We tested three Christmas Pinterest baking hacks, and there was one clear winner (and one hilarious failure!)

By Katharine Pope, 25 November 2020

Looking for a cute and Christmassy baking project? These three Pinterest hacks look easy, but are they? We put them to the test.

Strawberry Santa

What you need:

  •  Strawberries
  • Whipped cream in a canister
  • Melted chocolate
  • A chopstick for dotting chocolate eyes and buttons

How it went: Easy, fast and cute, but wholly unsuited to the South African climate. My strawberry Santas became strawberry puddles within five minutes. Best done as a fun project with the kids, and eaten while still in production. A firm butter icing would likely last longer, but I’m not convinced it would taste very good!

3-ingredient Christmas tree

What you need:

  • Frozen puff pastry
  • Chocolate spread (I used the new Lindt spread)
  • Egg, to brush over before baking

How it went: The winner by a country mile. It was surprisingly easy to do, once the pastry had thawed sufficiently. It gets super-tacky quickly though, so you need to work fast. This is a genuinely fast pudding that would be delicious with a scoop of ice cream.

Christmas-tree-pastry

Get the recipe for the 3-ingredient Christmas tree.

Date-ball Christmas puddings

What you need:

  • 10 x date balls (make your own or buy them)
  • 40 g melted white chocolate
  • A handful pomegranate rubies
  • Desiccated coconut

How it went: Easy if you opt for the Woolies date balls with flat bottoms. (I lost a couple of the round variety, which rolled away while receiving their melted chocolate). Also: date balls covered in white chocolate are rather delicious – particularly the Woolworths hazelnut-and-coffee date bites!

Date-ball-Christmas-puddings

Get the recipe for 3-ingredient Christmas tree.

Want more impressive-looking Christmas baking tricks? Try our Chuckles-studded Christmas pudding or these Christmas pudding cutie pies.

Katharine Pope

Article by Katharine Pope

TASTE's head of digital content is an adventurous, if somewhat haphazard cook. Her favourite recipes are all either cake, curry, or risotto, and she is an expert at hiding vegetables in unexpected places, to outwit her veg-hating toddler and husband.
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