What dessert hacks will make my life easier this Christmas?
Matt, Leeds
Life is infinitely better – not to mention easier – when ice-cream is involved, and Christmas is no different. “You can fold in anything from crushed mince pies to cherries in brandy to leftover Christmas pudding to kids’ selection boxes for an emergency dessert that doesn’t take up much-needed fridge space,” says the Guardian’s resident perfectionist Felicity Cloake. It’s the ultimate lazy assembly job and will please both young and old – after all, Cloake adds sensibly, “everyone loves ice-cream”. The frozen stuff also tops Guardian baking columnist Benjamina Ebuehi’s Christmas hack list. “Let the ice-cream soften a bit, tip it into a bowl, then add chopped Christmas chocolate or Christmas cake. Combine, then pop it back in the freezer.” You could then get all fancy and explore the idea of pouring things over the ice-cream, which leads us to Ebuehi’s second hack: “Melt chocolate and coconut oil, pour it over your ice-cream, and [once frozen] it will set and form a nice little shell.”
Surplus Christmas pudding is crying out to be turned into a topper for pies, says Dina Macki, whose book Bahari: Recipes from an Omani Kitchen and Beyond is out in February: “Crumble any leftover pudding, toast slightly, and use as a topping for apple pie or on anything else you might sprinkle a crumble.” And those lingering chocolates (we’re looking at you, fruit creams) can find a new lease of life as truffles: “Chocolates with a strawberry or orange filling work really nicely,” Macki says. “You don’t need to melt them too much, just enough to soften the chocolate, and you don’t need to add butter, because the gooey filling will provide the stickiness.” Christmas pudding also has a place here, so add any leftovers to your melted chocolate mix: “Orange Quality Streets would be my favoured option.”
There is also good stuff to be had with fruit and cream, which Macki layers in individual glasses. “Crumble ginger biscuits or amaretti, follow that with mascarpone whipped with cream and frozen and defrosted cranberries, and top with shavings of chocolate.” You could, she adds, really go for it by adding a splash of rum to the mascarpone post whip.
Macerated clementines are another fine match for cream. Ebuehi segments the fruit and adds to a dish “with a bit of sugar, booze – Cointreau or Grand Marnier would be good here – star anise, and a cinnamon stick, if you want it to be more aromatic”. Let things mingle – “the day before, if you have time, but even 15 minutes ahead will help” – until it gets all syrupy and juicy, then “serve with cream lightly whipped with vanilla and shortbread for a quick, hands-off dessert that’s still tasty”.
Citrus is also Cloake’s strategy for “those who literally can’t stomach another rich dessert”. Thinly sliced oranges, clementines and grapefruit (plus pomelo, if you want to push the boat out, Cloake says) will “look pretty arranged on a platter, sprinkled with cinnamon and ginger, and finely chopped mint or pistachios for colour”. But do remember that, just like the rest of us at this time of year, the salad needs to chill before serving.
• Got a culinary dilemma? Email feast@theguardian.com
