworths thickened cream and some strawberries. Whip the cream and place it on top of the existing cream, then add fresh strawberries. This fresh touch will make it look like you just whipped this up in the kitchen minutes ago. Who would guess?

Christmas Desserts- Festive Chocolate Bombe

The Woolworths Festive Chocolate Bombe is a chocolate lovers dream and you can have it on the plate and ready to go in 2 minutes- no joke! Here’s what you do-

Get a little plate or platter for it, put it in the microwave for 1.5 minutes and then place on the plate. Surround it with fresh berries and sift some icing sugar over the top. Then serve with Gold Indulgent Vanilla Bean Cream, taken out of its container and put in a little bowl. When people comment on how good that cream is, tell them it’s your secret recipe!

I hope these three desserts help you free up a bit of time to yourself this Christmas. We mums can find ourselves so overwhelmed by Christmas that we forget we are supposed to be having fun!

What are your go-to Christmas desserts?

For more quick and easy Christmas dessert ideas visit www.woolworths.com.au