Festive desserts
Showing 17-32 of 114 recipes
Ice cream
Spiced fruit and mascarpone ice cream sandwiches
These ice cream sandwiches are inspired by our popular Christmas pudding semifreddo. A delight to have on hand in the freezer this Christmas.
Baking recipes
Ecclefechan tarts
The Hebridean Baker (aka Coinneach MacLeod), shares his recipe for ecclefechan tarts, a delightful Scottish alternative to mince pies.
Christmas gingerbread
Gingerbread s’mores tree
Break off a few pieces of gingerbread tree, sandwich with toasted marshmallow snowballs and dip in choc for a s’mores-inspired festive bite.
Show-stopping Christmas desserts
Black forest ‘forest’ trifle
This dramatic Christmas dessert embraces the elements of a black forest gateau – cherries, chocolate and kirsch – using trifle-like layers.
Chocolate tarts, tortes and pies
Ravneet Gill’s gianduja chocolate tart
Ravneet Gill's rich gianduja chocolate tart has a velvety-smooth filling and wonderfully crisp pastry. Serve with chilled pouring cream.
Pavlova
Caramelised walnut and coffee pavlova
Chetna Makan's coffee pavlova is topped with cream and beautifully caramelized walnuts, then drizzled with chocolate ganache.
Chestnuts
Chestnut parfait with chocolate bourbon caramel
Creamy chestnut purée is perfect for making into all sorts of wonderful desserts, including this decadent parfait, drizzled with boozy caramel
Festive desserts
Sweet golden dumplings with ginger sauce
These golden, sweet dumplings are a Christmas favourite in Hungary and Romania. Serve the warm, yeasted buns with a jug of vanilla sauce.
Filo pastry
Armenian pakhlava with pomegranate syrup
Armenian pakhlava is similar to baklava. The buttery filo pastries have a sweet pomegranate syrup and are served at festive gatherings.
Christmas baking
Romanian mill wheels (chocolate and hazelnut meringues)
Food writer Irina Georgescu shares her recipe for festive Romanian mill wheels - little meringues sandwiched with chocolate cream.
Christmas baking
Orange gugelhupf with cranberries
A majestic, yeasted gugelhupf studded with dried fruit is a festive must-bake in much of Central Europe. Irina Georgescu shares her recipe.
Quick and easy desserts
Sweet filo triangles with cardamom, clementine and pistachios
Fragrant cardamom, sticky citrus, crunchy nuts and crisp pastry – this beautiful, festive dessert can be put together in the time it takes to bake the filo.
Trifles
Traditional English trifle
Raspberry jelly, thick vanilla custard, sherry-soaked sponge fingers and pillowy mounds of whipped cream: it's the ultimate traditional trifle.
Celebrity chef Christmas recipes
Jeremy Lee’s profiterole tower
A classic profiterole tower: delicate choux puffs stuffed with custard and ice cream, with a jug of warm chocolate sauce to pour over the top.
Festive desserts
Jam doughnuts with lemon and cinnamon syrup (sufganiyot loukoumades)
These jam doughnuts are a delicious cross between Sufganiyot, eaten during Hanukkah, and Loukoumades, little Greek doughnuts coated in honey.
Christmas chocolate
Terry’s Chocolate Orange cream pie
Looking for an easy make-ahead Christmas dessert? Try our luscious chocolate orange cream pie, with choc custard filling and an Oreo base.
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