This week we tried something a little different: a Christmas tree made from mince pie filling and covered in melted green chocolate, because why not? It’s a little messy and we’re definitely not dessert experts, but this is something you can elevate and bring your own flair to, especially if you’re already a master at cake decorating!
We’ve probably been watching too much of Zumbo’s Just Desserts on Netflix, but when it came time to put our Christmas recipes together, there was definitely a lot of consideration for adding some desserts. When it comes to Zumbo’s, there’s nothing more prevalent than a bit of melted chocolate.
Inspiration struck when we remembered we had some Wilton’s green candy melts – delivered by mistake when we had ordered brown ones. This tree came to life with the help of a jar of mincemeat by Wilkin & Sons which had been sitting in the cupboard since last year’s January sales.
And boy, is this mincemeat potent. It tastes like it might be 80% brandy so it brings a real kick to the dessert! I don’t think this is something you would want to give to the kids, as store-bought mince pies tend to be a lot tamer. But if you get the details right this could be a great table centrepiece – and because the candy melts aren’t full chocolate, they will last a lot longer without melting out of shape, too.
Without further ado, here’s the video of how we made it – and you can scroll down for the recipe, too.
- 6 tbsp mincemeat
- 150 g green candy melts
- 1 tbsp strawberry sauce
- 2 tsp decorative pink sugar sprinkles
-
First, take the mincemeat and put it into ice cube molds - square is best, but anything with a flat bottom and top will do. Leave for a couple of hours in the freezer to set.
-
Next, melt your candy melts according to the packet instructions. Normally you can stop when they are ready and spread the chocolate with a palette knife - however, if you go just past the point where they overheat, you get a kind of textured melt which is still spreadable. This is great for tree leaf texture if you aren't accomplished with decorating like us!
-
Working quickly (since one ingredient is burning hot and the other is freezing cold!), put your green icing all over each of the mincemeat cubes. With that done, stack them one on top of the other.
-
If your cubes happened to come out at different sizes you can simply stack them in order for a tree shape - if not, build up the edges now to create the right shape. Add a dollop on top to finish off the point of the tree - and smooth it all down as much as you like to get the shape right.
-
Using the sauce as your 'tinsel' and the sprinkles as 'snow' or sparkling lights, decorate your tree. Our tinsel didn't go well but the snow still looks festive! You can go all out here - make or buy a yellow star for the top, add sugar pearls for baubles, and so on.
-
Place into the fridge for as long as it takes for the candy melts icing to set hard - perhaps 30 minutes, but it will depend on your brand.
-
When you're ready to eat, you can cut through the soft-ish melts with a knife or break it apart section by section to reveal the rich mincemeat inside!
These are so fun! I bet they were a real talking point in your Christmas table!
This looks so much fun! It would definitely make for a fun (and edible!) centrepiece on Christmas Day.