Many people would say Christmas dinner is the best meal of the year.
It's the one we all seem to look forward to, and the perfect way to finish it off is with a sweet dessert for the family to enjoy.
It can be tough to find new recipes to try, with many of us stuck in a rut making the same treat each year.
Read more: How a NI Christmas tree is helping people remember their loved ones this year
We have a few different ideas for you to try this year if you're looking for a bit of inspiration, with everything from cheesecake to crumble!
Christmas crumble
This Christmas dessert from BBC Good Food is the ultimate comforting festive treat, with this recipe serving four to six people.
Ingredients:
- 1kg apples, peeled, cored and chopped
- 150g frozen cranberries
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp mixed spice
- 75g caster sugar
For the crumble:
- 125g plain flour
- 100g cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
- 50g caster sugar
- ½ tsp mixed spice
Festive yule log
This recipe from BBC Good Food transforms the yule log into a next-level Christmassy treat, using festive spices, a brandy butter filling, and chocolate truffle icing for that extra dash of indulgence.
Ingredients:
For the sponge:
- 5 eggs, separated
- 125g light brown soft sugar
- 40g cocoa powder (make sure it’s pure cocoa)
- ½ tsp mixed spice
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- white caster sugar, for sprinkling
For the brandy butter filling:
- 100g soft butter
- 250g icing sugar, sifted
- 4 tbsp brandy
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
For the frosting:
- 100g dark chocolate, chopped
- 100ml double cream
- 25g butter
For the decoration
- 75g white chocolate, chopped
- 10 fresh bay leaves, or organic rose leaves
- icing sugar, for dusting
- edible gold lustre, food spray or powder
Method:
Line a 35 x 25cm Swiss roll tin with baking parchment and heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Beat the egg whites with an electric whisk until just holding peaks, then add half the sugar, 1 tbsp at a time, until the peaks hold. Set aside. Beat the yolks with the remaining sugar until pale and fluffy in a clean bowl. Sift in the cocoa, spices and a pinch of salt and gently fold them through. Beat in a third of the egg whites, then gently fold through the rest until you have an airy mousse. Pour into the tin and spread evenly. Bake for 12-15 mins until springy.
- Sprinkle caster sugar over a large sheet of baking parchment. Turn the cake out onto the sugared parchment, then peel off the sheet you used to line the tin. Cover with a clean tea towel, then leave to cool completely. Trim the edges, then score along the inside edge of one of the short sides and roll it up from there, using the parchment to help.
- To make the filling, beat the butter, icing sugar, brandy and vanilla together with an electric whisk for 10 mins until light and fluffy. Unroll the sponge, then turn it so that one long edge is facing you. Spread the buttercream over the sponge using a palette knife, keeping the end furthest from you clean. Using the parchment, roll the sponge up again into a roulade.
- For the frosting, tip the chocolate into a large bowl. Put the cream and butter in a saucepan and heat gently until the butter melts and the cream reaches simmering point, then pour over the chocolate. Stir to create a smooth mixture, then leave to cool, stirring occasionally, until you can spread it over the sponge. Make bark lines using a fork, then chill in the fridge for at least 30 mins.
- To decorate with chocolate leaves, melt the white chocolate in a bowl over simmering water and paint the underside of the bay leaves with it. Put in the fridge to set for 30 mins, then gently peel away the bay leaves. Arrange over the log, then lightly dust with the icing sugar and lustre.
Christmas trifle
This recipe from Good Housekeeping is definitely festive and perfect for gingerbread lovers!
Ingredients
- 1 box gingerbread cake mix (14.5 oz.)
- 2 bags fresh or frozen and thawed cranberries (12 oz.)
- 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 cups heavy or whipping cream
- 8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 1 tbsp vanilla
Method:
- Preheat oven to around 180 degrees. Prepare cake mix according to package instructions and pour into a 9-inch square baking pan. Bake according to package instructions, then let cool completely.
- In a saucepan, combine cranberries, sugar, water, and cinnamon. Bring to a boil on high, then simmer until most of the berries burst, 6 to 8 minutes, stirring often and mashing berries against side of pan to break up. Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate until cold.
- In another bowl, beat cream just to soft peaks and set aside. In another bowl with the same whisk, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth and creamy. Gradually beat in the whipped cream. Transfer to the fridge until ready to assemble.
- Assemble the trifle: Scoop 1 cup of cream and set aside. Slice cooled cake into 1/2-inch slabs. Layer cake onto the bottom of a trifle dish to cover. Top with a layer (about 1 cup) of berry compote and a layer of whipped cream. Repeat layers of cake, compote, and cream and until dish is almost full. Top with reserved whipped cream. Let trifle sit at least 4 hours.
- Garnish with sugared cranberries and serve.
White chocolate and passion fruit cheesecake
A truly decadent dessert, this recipe from Delicious Magazine serves 10-12 people.
Ingredients:
- 180g digestive biscuits
- 30g desiccated coconut
- 50g butter, melted
- 100g white chocolate, finely chopped or grated – we used a Lindt Lindor white bar
- 3 x 180g packs full-fat cream cheese, at room temperature – we used Philadelphia
- 100g caster sugar
- 200ml double cream
- 2 limes, zested
- 10 white chocolate Lindor balls
- 3 tbsp coconut flakes, toasted
For the passion fruit layer:
- 5 platinum-grade gelatine leaves
- 200g passion fruit pulp (from 8-10 passion fruit), sieved, 1 tbsp seeds reserved
- 3 tbsp caster sugar
Method:
- Heat the oven to 160ºC fan/gas 4. In a food processor, whizz the biscuits and coconut to a fine crumb. Add the butter and pulse until combined. Spoon the mixture into the base of the cake tin and smooth with the back of a spoon. Bake for 10 minutes, then set aside to cool completely.
- Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of barely simmering water (don’t let the bowl touch the water). Leave to cool slightly. In a mixing bowl, beat together the cream cheese, melted chocolate and sugar. In a separate bowl, whisk the cream to soft peaks. Gently fold the cream and lime zest into the chocolate mixture, then spoon over the biscuit base and smooth the top. Cover and chill for 3 hours.
- For the passion fruit jelly, soak the gelatine leaves in a bowl of cold water for 5 minutes. Put the passion fruit pulp, reserved seeds and sugar in a small pan over a medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Squeeze the soaked gelatine leaves to remove excess water, then stir into the hot fruit mixture off the heat until dissolved. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes, then spoon on top of the chilled cheesecake base. Cover again and chill for at least 6 hours or overnight.
- When ready to serve, run a sharp knife round the edge of the tin to release the jelly layer, then unclip the tin and transfer the cheesecake to a serving plate. Decorate with the Lindor balls and toasted coconut flakes.
.READ NEXT:
- Lidl reveals best times to shop to avoid crowds ahead of Christmas rush
- PSNI warning over risks of buying counterfeit goods this Christmas
- Belfast barber offering free haircuts to help with rising costs before Christmas
- The ways you can do good this Christmas in Northern Ireland
For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here. To sign up to our FREE newsletters, see here.
