Rum Ball Trifle



So many jokes about balls to be made.

For week 3 of my Four Weeks of Christmas baking, I have for you another Cassie Cakes original - Rum Ball Trifle! Sometimes I feel as though Christmas might be loving me back. When I was dreaming up this one, I was musing to a friend of mine how I would like to make mini trifles and she said that she recently had spied mini trifle dishes at a very expensive homewares shop. I got online and saw them and I ummed and ahed over whether to splash out on them. Would I ever use them again? Should I be spending that much before Christmas on some very specific bowls?
 

Ah rum. The only time I ever use you is in rum balls.


Well, I needn't have worried. Days after the conversation about mini trifle dishes, I got the very excited call from my friend - she was at a store that sold 6 mini trifle dishes for $7! Can you believe it? What are the chances? You tell me! What are the chances!? See. Christmas loves me back. And my lovely friend does too for buying some for me.
 

My lovely KitchenAid processor.


So I've never been one for traditional trifle. The cake goes soggy. I don't like jelly and custard together. It's got gross tinned fruit in it. It's just naff and gross and no one should eat it anymore. Yet when I was thinking of what I could make, trifle kept popping up in my head. Trifle, trifle, trifle. Time to give the old nasty trifle a makeover.
 

The life stages of a rum ball.


I think I made trifle even more Christmassy. This trifle has rum balls in it! And layers of silky cheesecake mix, raspberries, chocolate ganache then topped with grated chocolate. All of those things are amazing on their own so imagine their powers combined. This trifle is epic in Captain Planet proportions.  

One little rum ball...

 


Lots of little rum balls! ... balls.

If you get given rum balls over the season or purchase them at a bake sale, this would be a great use for them but they really are very easy to make so either way. Start by making the rumballs then set them in the fridge to firm up. Rum balls are a great kids in the kitchen activity. It's really fun to get your hands all sticky and coconuty. Mr Cakes was very vocal in his opposition to the rum in rum balls but I told him to shush up and trust me. And in the end, he loved them. I put 1.5 tablespoons of rum in. Put as much or as little as you want.
 

Ta da! Little rum ball all snug in his bed of cheesecake and ganache.

You might have rum balls left over, depending on what dish you choose to serve the trifle in, so you could gift them to others...if you don't eat them all. I have to confess there are only two left in our fridge and I'm probably going to eat those in a few minutes.
 


How lucky was I to get those bowls.

Once the rum balls are in the fridge, make a simple ganache from chocolate and cream. I did this on the stove top but if you're nervous about the chocolate burning or seizing, melt it in a double boiler - a heatproof bowl over some simmering water. Or it's just as easy to do it in the microwave by melting the chocolate in 30 second bursts and stirring the cream in. Any way will work. So make the ganche then put that in the fridge to cool slightly. You'll still want it to be runny to pour over but by the time the next step is complete, it will be perfect.
 

That bauble is pretending to be a rum ball. Go home, bauble. You're drunk.

Personally, I've never been a big fan of custard and cream that traditionally goes into a trifle. It's very old fashioned and a bit blah. What I am a fan of is cheesecake! Yum! So I decided to put a cheesecake mix into my trifle in the place of custard. Beat together cream cheese with icing sugar and vanilla, then in a separate bowl whip cream. Fold the cream into the cream cheese and viola! Cheesecake. So delicious. I could eat this with a spoon.
 

WAIT! It would be the rum balls that were drunk! Not the bauble!

Then it's on to assembly. Put a big dollop of the cheesecake into your trifle dishes, you could do this in a big trifle dish or even some pretty champagne glasses then arrange some raspberries on top. Break up some rum balls and pour some ganache on top then top with another big dollop of the cheesecake mix and then some grated chocolate on top. You'll have ganache left over so you can pour more on top as required after serving.
 

Rum balls be drunk as hell, losing shoes and stuff.

So there you have it. My take on trifle. The rum ball trifle. You can make these a few days before and have it ready to go on Christmas day - one less thing to worry about.
 

There you have it, Rum Ball Trifle.

Next week is week four! And I have something special planned for the pièce de résistance.

Have a look back at the weeks of Christmas Baking past:
 
Week 1 of Four Weeks of Christmas Baking: Christmas Star Cherry Tart with Cinnamon Honey Roasted Macadamia Ice Cream
Week 2 of Four Weeks of Christmas Baking: Raspberry Jam Drops
Week 4 of Four Weeks of Christmas Baking: Eggnog Cake


Rum Ball Trifle

Prep time: 20 mins

Cooking time: 5 mins

Total time:  20 mins

 

Servings: 4 plus extra rum balls

 

Rum Balls

250g plain sweet biscuits - I used Milk Arrowroot
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 cup desiccated coconut, plus extra for rolling
395g can sweetened condensed milk
1-3 tablespoons rum, according to taste

Ganache
200g milk chocolate
1/2 cup thickened cream

Cheesecake Mix
1/2 cup thickened cream
250g cream cheese, at room temperature
3 tablespoons icing sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

125g Raspberries to serve

Chocolate curls to garnish

 

Rum Balls

Crush biscuits to a fine crumb in a food processor
Add to a large bowl with cocoa and coconut and mix thoroughly to combine
Add the sweetened condensed milk and rum and mix til all combined
Roll tablespoon sized portions of the mix into a ball then roll in extra coconut.
Once all the mix has been made into balls, place in fridge

Ganache

Melt chocolate in a small saucepan or in a bowl over simmering water. Remove from heat
Add cream and stir well until smooth
Decant into jug and place in fridge til required.

Cheesecake Mix

Whip cream with electric beaters til soft peaks form, about 3 to 4 minutes on high
In a separate large bowl, add cream cheese, icing sugar and vanilla and beat with electric beaters til smooth
Fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mix til smooth

Assembly

Place a layer of cheesecake mix in the bottom of the bowls
Arrange a layer of raspberries on top of the cheesecake mix, pressing them gently into the mix
Break the rumballs in half and arrange on top of the raspberries
Pour a generous amount of ganache on to the rum balls
Fill to the top with cheesecake mix and garnish with chocolate curls

 

 

Coconut Crème Brûlée

This post is produced in relation with Posh Nosh by Nic (@poshnoshbynic) using Jimalie Coconut Products.

Organic coconut sugar with a happy fella on the pack!

A few weeks ago, I was contacted by a lady named Nic who distributes coconut products. She asked me if I would be interested in having a look at the range by Jimalie which included coconut oil for both cooking and beauty, and coconut sugar. I've used coconut oil in the past but this was the first time I had heard about coconut sugar! My mind instantly started thinking about what I might be able to make to showcase the flavours and coconut crème brûlée came to my mind pretty quickly.
 

Eggs are pretty amazing hey. They are so versatile! Sweet, savoury, in between...they can do anything!

I'd never made a crème brûlée ever, let alone a coconut crème brûlée. I have however eaten one. After the delightful French film 'Amélie' came out way back in 2001, we were all enchanted with the pretty Amélie and her enjoyment of  all sorts of little pleasures, such as 'piercing the crust of crème brûlée with the tip of a spoon.' We went out soon after and experienced the pleasure for ourselves.
 


There's 400ml of liquid, 4 egg yolks...there's so much pleasing maths in this recipe.



Crème brûlée has it origins way back in the 1600's, originating in France, which is pretty obvious from the name. Meaning burnt cream, it consists of a silky custard with a sugar crust, caramelised into a crisp shell. I believe traditionally, the custard is served at room temperature but I like it cold served immediately after the sugar has been bruléed - a spoonful with the still warm sugar and the cool custard is perfection! Or, in French, perfection! Yeah. It's the same. I googled it.
 


Tried to achieve some symmetry in this photo. Hmm. It's pretty good, I guess.



To make the crème brûlée into one of the coconut variety, I used 50% thickened cream and 50% coconut milk, as well as 50% caster sugar and 50% coconut sugar. This is a really easy recipe to double as it's all in the ratio 1:1. Maths, huh.
 


The coconut sugar gives this a great flavour and colour. And the smell! So good.

To prepare the dish is easy! Heat the coconut milk and cream mixture, pour into the whisked egg yolks and sugar then pour into ramekins in a water bath. Bake, cool, top with sugar and brûlée! That is literally it. I'm gonna write the recipe down there but it's really simple! 

This bubbly mix is coconut custrard...I bet there are some other uses of this custard.



The coconut flavour in this is so tropical and delicious, it would be prefect for a summer dinner party. Plus you get to impress your guests with one of my favourite kitchen tools - the blowtorch! Fire!
 


All ready for their close up, Mr. Oven. Or Miss Oven. Or Ms. Oven. Yep, that's the one. She's not defined by her martial status to the dishwasher.

The coconut sugar in this permeates the custard and gives the loveliest aroma when brûléed. You can get Jimalie coconut products from cafes and gourmet markets around Brisbane including Paleo Café Bulimba, Zone Fresh Gourmet Markets and Carte Blanche Espresso. For a full list of stockists, head to the Jimalie website!
 
Now here come the photos! Drool...
 


My food styling at it's best.

 

Amelie would be proud.



The money shot! The spoon piercing the crust!

 

Get in mah face.

Cool custard and hot sugar. Opposites attract.

 

Okay now I really want one of these. That silky coconut flavoured custard.

 

 

 

 

 And then I ate it all.
 
Coconut Crème Brûlée
Prep time: 15 mins

Cooking time: 40 mins

Total time:  55 mins

 

Servings: 2

200ml coconut milk
200ml thickened cream
4 egg yolks
2 tablespoon coconut sugar
2 tablespoon caster sugar
 

1. Preheat oven to 150°C and place two ramekins into a deep baking dish.
2. Whisk the egg yolks, 1 tablespoon of the coconut sugar and 1 tablespoon in a large bowl until combined.
3. Place the coconut milk and cream in a heavy bottomed saucepan and place on a medium heat.
4. Stir the cream mixture and then allow to heat until bubbles begin to appear at the edges of the pan.
5. Once the cream mixture is sufficiently heated, slowly pour into the egg and sugar, whisking constantly.
6. Divide the mixture between two ramekins and pour cold water into the dish until it comes two-thirds the way up the ramekins.
7. Bake for 40 minutes or until custard is set. It should still be wobbly when it comes out of the oven.
8. Allow to cool, then refrigerate until cold.
9. Mix the remaining sugars in a small bowl then divide between the two ramekins, swirling the sugar around to get full coverage.
10. Using a blowtorch, caramelise the sugars until they form a golden, crisp crust. Alternatively, place the ramekins under a grill until the sugars are golden.