For Chyka Keebaugh, Christmas is definitely the most wonderful time of the year. “I’m obsessed with Christmas!” says the businesswoman and blogger who made her name planning extraordinary events. “I don’t understand it when people say they haven’t decorated the house or they’ve left their shopping to the last minute. I like to start thinking about gifts mid-year and I love planning a theme for how I’ll decorate my home.”
Come Christmas time, Chyka likes to serve up sweet surprises for her guests, and here she shares her recipe for White Chocolate Mousse Baubles and her own signature Christmas Cocktail.
White Chocolate Mousse Baubles
Makes 6
INGREDIENTS
Fondant
Edible gold paint
Mousse
3 leaves gold-strength gelatine
100ml milk
250g white chocolate, roughly chopped
300ml thickened cream
1/2 vanilla bean, scraped
White velvet or cacao butter spray (available online or from cake decorating stores)
METHOD
Hand-form bauble cap and hook from the fondant. Paint with edible gold paint; set aside to dry completely.
To make mousse, soften gelatine in cold water for 5mins. Place milk, scraped vanilla pod and seeds in a small saucepan over medium heat and heat until warm. Squeeze excess water from gelatine and add to milk mixture, stirring to dissolve.
Place 250g white chocolate in a bowl. Pour warm milk mixture over and stir until chocolate has melted.
In a separate bowl, whip cream to soft peaks, then fold into white chocolate mixture. Spoon into silicone hemisphere moulds and freeze for 3hrs or until frozen.
Join two half spheres to make whole spheres. Return spheres to freezer until ready to be sprayed.
Spray mousse spheres, turning carefully as you go. Return to freezer until needed.
Just before serving on a beautifully styled Christmas table, place bauble hook on top of the spheres to complete the look.
Chyka’s Christmas Cocktail
Makes 1
INGREDIENTS
50ml gin
20ml fresh lime juice
10ml elderflower Cordial
8-10 fresh mint leaves
1 baby cucumber, quartered
Ginger beer
METHOD
Pour gin, lime juice and elderflower cordial into chosen glass (O-glass or tumbler) and top with ginger beer. Garnish with fresh mint and cucumber stick.
