Simple tricks to give your treats the wow factor

Turn some basic biscuits or a supermarket Christmas cake into something that will truly impress your guests with these tricks – tested by Judy Yorke

Christmas tree icing cutters (Lakeland)

These cutters allow you to make 3D decorations and it was a doddle. Just roll out your icing, cut out the trees and press them together to create the 3D effect.

You get four different sizes, so you can create your own mini forest. I then dusted them with icing sugar to look like snow.

VERDICT: An easy way to give a shop-bought cake a bit of a festive makeover 9/10

Eddingtons engraved Christmas tree wooden rolling pin (Debenhams)

Ginger biscuits are always a must for our Christmas party but unless you spend hours icing and decorating them, they can look very boring.

This engraved rolling pin makes them more special. Just swap your normal rolling pin.

The shapes come out clearly on the dough. I was worried the pattern would fade with baking and it did a little but they still looked good.

VERDICT: Fun & festive 7/10

Father Christmas silicone moulds (Lakeland)

These are moulds that you can use with marzipan, chocolate and more. I tried out two different ones. The first was a full-length figure that required pink, red, green, white and black icing.

I followed the picture to see where the colours should go but my first effort looked like it had been made by a fiveyear-old. A YouTube video helped and I eventually produced an acceptable Santa.

The “head only” Santa mould was much easier and the right size for cupcakes.

VERDICT: An effort but worth it 8/10