Made from scratch Trifle

Ah November... shit weather, insane workloads, and the annoying early arrival of cheesy Christmas carols in shopping centres, reminding you that in one short month you will be frantically dashing around to those same carols blowing your hard-earned Christmas bonus.

Our Christmas gatherings have been shrinking as the years go by, and poor dad's designated braai-er and driver duties have been rewarded with less and less of his usual favourites. From great big Christmas lunches with all the fat, sugar and alcohol possible, to diabetic and cholesterol friendly meals paired with a Windhoek Light. One of his old favourites was always trifle, and probably for the exact same reasons, it was always my least favourite. My gran would soak the trifle in gallons of sherry, and my innocent youth taste buds would recoil in terror, and the best part of Christmas lunch would end in a minesweeper-esque game of find the sherry-free jelly. 

So to surprise my trifle-loving dad and my Christmas-loving sister, we has little festive season warm-ups. Nothing store-bought and no short cuts (okay except the jelly), these little trifles are labours of love!

Decadent Custard

Food is filled with memories, and one of my most nostalgic foods is Woolworths fresh custard; I remember eating it from the tub when I was a child, sneaky spoonful after spoonful when no one was looking, when I was a teenager it provided comfort for all ailments and illnesses, and when I was a student it was a favourite surprise to find in a bag of Woolies goodies delivered to the desolate Grahamstown by my loving mother.

Despite all this, I've always felt a tad guilty for never making my own fresh custard. So recently I whipped up my first ever batch, and honest to God it tastes just like Woolworths, it's crazy easy to make, and it evokes all the feel-good memories that should never be separated from your custard experience.