Bacon Wrapped Roast Pork Loin Stuffed with Spinach and Mushroom

I am sure every Christmas you will be wondering what is THAT recipe you will serve on your dinner table. A recipe good enough to make those heads nod with pleasure and yet won't make you run around the house like a headless chicken trying to get it done. Com-on...who has time to roast a whole turkey? Let alone time to visit the salon before the party? But again, you are not gonna serve just a plain old roast chicken...even NTUC has that :P So that pretty much leaves us with Lamb or Pork...on the safer side...go pork since it is more wallet friendly and not as gamey taste.

Pork can be quite blend if it is not seasoned well and quite dry if overcooked. So stuffing the most tender part of the pork sounds about the right choice. Better still, wrap it with Bacon!

Fresh out of the oven...oops pardon the string haha. My recipe is so easy and yet yields a really moist and delicious roast meat, definitely worth a try. Let's get started!

Ingredients for Bacon Wrapped Roast Pork Loin Stuffed with Spinach and Mushroom (Serves 4-5)

1.5-1.8kg fresh pork loin (I got mine from the butcher, those ready cuts in the fridge was too small)
2 cups fresh spinach
10-15 button mushrooms (white or cremini is fine)
1 large zucchini
1 carrot
1 large sweet potato
1 large or 2 medium red onion
4 cloves garlic 2 large potato or 4 medium potato
1 large tomato or 1/2 cup cherry tomato
4 to 6 strips bacon (I used apple-wood smoked)

• First minced the garlic, slice the onion thin, slice the mushroom, wash the spinach, cut the vegetable into large chunks, this will help the vegetable to cook easily when roasting. As shown below:
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• Next you fillet the pork loin so it is flat sheet as shown below. Season the surface with salt and fresh ground pepper generously. Set aside for use later.
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• Next you heat up a saute pan and add a tbsp of olive oil. Next add in the minced garlic and sliced onion and cook at low fire till it is translucent and soft. Takes 5-8 minutes.
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• Next you add in the sliced mushroom and cook covered at low fire till it is cooked down and soft. Takes another 5-8 minutes again.
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• Scoop out the mushroom mixture. Add in the spinach, season well with salt and pepper, then cook till it wilt down. Then squeeze out the extra liquid. Chop it roughly.
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• Now you spread the chopped spinach over the pork loin, leaving about 2 inches on the side.
  After that you spread the mushroom mixture evenly over the spinach.

•  Then gently roll up the pork loin from the long side and carefully wrap the bacon over it. Then if you like, you can use some baking string to tie the pork loin. Link here to check how to do that. Preheat the oven to 200C.
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• Now grease your baking dish and also add about 2 tbsp of olive oil over the cut root vegetables.Then season it well with salt and fresh ground pepper. Place the vegetables in the baking dish and then the pork loin over the vegetables.
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• Bake in the preheated oven for 35 minutes, then lower the heat to 180C, cover the meat with aluminum foil and continue to bake for another 10 minutes.
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• Be sure to let the meat rest for a good 10-15 minutes before slicing into it. Enjoy!

The pork turned out perfect, tender and perfectly seasoned. Love the moist and flavorful mushroom stuffing inside too. If you are like me, lazy to make sides, baking the root vegetables together with the pork will be perfect! Yes, there is that extra time you earn to go salon haha!

Sliced version of my stuffed pork loin..served over my new Christmas theme plate. This lovely  handmade plate is from Italy. Also my new snowflake dinner plate from Boradallo Pinheiro from Portugal. Bought all these from Tangs last weekend so I can serve it during Christmas. :) My one stop shopping for Christmas this year. 

Hope you all like this recipe. And may all your dinning guest love it as much as I do.
Good night guys!

 

Cranberry Orange Wholewheat breakfast rolls

Tis the season to be baking. Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la! Haha, somehow I feel it carries more meaning when you bake for someone during Christmas. Well, it is a season of gifting right? Let's start off baking something with breakfast, Cranberry orange wholewheat breakfast rolls, sounds good isn't it? Saw this lovely recipe from Smitten Kitchen awhile back and had KIV it till now. My cranberries which has been sitting in my freezer was perfect for this recipe! Yeah...like FINALLY! Furthermore, with my new Jamie Oliver Terracotta dish from Tangs, I have all the more reason to bake it. :P

I can't imagine what's better then waking up on Christmas morning to this lovely breakfast. :) The amazing smell alone is able to drag you out of bed. Awesome. Cranberries are just so christmassy...I think it brings out the holiday mood!

I did some modifications to Deb's recipe, replacing plain flour to bread flour and also replacing portion of that bread flour to wholewheat flour. I also replaced the store bought buttermilk with homemade version (lemon + milk) and also added more milk to my recipe, which I think helps made the bread softer. 

With that, let's get down to it shall we?

Recipe for Cranberry Orange Wholewheat breakfast rolls (makes 12-14 rolls or 9X5" dish pan)

4 large egg yolks
1 large whole egg
50g caster sugar
85 grams unsalted butter, melted, plus additional to grease pan
175 ml buttermilk (I used 165ml fresh milk and 10ml fresh lemon juice)
100 ml fresh milk
Zest of 1 large Navel orange, finely grated (to be used in dough and filling, below)
350 g bread flour
120g wholewheat flour
7 grams or 2 1/4 teaspoons instant dry yeast
1 1/4 teaspoons coarse or kosher salt, or more to taste
1 teaspoon butter to grease the baking dish

Filling:
25g salted butter at room temperature 
150g packed light brown sugar (reduced)
130g fresh cranberries
Orange zest leftover from above

Icing: (Optional)
20 ml+/- orange juice (I used part orange, part lemon juice, because I love the tang)
120g powdered sugar
=> Mix everything together till you get a smooth, thick gooey paste

• First, you weighed out the fresh cranberries and zap it in a blender till it resembles a thick chunky paste. Set aside in the fridge for use later.
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• Next you place all ingredients for the main dough into your mixer bowl and start to knead the mixture till it all comes together.
• Continue kneading till it is pulling away from the side of the bowl completely and it is very elastic.
• Grease another big bowl and place the dough in to proof for a good 1.5hrs to let it double in size.
• Once proofed, punched out the air and place roll on a lightly floured work area. Roll out into a large rectangle about the 18" by 12" . 
• Use a spreading knife, butter the whole surface leaving about 1" at the edges using the reserved room temperature butter.
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• Then sprinkle evenly the light brown sugar on to the surface of the dough. The follow by scattering the cranberry paste all over the surface as well.
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• Gently roll up the dough from the longer end and try to make it as "tight" as possible so you will get really nice swirls in the middle. When you rolled to the other end, pinch and seal the edges nicely.
• Use a sharp knife, divide the log into 2 equal halves, then divide the halves into 2 halves. And repeat till you get 12. Grease the baking dish with some oil and place the rolls in, lining them neatly in rows. Rolls in rows, hah! 
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•  Again cover the rolls loosely with plastic wrap and let proof for another hour or so till it doubled in size. Alternatively, you can leave them to proof in the fridge overnight and bake them in the morning....nice!
• Preheat the oven to 175C. Once the buns have finished proofing, bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 33 minutes till it is golden brown on the top.
• Remove from oven and let cool a little before tearing into it and chomping it all down. Yes...a little self control is required haha.
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Be still my heart....I know, such a glorious sight isn't it. And it smells and taste incredible too. :) 

Such a genius idea to use cranberries as the filling I have to say. It's tangy, it's sweet, it's fluffy and it's comforting. You can make it a little more sweeter by coating the top with some icing. I opted for partly lemon juice because I find orange juice is not tangy enough to bring out the citrus flavor. Or you can opt not to put any icing at all of course. But again....

Why not?

Anyway....hope you like my rendition of this amazing recipe and give it a try. I am sure those that stuffed this in their mouths are gonna be super happy. :) And one last important note, make sure you have a nice baking dish to bake this...go treat yourself and grab Jamie Oliver's at Tangs haha!

Till my next Christmas bake....stay happy guys!

Red Velvet Christmas Yule log Cake

It's so fast! Christmas is finally over...gosh I am already feeling to the "blues" coming on. :P I guess that has A LOT to do with the school reopening soon. ~Dread!!~ 6 weeks seems to fly pass so fast...it almost seems like it was only yesterday that we just started our holidays, no? Lol! Anyways, we all have to face the inevitable ...come what may, we deal with it one day at a time with an open heart! ;) 

Although Christmas has already past, but I reckon that I best post up this fabulous red velvet Swiss roll log cake recipe for future reference. I hope everyone had a fabulous Christmas celebration...and got their desired Christmas present! I know I did! Will elaborate on that on my coming pot. ;) For now...the Red Velvet Yule Log Cake.

It almost always that I made 2 yule log cakes for Christmas every year. And I always prefer to try a new recipe. And since I love red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting, I thought it will be really nice to bake it into a log cake! Plus that red coloring just adds on the festive mood!  And of course I referred to none other then Martha Stewart's recipe since her red velvet is the best I've tasted. :)

This recipe is the "bomb", I can eat it everyday, haha! I actually made these cuppies for my kid's form teacher awhile back and she loved it too. ;) And remember I actually used it in my mum's birthday cake: Red Velvet & Light Cheese Cake with Pink Ombré Roses.

However for this log cake, I need to change the recipe so that the cake can be soft and "flexible" enough to roll up nicely. So here is the version I have come up with, without compromising the wonderful velvety taste of the cake:

Ingredients for Red velvet Swiss roll cake: (makes a 13" by 14" tray) (serves 10 -12 ppl)

3tbsp quality cocoa powder (I used Valrohna)

20ml hot water

- Mix cocoa powder and hot water together to form a thick paste. Let cool for use later.

80g egg yolk

40g caster sugar

100ml buttermilk

50ml vegetable oil

130g cake flour, sifted

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp red food coloring (I used Wilton no-taste red)

1/2 tsp white vinegar

120g egg white

80g caster sugar

• Using the double boiler, place a mixing bowl over it. Add in the egg yolks and sugar. Beat the mixture till it thickens and double the volume. 
• Remove from the boiler and stir in the cocoa mixture. Also add in buttermilk, vegetable oil, vanilla extract and stir gently till well combined.
• Then add in the red food coloring and white vinegar and combine well.
• Lastly add in the sifted cake flour and gently mix in till well combined.
• Preheat the oven to 170C and lined and grease the baking tray with parchment paper.
• In another clean mixing bowl, beat the egg white till foamy and gradually add in the caster sugar and beat till stiff peaks.
• Gently fold in the whites to the egg yolk batter in 3 separate portions. Remember to fold in gently and not deflate the batter.
• Pour the batter on the prepared tray and spread evenly. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes till done.
• Remove from oven and let cool completely.

Cream Cheese frosting

340g cream cheese, soften 

227g unsalted butter, room temperature

200gg confectioner's sugar

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

• Beat butter and cream cheese with a mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low. Add sugar, 1 cup at a time, and then vanilla; mix until smooth.

 Assemble:

• Once the cake has cooled completely, spread about 1/3 of the cream cheese frosting on the surafce, evenly, leaving about 1" at the edge so as to have a cleaner edge when rolled up.
• Roll the cake from the longer side inwards. Trim the sides and slice portions of the cake as desired to make different log segments.
• Frost the cake till all is covered and use a fork to run through the frosting to create the log texture. Decorate at will! Chill as per needed so that the cream cheese frosting is more stable.

 I actually made the same recipe twice....and both occasion was a success! My friends raved about it and even her 5 year old daughter (picky eater) had seconds!

A look at the interior of the cake. :P Yummy! I definitely will be baking it over and over again. I was really glad the cake still turned out great after the modifications. :D

I am going to submit this to Aspiring Bakers #26 - Creative Christmas Motif Bakes! hosted by Alan of Travellingfoodies.

And also linking this post to Cook Like A Star organised by Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids, Baby Sumo from Eat your heart out and Riceball from Riceball Eats
Cook like a Star - December 2012
Martha Stewart

Christmas Tree Macarons & Merry Christmas!

For the past week, my daughter has been very excited about the arrival of Christmas Day. She had even written a letter to Santa, requesting for a nice Christmas present (a giant bubble blower...whatever that means) and said she has been a good girl for the longest time. Among all these excitement, she has not forgotten to play good hostess. She said it is a must that we prepare cookies and milk for Santa when he comes deliver the presents on Christmas night. If we did not prep any cookies, she claim that Santa will be very angry and will not give her the presents. Gosh! The books and programs she's been watching! Well I did played along with her of course, since it is fun for the kids to have a little hope and fantasy. Believe me, we even made my kids believe there is tooth fairy! Lol!

Anyway, I was gonna keep things simple by baking a batch of butter or oatmeal cookies. But when I asked my girl what is her most favorite cookie in the whole world...she said macarons. (I had to ask...);P I played with the idea and then finally decided to make it anyways. And to participate in the AB this month, I piped it into Christmas tree shape!

Tah-dah! Nice? Although the green can be slightly darker, but I am still quite happy with the end result. :) I was a little worried at first as it has been ages since I last baked macarons. ;P But luckily it didn't fail me. *~phew~* And you know who is more excited then me of course....my daughter said "Santa will be very happy".....(*_*")

I

I have used back the same trusty recipe, the Italian meringue method to bake this batch of macarons. :) I used chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream as the filling this time, since it's the all time favorite for my family. ;))

Ingredients for Earl Gray Macarons (makes about 25 cookies)

100g Almond meal (I ground mine from whole blanched almonds)
100g icing sugar
38g fresh egg whites (about 2 egg whites)

green food coloring / 1/4 tsp green tea powder
pinch of salt

100g caster sugar
24ml water

38g aged egg whites (about 2 egg whites)

• In a blender, finely ground the almond powder and confectioner's sugar together till powdery like. Then pour it into a bowl and add in green food coloring or green tea powder. Then mix in the egg white and salt. Stir and mix well. Mixture will be thick.

• In a saucepan placed over medium fire, heat up the sugar and water. Once the sugar has all melted, place your candy thermometer in and monitor it till it reaches ~108C. Once it reaches 108C, beat the egg white at high speed till it reaches soft peaks, which by then the temperature should be close to 118C.

• Slowly drizzle the sugar syrup into the egg white while the mixer is still at medium speed. Once all the syrup is in, continue to beat till the meringue is glossy.

• Fold in 1/3 of the meringue into the almond meal mixture. Since the almond mixture is thick, you'll need to stir harder to incorporate it well. Repeat the other 2 portions and fold in gently.

• Scoop the batter into a piping bag with an 10mm nozzle. Pipe out on a baking tray lined with baking parchment paper into seven 20cents coin size circles which forms a Christmas tree. 

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•  Let rest the batter till it doesn't stick to your finger's touch. 

• Preheat the oven to 150C with fan off.

• Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 14mins.

• After baking, remove from oven and let cool completely before peeling off.

Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream:

75g chopped dark chocolate

300g Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Melt the chocolate in the microwave and let cool for a minute before mixing into the room temperature buttercream. 

Assemble:

• Melt about 40g of dark chocolate and dip the ends of the macaron cookie into it. Then let it cool to set.
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• Once the chocolate has set, fill macarons with the chocolate SMB and sandwich with one more cookie.
• Decorate the cookie at will or just enjoy them as is. :)

I really enjoyed myself when I made these macarons, so fun! So perhaps you can try it out and get into the festive mood! Go, there's still time, hahaha!

One word....yummy good! 

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all my friends and readers out there a Merry and Blessed Christmas! 

I would like to submit this post to this month's Aspiring Bakers #26 - Creative Christmas Motif Bakes! hosted by Alan of Travellingfoodies.

Thanks for staying with me folks!

Chocolate Granola Wreath with Holly Buttercookies

It's the time of the year for giving again. Getting ready all those Christmas gifts does not necessary have to be such a long tedious chore. Sometimes, simple thoughtful gifts can also reflect your appreciation to your love ones. What better ways then baking up a batch of delicious homemade cookies? But besides the usual Christmas cookies or gingerbread man, what other fun delicious homemade goodies can you make? Well, I have a nice little idea to share with you all, much like the one I posted Chocolate Cornflake Wreath last year...but a healthier version, Chocolate Granola Wreath! :)

Okay, I know, but it sounds and look almost the same as last year, haha! But I guarantee you, this is equally delicious but much more wholesome! With the addition of rolled oats, it not only add on the wholesome goodness, it gives it that distinct texture (which I so love) and fragrant when you chew on it...delish!

In order to join in this month's Aspiring Bakers, I added the extra Christmas Holly butter cookies as part of the deco on the wreath. :) Why let a good post go to waste? Haha! Okay for the butter cookies, please kindly refer to the recipe here. Tint your cookie dough as desired and chill. Then merely use a paper template (self made) and cut out the cookies with a knife. 

You might just skip the step of making this granola and bake these holly butter cookies as a gift too! Not bad an idea too I think. ;) But anyways, who doesn't like a delicious granola to go with those buttery cookies? Lol! Here is my recipe for the granola:

Ingredients for Chocolate Granola Wreath (enough to make a 8"-10" ring)
120g bittersweet chocolate (I used 76% coco Lindt)
4 tbsp honey
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1 cup rice crispies ( I used Kellogg brand)
1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
1/4 cup dried cherries / cranberries / raisins

• In a heat proof bowl, place chocolate, honey and butter in. Either melt these ingredients over the double boiler or simply just microwave it. Mix well till combined.
• Lay some plastic wrap over the tube pan you will be using. (I used a 10" bundt pan)
• Stir the chocolate rice crispies, oats and dried fruit(if using) in and make sure all are coated.
• Spoon mixture into a tube pan (I used an 10" bundt pan). 
• Wrap the mixture up gently with the plastic wrap and chill in the fridge in the tube pan for at least an hour or freeze if you are bringing it to a dinner party. 
• Once the chocolate has set, remove from pan and remove plastic wrap. Decorate at will with colorful ribbons!   

A close look at the granola....loads of texture and goodness. It has a wonderful crunch from the rice crispies, slight tartness from the dried fruits and chewiness from the oats. Best of all, a rich chocolaty taste. Yummy! Remember to use quality chocolate to make this...every bite counts(calories)!

Hope you folks like this recipe and will give it a try. It's really good! You can even try with peanut butter or even white chocolate to have a different variation to this. ;) 

I am happy to submit this post to this month's Aspiring Bakers #26 - Creative Christmas Motif Bakes! hosted by Alan of Travellingfoodies.

Okay, hope you all have a good week ahead!

Matcha red bean buns; Christmas Tree

Time is flying pass so fast and it is only 10 days to Christmas. *Exciting* Although we are home bound this time during this Christmas, I am still glad because we get to enjoy more quiet family time. Besides that, we also put up our beautiful Christmas tree which has been "hibernating" for more then half a decade! (No worries, it's still in very good condition, haha!) This Christmas tree shared lots of wonderful memories with us, of our dear friends and family. So it's always sentimental to put it up. And now that the kids are more grown up, they were a great help in decorating the tree with the loads of ornaments that we have collected over the years from several countries as we traveled. (not to mention all those magnets on the fridge as well! ~faint~)

Talking about Christmas Tree, I got in the festive mood and baked a Christmas Tree too! A tree made from Matcha (green tea) soft buns, dried cranberries and sweet red bean paste filling. It was fun making it!

I got this great recipe from yet another cookbook I bought in Taiwan. Yes, I am gonna slowly post all them nice recipes all up, lol! This book is call "糕點女王的聰明烘焙法" which consist of simple delicious daily recipes that we love baking up when we have that small pocket of time. Again I did a little change to the recipe to my liking, here is my version:

Ingredients for Matcha Buns (enough to make a Christmas Tree)

200g Bread flour

20g wholewheat flour

6g Matcha powder

40g caster sugar

4g instant active dry yeast

1 egg white

3g salt

135ml water

30g unsalted butter @room temperture

1/4 tsp green food gel (optional : only if you want it real green)

1/2 cup dried cranberries

Red bean paste filling (or any filling you fancy)

• In a mixing bowl, add in bread, wholewheat flour, matcha powder, sugar, salt, water, egg white and yeast. Mix well till it comes together to form a pilable dough.
• Continue to knead till it is not sticky and pulls away from the mixing bowl. Add in butter (and green food coloring if using) and continue to knead till it reaches window stage.
• Cover dough and let proof at room temperature for 2hours or till it doubled in size.
• Punch out the air and divide the dough into 11 equal rounds. (or which ever portions you see fot to build your tree). Cover and let rest for 10 mins)
• Flatten each dough portion and place about 15g of red bean paste in the center. Close and seal nicely. Roll round and lay it on a baking pan laid with parchment. Repeat for the rest of the portions till all is filled and rolled. Remember to assemble your tree as you go along.
• Brush the dough surface with some egg white/water and press on some dried cranberries as decorations. Let proof for anothwe 30 minites covered.
• Preheat the oven to 175C.
• Bake the tree in the oven for 15minutes or till it is golden brown in colour. Remove from oven and let cool before serving.

As you can see, this is not complicated, I think anyone can bake this wonderful festive bread at home. Whether you choose green tea or pandan flavor, I am sure your little ones at home will enjoy, pulling off these soft delicious buns and munching it down happily. :)

Again another wonderful easy recipe, soft and yummy even on the following days! Do give this recipe a try. ;)

I am happy to submit this post to this month's Aspiring Bakers #26 - Creative Christmas Motif Bakes! hosted by Alan of Travellingfoodies. Thanks for hosting Alan! If you have not made anything for this month's AB, get in the kitchen now and join in the festive fun! 

Okay, hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Cheers!

 

Merry Christmas All!

Christmas is almost upon us! Somehow this year I have pretty strong festive feelings, not sure why. :) Perhaps is the awaiting of meeting up with my dear friends or maybe it's just the burst of eagerness to bake after my vacation. :P Either way, I am please that I got to bake some Xmas goodies this year. The last one is this Christmas log cake, inspired by my friend Grace. :)

I used plain vanilla Swiss roll recipe but encasing rich and decadent dark chocolate buttercream. ;) It was baked for a dinner gathering at my in-laws and everyone loved it. ;) It was finished off in a flash!

Since I have an early morning tomorrow, I shan't be posting up the recipe. Interested bakers can inquire after Xmas. ;) Be back before you know it!

Lastly, I just want to thank all my dear readers and fellow bloggers' constant support throughout this year. I truly and really appreciate it! I hope I can continue to do this and have you all by my side. ;) Lastly, I'm taking this opportunity to wish everyone a blissful and joyous Christmas and an amazing New Year! Cheers All!

Christmas Matcha Cookie Tree

Christmas is just around the corner, and I am still stuck with so much things to do. :P Can't wait for my short break coming this weekend! As busy as I am, I am still finding time to bake in my kitchen, sort of a therapeutic get away for me. There is one thing that I have been longing to bake for Christmas for a couple years now....somehow it just didn't happen. :P A Christmas Cookie Tree! Well, this year I finally got to do it, almost sounds like a mini wish come true. (^_^) But I actually had to break up the steps to 3 days....crazy right, to think that it's actually not that hard to do at all! Anyway, here it is; my Christmas Matcha Cookie Tree.

I used a simple butter cookie recipe and incorporated green tea powder into it. And since I worry the Matcha taste will be too strong for my kids, I didn't add too much, so my cookies aren't as green as I hoped. ;P However the taste was really good plus the cookie was buttery and crisp which I liked a lot. :9

Ingredients for Matcha Butter Cookies : (makes about 25-30 x 5cm round disc)

240g all purpose flour

12g matcha powder

150g unsalted butter, cold and cut into small cubes

1/4 tsp salt

110g confectioner's sugar

1 large egg yolk

Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream, refer here for recipe and steps

• In a large mixing bowl, sift flour, matcha powder, powder sugar and salt into it. Knead the cold butter in until resembles bread crumbs.
• Add in the egg yolk and knead till just combined. Wrap dough with plastic wrap and chill in fridge for at least 30 minutes before rolling out.
• After chilling, lightly flour a cooled work surface. Then roll out the cookie dough on the surface into  about 1/4" thick. If dough gets too soft and greasy, return it to the fridge for 15 minutes.
• Use desired round cookie cutters which varies in diameter size, must have at least 5 different sizes. Also cut out a star shaped cookie to top off the tree. Arrange cookie on parchment paper and chill in fridge for 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 175C.
• Bake the cookies for 13 to 15 minutes till the edges are slightly golden browned. Let cool completely before use. 
• Arrange the largest disc as the base and pipe a round ring of buttercream around the edge. top off with the second largest cookie. Repeat this till all the cookie has been stacked. Finally pipe a dollop of the cream on top and stick the star right there. Chill the whole tree in the fridge till the buttercream firms up and it'll be really for your desert centerpiece!

I think this little cookie tree will make a nice centerpiece for the desert table during Christmas, don't you think? 

Since I did reduce the sugar quite a bit, the cookies does go well with the Vanilla Swiss Meringue buttercream, so no worries about having a  overly sweet taste there. But do chill the cookies before serving as the cream will eventually soften the cookies. So either assemble right before or chill it prior.

I am happy to submit this to participate in the White Christmas Challenge organised by Very Good Recipes via Quay Po Cooks.

And also to this month's Aspiring Bakers #14: Creative Christmas Bakes (December 2011) hosted by Hankerie.

Okay all, will try to post up another Xmas bake this week before I leave for my short get away. Hope I can squeeze out some time!! Cheers!