Two of my favourite things are Gin and Peanut Butter. I've yet to come across a way of combining them both but they did feature strongly over Christmas in food, drink and gifts. Desert on Christmas Eve was a Raspberry Gin Trifle. I spotted a photo of a Gin Trifle on the Edinburgh Gin twitter account and knew I had to make my own retro-tastic version.
EDINBURGH GIN RASPBERRY TRIFLE
Recipe, quantities and method for this are somewhat arbitrary!
1 Pack Raspberry Jelly
Edinburgh Raspberry Gin Liqueur
2 x Raspberry Swiss Roll
1 Pint Custard
Double Cream
Cherries, Almonds, Edible Glitter & Silver Balls to decorate
Drain the defrosted raspberries in a sieve and reserve the liquid. Set both aside.
Slice the swiss rolls and use them to line the base and half way up the sides of a glass bowl.
Soak the sponge with as much (or as little!) Edinburgh Raspberry Gin Liqueur as you desire.
Make up the jelly to 1/2 a pint with boiling water, add the liquid from the raspberries to make 3/4 pint plus a little water if required.
Top the sponge with the raspberries and then pour over the jelly. Put in the fridge to set.
Make up a pint of custard and leave to cool slightly (or use pre-made) Pour over the top of the set jelly and put back in the fridge.
Whip double cream and pipe or swirl on top.
Decorate in traditional trifle fashion with cherries, almonds, angelica, glitter, silver balls or hundreds and thousands.
Just prior to Christmas @eatscottish were running a #12GinsOfXmas promotion on Twitter and I was chosen to receive a mixology kit. It contained a miniature bottle of Darnley's View Spiced Gin and a Ginspiration bag of flavours. With it I made a Gin Hot Toddy, sure to cure whatever ails you!
Warm some cloudy apple juice in a pan along with a cinnamon stick, handful of black peppercorns, nugget of chrystalised ginger, a slice of apple and a slice of orange. Don't let it boil but let the flavours infuse for 5 minutes or so before pouring it over a serving of Darnley's View Spiced Gin.
Gin was also on the menu as an alternative to Brandy Butter alongside Mincemeat Pies. I spotted Christmas Sloe Gin Butter in the Fortnum & Mason Store at St Pancras Station on my return from Brussels on the Eurostar. There was no way I could pass it by and it tasted fab with my mini mince pies and the Christmas Pudding. Arriving just in time for Christmas was my first delivery from Tipplebox the innovative new Edinburgh based Cocktails by Post subscription scheme. It contained enough ingredients to make 6 glasses each of Lady Marmalade and Strawberry Tipple. William Chase Gin was the base for the Strawberry Tipple which was shaken up along with Strawberry Jam and Fever Tree Tonic. Looking forward to the January delivery which will be featuring spirits from Slipsmith Sam.
I didn't do to bad in the pressie haul either when it came to Gin and this is also when the Peanut Butter starts to appear. It helped that my Sister had just returned from San Fransisco. The US definitely has the market cornered in peanut butter goodies. Reese's Trees, Bells, Peanut Butter M&M's, White Chocolate Reese's Cups, Peanut Butter Twix and Reese's Shell for Ice Cream. Top top it off a 101 things to do cookbook and Peanut Butter Lip Balm.
New Gins on the horizon included full sized bottles of Rock Rose and Eden Mill Hop Gin. A selection of miniatures from Warner Edwards, Plymouth, Monkey 47, London Hill and Bedrock also added to the ginventary. For teetotal days a gin mug, gin and tonic popcorn and gin and tonic lip balm. Definitely no Dry January here. More of a Ginuary.
Lastly a virtual version of the favourite Christmas cards that I bought this year. Gin Gull Bells by Cat's Print Shop. I'll never sing Jingle Bells in quite the same way again.
Back to the big question. How do I best go about combining both of my loves? Is a Gin and Peanut Butter Cocktail a possibility or do I just wear both lipsalves at once?!
That trifle is certainly retro-tastic! Fanny would be proud... I'm sure you'll find a way to combine the peanut butter with Gin perfectly, maybe in a sweetie/truffle form with gin and white chocolate covering? Or Sloe Gin chocolate - after all peanut butter seems to go with Grape Jelly stateside? If you need a taste tester I can send you my address...
ReplyDeleteI definitely think that Chocolate is the way forward in joining them both. I shall experiment and keep you posted!
DeleteTrifle is such a Christmas dish for me but I think I need to do it more throughout the year! Think your trifle will definitely tempt me.....! #recipeoftheweek
ReplyDeleteMy Granny regularly used to make one for Sunday lunch so I definitely think of it as a year round thing. Not sure I'll be able to go back to a boring old sherry version now!
DeleteI must say I can fathom peanut butter going well with gin but I am definitely on board with any recipe that celebrates both. Hurray for Ginuary! #CookBlogShare
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking that some sort of Chocolate Peanut Butter and Gin Truffle could possibly work. I'll let you know if I need a taste tester!
DeleteOh delicious! Thanks for linking up to #tastytuesdays
ReplyDeleteThank you for hosting.
DeleteOh wow, you have made my mouth water with the thought of a raspberry gin trifle - even on a blustery Tuesday morning! Thanks for sharing your link - all included in my post now x
ReplyDeleteI am likewise loving your Aperol Trifle.
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