Tuesday 4 October 2022

Magical Mulled Wine Jam Trifle

Using Cottage Delight Magical Mulled Wine Jam

Prep: 40 minutes Cook: 6 hours chill Serves: 8

Recipe:

For the trifle:

1 x 340g jar Cottage Delight Magical Mulled Wine Jam

2 oranges, peeled and sliced in halves

420g sponge swiss roll

480ml custard

360ml double cream, whipped to soft peaks

500ml mulled wine (ready-made or using recipe below)

135g pack raspberry jelly

Fresh/frozen berries, to decorate

Ground cinnamon, to decorate

For the mulled wine jelly:

Option - make your own mulled wine using the recipe below or use ready-made mulled wine.  

For home-made mulled wine: 

500ml red wine

2 bay leaves

1 star anise

1 orange, thinly sliced

8 cloves, whole

2tbsp sugar 

2 cinnamon sticks

1 packet raspberry jelly

Method for mulled wine jelly:

Combine all ingredients (not including raspberry jelly) in saucepan and heat gently. Do not boil. Hold at gentle simmer for at least 10 minutes. 

Remove from heat and strain the liquid.

Return liquid to pan and dissolve in jelly cubes (if jelly cubes do not dissolve, put some gentle heat underneath).

If using bottled mulled wine, heat according to bottle instructions before dissolving in the jelly cubes. 

To assemble the trifle: 

1. Make your mulled wine jelly in advance, using recipe and method stated above. Pour jelly mixture into a small rectangle or square baking tin, so it’s roughly 1 inch high. Leave it in the fridge to set (approx. 3 hours)

2. To assemble, line the bottom of a trifle bowl with half of your cake slices. Press slices half way up along the sides of the bowl. 

3. Arrange halved orange slices around side of bowl.

4. Arrange half of the jelly squares over the cake mixture. 

5. Pour over half of the custard. 

6. Spoon over half of the Magical Mulled Wine Jam evenly.

7. Repeat steps 2 to 6.

8. Cover the top with plastic wrap and leave in the fridge for at least 4-6 hours or even better, overnight.

9. When you’re ready to serve, add whipped cream and fresh or frozen berries to decorate before dusting with cinnamon. 

To learn more about the Cottage Delight range or to make your purchases please visit https://www.cottagedelight.co.uk.

Some more Christmas goodies from That's Christmas!

I'd like to thank Louise for her help in putting this particular list of Chirstmas presents together! They all look mightily good and eminently Christmassy!  

Slingsby (Gin & Vodka) – 70cl bottle  (RRP £30.00)

Slingsby Gin (www.spiritofharrogate.co.uk) is an award-winning Yorkshire gin brand inspired by its spa town heritage and enjoyed around the world, Slingsby’s premium spirits range is crafted with pure spring water and real fruits to create the finest, award-winning British gin and vodka. 

The range includes: London Dry Gin, Rhubarb Gin, Gooseberry Gin, Marmalade Gin,  Blackberry Gin, Old Tom Gin, Navy Strength and Slingsby Vodka

RRP: £30.00 for a 70cl bottle

Stockist: www.spiritofharrogate.co.uk

Powderhound Christmas Bauble Gift Set, £64 (single bauble £17 with gift box)

Add a bit of Alpine magic to your Christmas Tree with this exquisite fine bone china Christmas bauble featuring the Powderhound classic skier design. Available as a single bauble or in a set of 4 in a luxury gift box. 

RRP: £17 for a single bauble or £64 for a set

Stockist: www.powderhound.london


Uhuru – Rum (RRP £39.99)

A XO Golden Rum from the Caribbean. After soaking up the tropical heat, the cask was transported to the Youngs Spirits bottling house to end the maturation process at 44%. This bottle of Uhuru Rum is filled with flavours of buttery toffee and fruity sweetness, balanced with unfolding oaky notes.

RRP: £39.99 for a bottle

Stockist: www.uhuruspirits.co.uk


Uhuru – Whisky (RRP £44.99)

Uhuru’s first release is a 10 year-old blended malt Scotch Whisky. This cask was chosen for it’s perfect balance of sweet vs. smoke. It’s the first whisky to have an analysed measurement of sweetness identified through a revolutionary process! The whisky is defined as having 019 SPPM within it, which gives it the perfect balance of peat vs sweet!

RRP: £44.99 for a bottle

Stockist: www.uhuruspirits.co.uk


Tea Heritage – Tea Advent Calendar (RRP £33.00)

The Tea Heritage Christmas Advent Calendar is beautifully illustrated and packed with 25 hand-stitched, organic loose leaf tea bags. 

This year’s calendar features an assortment of 22 tea bags and 3 chocolates from the French chocolate maker, Louis Simart, making it the perfect gift for tea lovers this Christmas.

RRP: £33.00

Stockist: www.teaheritage.fr/en

Ferg & Harris – Luxury Whisky - Speyside 12-year-old (RRP 69.99)

Speyside 12-year-old is light and fruity with a gorgeous umber colour, scents of toffee, baked figs and rich raisins. A quick hit of sherry sweetness on the palate with lighter fruity notes to follow. It finishes in a warm, smooth fashion.

RRP: £69.99 for a bottle

Stockist: www.fergandharris.co.uk



Tea Heritage – Christmas House Tea Bags (RRP £13.00)

The Tea Heritage Christmas House Tea Bag includes x10 hand-stitched, organic loose leaf tea bags with x5 of Organic Earl Grey Tea and x5 of Organic Christmas Black Tea. Tea Heritage’s Christmas House Tea Bag can be hung on your Christmas tree and used as a Christmas decoration, making it the perfect gift for the holidays.

RRP: £13.00

Stockist: www.teaheritage.fr/en


Powderhound – Alphabet Ski Mug (RRP £17.99)

Brighten up a tea break with a personalised Alphabet Ski Mug. Featuring miniature skiers spelling out the chosen initial on the front and back.

The perfect gift for any skier, snowboarder or alpine lover, this mug will bring memories of the mountain straight to the kitchen.

RRP: £17.99

Stockist: www.powderhound.london

Make a big Splash this Christmas with Splash soap

Splash Foaming Hand Soap is the new way to buy hand soap which is so much kinder to our planet! And will make an utterly superb Christmas present this year, especially for people who are keen on their impact on the environment.

Introducing SPLASH which is an innovative and totally new way to purchase hand soap that will help you reduce plastic waste, carbon footprints, save money and still look attractive as it sits on your bathroom shelf!

SPLASH is a zero plastic-waste SOAP DISPENSER FOR LIFE - made from recycled materials and designed to last an entire lifetime.

Its simple, elegant design will look stylish in any home, no matter what the décor. 

The Starter Pack RRP £4.99 contains one 250ml reusable and refillable foaming soap dispenser and one plastic-free, foaming hand soap tablet in either Tropical Coconut or Juicy Orange.

This helps to save the waste of single use plastic bottles and is super easy to use, fill the dispenser with warm tap water, drop in the hand soap tablet and watch the magical fizz as it transforms into soap.

Each soap tablet makes 250ml foaming hand soap to cleanse and moisturise your hands.

PLASTIC-FREE HAND SOAP TABLETS - Be kind to your skin and the planet with zero plastic-waste, dissolvable hand soap tablets. Re-use a bottle, add warm water, drop in the tablet and watch the magic happen. Buying these hand soap refills will prevent the waste of single use plastic bottles. And, of course, the minimal wrapping is fully recyclable.

POWERFULLY EFFECTIVE & BEAUTIFULLY FRAGRANCED – Splash is clinically proven, and lab tested, washing away all of the yucky stuff with proven natural surfactants for exceptionally clean hands. Delicately scented with tropical coconut or uplifting juicy orange, they are made from all natural, vegan-friendly ingredients.

And the ‘for life’ bottle, included with the starter pack (RRP £4.99) is all you need as the specially designed pump creates the foam as you pump. What’s more, the pump is guaranteed for life, so if it breaks, you will get a replacement free of charge.

That means you never have to buy another plastic soap bottle again – and our beaches will thank you for that!

Replacement tablets can be bought in packs of one RRP £2.99, three £4.99, or five £6.99.

Available from Amazon and High St health food stores.

Starter pack orange - https://amzn.eu/d/0hB8wal

Starter pack coconut - https://amzn.eu/d/0XtKsJW

Pack 3 refill orange - https://amzn.eu/d/9ffhXB3

Pack 3 refill coconut https://amzn.eu/d/21LkgmV

A father and son team, Antony and Sam Haase, the company wanted to find a way to cut back on our reliance on disposable plastic bottles plus create a product that looked good in situ, and was fun, fresh and effective. And that’s how SPLASH was born.

It’s all about empowering consumers to make a seamless but hugely planet positive change, without comprising on style or performance, all at accessible price points.

Sam Haase said: “We were frustrated and disappointed at the lack of solutions to single use plastic in personal care.

Personal care is ready for change, it needs change. It is estimated that some 20% to 40% of all plastic waste comes from personal care products.

“But at the same time, we didn’t want to compromise on quality, so it was important to us to use vegan ingredients, that are cruelty-free and natural.”

www.splash-care.com.

Splash is available online from Amazon and also from independent retailers.

Need more reasons to buy Splash?

According to the UN Environment report only a mere 9% of the 9 billion tons of global plastic has been recycled so far. (Yikes!)

The rest of this ends up in landfills, protected conservation areas, or in the ocean forming massive trash islands such as The Great Pacific Garbage Patch which spans 1.6 million square kms and is the largest accumulation of ocean plastic in the world, located between Hawaii and California.

Still, need more reasons to ditch the single-use plastic for good? Here are some shocking facts about the impact single-use plastic has on our world.

People use approximately 1.2 million plastic bottles per minute in total.

Five trillion plastic bags are produced every year globally, with it taking up to 1,000 years for a bag to disintegrate completely.

At least 14 million tons of plastic end up in our oceans annually.

Roughly five million tonnes of plastic are used every year in the UK alone, nearly half of which is for packaging purposes.

32% of all plastic packaging produced finds its way to our oceans every year.

73% of beach litter worldwide is plastic.

There could be more plastic than fish in the ocean by 2050.

Ingestion of plastic kills an estimated 1 million marine birds and 100,000 marine animals each year.

90% of all sea birds and fish are believed to have plastic particles in their stomach.

The average person eats 70,000 microplastics each year.

Over the past 50 years, world plastic production has doubled.

https://theoceancleanup.com/great-pacific-garbage-patch/

Pens and more for Christmas from Manuscript Pens

If there's someone in your life who is interested in penmanship, drawing or calligraphy, it's time to consider purchasing them a really good and decent pen for this Christmas.

And where should you get them such pens? The Manuscript Pen Company! 

You and they should be able to have a very merry Manuscript Christmas this year!

Anyone looking to treat their loved ones or very good friends on Christmas morning should look no further than the UKs top stationery brand, the Manuscript Pen Company. 

This utterly iconic British brand manufactures and stocks a wide range of products that are eminently perfect for any age. 

From eye catching stationery sets to games for the entire family, there’s something for everyone. Learn a new skill or perhaps expand your expertise, there’s something that's sure to trigger that creative spark and let creative minds explore.

Check out the range at www.calligraphy.co.uk.

Lego Dots Gel Pens 6 pack (RRP £17.99)

The LEGO DOTS gel pen 6 pack offers the variety of colours you need to accelerate your writing to the next level. 25 colourful tiles are included for you to add your own decorative flair to these innovative writing utensils.

Each pen measures approximately 6.25" long and comes with 2-1x4 genuine LEGO plates which have been hand glued with precision and placed systematically so you can also build on or around them.

The unique square design won't roll away from you and the comfort grip and gel ink make writing effortless. A perfect birthday or holiday gift for any home, office or classroom. Printworks sketch box emerging artist (RRP £60.00)

Look no further! A beautiful Emerging Artist Essentials sketch set by Printworks. Complete with the 'tools you need to take your art to the next level.' This set has everything needed to bring your art ambition to the next level. Housed in a beautiful quality grey board, the set is the place to begin or rekindle the artist in you. Complete with a stunning array of art tools and a wooden mannequin to help draw the human anatomy and to balance proportions and shapes. The kit includes - 1 Wooden mannequin with podium - 2 sharpeners - 2 Erasers - 2 Crayons - 3 pastel pencils - 3 charcoal pencils - 2 graphite pencils - 10 sketch pencils. Enjoy!

Class hand lettering kit – teach yourself (RRP £34.99)

Teach Yourself Hand Lettering with the Manuscript Class Hand Lettering Kit! This set has been developed to be the complete kit to get started in Hand Lettering. Produced in partnership with world renowned calligrapher, Nico Ng this kit is the perfect set to aid you in your creative journey.

Their Hand Lettering Kit includes a comprehensive 40-page handbook. It guides you through the complete journey from the tools needed to hints and tips on getting started and all the key drills required to learn hand lettering. This handbook contains dedicated teaching sections to learn the following styles of hand lettering: start with the basics including Serif and Sans Serif and learn how to develop these to create Vintage, Bubble and 3D Lettering. Test your skills you’ve learnt with a task at the end of each section.

Get started straight away with a selection of specially selected pens ideal for practicing each style from the hand book.

Lego 2.0 Duck Build Recruitment Bag Stationery Set (RRP £20.99)

The LEGO 2.0 Duck Build Recruitment Stationery Set is a perfect starter kit to get those creative LEGO ideas flowing. 'If you only had 10 bricks' - what would you create?

This set includes 10 LEGO bricks that can be built into many different animal designs (including a duck, camel and turtle) with ideas to inspire on the packaging.

Further your creative LEGO thinking with the included LEGO 192 page Notebook, complete with an embedded 4x4 red LEGO brick.

With a hard back and ruled (FSC certified) notebook you have got the perfect place for all your creative ideas, as well as an integrated LEGO brick bookmark to easily find your latest notes.

Also included is a black gel pen with embedded brick based LEGO technology that can snap onto the notebook for ease of use.

Personalise your notebook by attaching your own LEGO bricks or minifigures. The creative possibilities are limitless!


Campo Marzio Mipo fountain pen – hot pink (RRP £30.99) The Campo Marzio Mipo Fountain pen is a playful and colourful mini pen. An ideal companion for those who love to dedicate a moment to writing and who love colour. The small size of the Mipo and the steel clip allow you to always carry this beautifully bold pen with you. Make a statement with MIPO's polka dot pattern and stylishly clashing body colour. 

Thanks to the bright coloured lacquer body with polka dot decoration - MIPO pens won’t go unnoticed. The body and components are made of brass, whilst the gold-coloured finishes give a touch of refinement and elegance. Campo Marzio Mipo pens use standard ink cartridges.


SET OF 12 GRAPHITE PENCILS 8B-2H (RRP £11.99)

KOH-I-NOOR'S famous pencils in a desirable natural finish. A lovely set for art students and budding artists wanting a wide range of pencil classes. These art pencils range from 8B to 2H which are made precisely according to the grade by expert manufacturer Koh-I-Noor. These pencils are intended for use by artists and graphic designers for drawing and sketching. These natural graphite pencils are hexagonal in shape and perfect for a comfortable grip when sketching, drawing and illustrating. Koh-I-Noor's pencils are in a natural wooden cedar envelope and are well sought after by artists and budding artists.

Printworks puzzle – Subway art rainbow (RRP £30.00)

It is said to be the world’s largest art exhibit, 110 kilometres and 94 stations which are decorated by some 200 artists. Welcome to a 1000-pieces art tour in the Stockholm’s subway system by Printworks. Enjoy a mindful activity with this stunning jigsaw design.

 


Motif: Stadion Station

The design from 1973 celebrates the 1912 Summer Olympics which took place in Stockholm at a stadium not far from this station. The rainbow colours represent the five rings of the Olympic movement and is a reoccurring theme throughout the station. Modern calligraphy oblique set (RRP £18.50)



Calligraphy has made a huge comeback in 21st Century and is the ideal hobby for men, women and children of all ages. The Manuscript Modern Calligraphy range is the most stylish way to get started. With three options available, you can begin to create your own style. This Oblique Modern Calligraphy Set features everything you need to master this style of calligraphy. With a classic black pen holder with gold extruded clip, three nibs and a bottle of black ink, there's no more fashionable way to make a start in art! The set also includes a beautifully compiled instruction manual from popular calligrapher Artsynibs!


What is Manuscript? Actually, a more appropriate question would be who is Manuscript? Because Manuscript is a family owned and operated company which is now in its fifth generation and has a long history of producing quality products right in the heart of Britain, for creatives living throughout the world. 

From historic nibs to its popular CalliCreative collection, the company has over 150 years of very valuable experience in the pen manufacturing industry.

Starting as a small company in Birmingham, Manuscript has grown into the world’s largest calligraphy brand, exporting to over 70 countries globally. (As an aside, Birmingham was once pretty much the British home of high quality pen manufacturers and it's good (as someone from Birmingham) that Manuscript Pens are still a thriving and growing family owned concern. And still 'just down the road' from their birthplace, in the historic town of Bridgnorth in Shropshire!) 

Today, Manuscript distributes its own brand calligraphy products across the world as well as operating in the capacity of UK distributor for a number of revered brands in the luxury pen, gift and stationery industry. 

These brands include Centropen, Chameleon, Conklin, Diplomat, Lego Stationery, Karin, Koh-I-Noor, Monteverde, Original Crown, Mill, Pineider, Pininfarina, Printworks, Stipula, Visconti, William Penn and Yookers. 

Follow Manuscript Pen Company on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram

For further information visit https://manuscriptpen.com/ 


Top Trumps for a Top Christmas

Because Top Trumps has it covered this Christmas!

Top Trumps has been a very strong, firm family favourite card game for over 40 years and has always been infamous for it's car titles.

Here are some of their latest packs...

007 James Bond Vehicles & Gadgets Top Trumps

Familiarise yourself with thirty vehicles and gadgets that are closely associated with the double-O agent known as James Bond. Pick from iconic weapons and tools like the wrist dart gun, Dentonite explosives and the Parker pen, as well as vehicles like the Q Boat and the Aston Martin Vanquish. 

This pack of Top Trumps Limited Editions celebrates some of Q Branch's most incredible gadgets, Bond's spontaneity and resourcefulness when it comes to their usage, and some of 007's foes’ most fiendish devices. 

Find out which car has the best Technology rating, which gadget is the best disguised, and which is Bond’s most recent piece of kit.

RRP £10

Available on Amazon

Super Cars Top Trumps

Strap yourself in and put your foot down on the accelerator - it’s time to take to the racetracks with this extraordinary new edition of Top Trumps: Supercars! 

Get to grips with 30 of the world’s fiercest, fastest and most powerful vehicles as you race for the title of Top Trump. Pick from iconic cars including the 2018 Aston Martin DBS Superleggera, the 2018 McLaren Senna, the 2019 Bugatti Chiron and the 2013 Porsche 918 Spyder. Discover each car’s power, top speed, acceleration speed and total produced as you battle it out to pick your best stat from each card and defeat your opponents. 

Each card comes with high quality imagery and a custom bio that tells you everything you need to know about these incredible feats of engineering: find out which car uses separate electric motors for each wheel, which debuted as the MotoGP Austrian Grand Prix safety car, and which car offers a steampunk interior! Time to start your engines and compete for first place, with Top Trumps: Supercars.

RRP £6

Also available on Amazon

Sports Cars Top Trumps

Learn about the biggest and fastest sports car road legends of all time: from the stylish NSX and the brutal F40, to the glamorous Veyron and the ground-breaking Huayra, they are all in this Sports Cars edition of Top Trumps. Find out the top speed of the Pagani Huayra, engine size of LaFerrari and the year Bac Mono was launched.

RRP £6

Available on Amazon, too.

Check out Top Trumps at https://toptrumps.com.

Get in the Christmas Spirit With New Gift Sets from in the Welsh Wind

Top award-winning distillery In The Welsh Wind has launched its first series of gift sets in time for Christmas 2022, featuring its prized gins, new vodka and a dark rum.

The Cardigan-based spirits producer has the perfect Christmas solutions with its new trio of 'miniature' offerings with price points at £15, £20, and £25.

Featuring Masters and Gold winning spirits, options include its Signature Gin duo, or try one of the two combinations from its Eccentric Spirits range, which features six gins, a dark rum and also its newly-launched vanilla and coconut infused vodka, which has already won over the judges.

The Welsh Wind Collection Gift Box

Enjoy a taste of Christmas with the award-winning In The Welsh Wind Signature Style gin and limited-edition Palo Cortado gin. The gift box features a 5cl bottle of each spirit.

Price: £15

Buy online: https://inthewelshwind.co.uk/collections/gift-boxes/products/the-welsh-wind-collection-signature-style-and-palo-cortado-gin-miniatures-gift-box

Eccentric Collection Gift Box

This gift box features four 5cl bottles of spirits all with a Welsh theme.

Dewi Sant, Cardiff Dry, Pembrokeshire Pinky and the new Cardi Bay Vodka. Each gift box also comes with a signature Eccentric Spirits Co dog tag.

The Eccentric collection is a quirky and alluring assortment of spirits with such an incredible array of botanicals across the range.

Price: £20

Buy online: https://inthewelshwind.co.uk/collections/gift-boxes/products/the-eccentric-collection-eccentric-gin-miniatures

Mavericks Collection Gift Box

This gift box features four 5cl bottles of the premium spirits from the Eccentric Collection. It includes Young Tom (Master award winner at the 2022 Global Gin Awards), Limbeck, Madam Geneva and Black Batch Rum. Each gift box also comes with a signature Eccentric Spirits Co dog tag.

The Eccentric collection is a quirky and alluring assortment of spirits with such an incredible array of botanicals across the range.

Price: £25

Buy online: https://inthewelshwind.co.uk/collections/gift-boxes/products/eccentric-gift-box

Tasting notes:

Welsh Wind Collection

Signature Style: a botanical profile inspired by cargoes imported into New Quay and flavours synonymous with Wales – oranges, cinnamon, clove, ginger and tea-soaked currants

Palo Cortado: A beautiful marriage of our award-winning Signature Style, rested in Palo Cortado barrels. Almonds, dried stone fruit and wood spice from the cask perfectly complement the underlying warmth of the original gin's botanical profile.

Eccentric Gift Box

Dewi Sant: A sea spray inspired, coastal infusion of aromatic rich herbs, fennel and spritzy citrus.

Cardiff Dry: This dry gin offers juniper with big citrus character, best served with mint and black pepper. 

Pembrokeshire Pinky: Named after the Pink Thrift, the flower of Pembrokeshire, it is a blend of cherry and lemongrass creating a crisp, refreshing flavour with a beautifully smooth finish. 

Cardi Bay Vodka: This deliciously smooth vodka is infused with hints of vanilla and coconut.

Maverick Gift Box

Young Tom: Sweet, floral and malty rich flavours from this distilled IPA, then rested for six weeks with fennel, sunflower root and star anise. 

Limbeck: A gorgeously heady mix of blue ginger, citrus and tarragon, Seville orange and orris. It is rested in French burgundy casks leaving the gin a subtle peach colour. 

Madam Geneva: A real classic London Dry Gin. A combination of angelica, wild sunflower and a range of fresh citrus. 

Black Batch Rum: Black Batch takes its colour from a heavily charred cask of American oak. Lightly spiced with orange, cinnamon & cloves, it celebrates natural colours and flavours.

That's Christmas would like to suggest that you buy two of these gifts, one for your lucky recipient and one for yourself. That way you will both have a very good Christmas indeed!

And as my Welsh grandmother (who also came from Pembrokeshire) would say: "Nadolig Llawen!"


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