The ultimate Christmas dessert collection: 18 recipes from Jamie Oliver, Nigella Lawson, Mary Berry and more

Christmas desserts should be indulgent, extravagant and unforgettable, says Hannah Twiggs. From Jamie Oliver’s sticky toffee pudding to Nigella Lawson’s winter wonderland cake, these recipes from the biggest names in food are guaranteed to bring festive magic to your table

The ultimate festive indulgence, where Guinness and brandy collide to bring a boozy warmth to your holiday feast (Supplied)

Nothing says festive decadence quite like dessert. From Jamie Oliver’s sticky toffee pudding that oozes nostalgia to Nigella Lawson’s sumptuous winter wonderland cake, the festive season is a showcase for the best in sweet innovation. There’s a thrill in baking something memorable – the kind of dessert that gets a gasp as it’s brought to the table and leaves plates wiped clean.

For traditionalists, Mary Berry’s red velvet sandwich cake offers a crowd-pleasing twist, while Michel Roux’s Grand Marnier-spiked yule log proves that classics can still surprise. For those seeking lighter fare, Nigella’s disdain for dried fruit may strike a chord, her chocolate cake a perfect antidote to stodgy traditions. And let’s not forget the true showstoppers: a chestnut pavlova topped with caramelised apples or a dazzling mixed berry meringue wreath, proving that presentation is everything.

This year, the big names in food – from Prue Leith to Mark Hix – have created recipes that feel both familiar and indulgent, with a touch of luxury and a lot of heart. Whether you’re team chocolate, team custard or can’t resist a drizzle of toffee sauce, this lineup ensures there’s something for every sweet tooth.

Christmas pudding with brandy butter

By: Dominic Chapman

Christmas wouldn’t be the same without the feeling of having totally overindulged. This Christmas pudding with brandy butter recipe will make sure you and your guests will be full of Christmas cheer – with Guinness, rum and brandy in the mix.

Ingredients:

115g self-raising flour

110g white breadcrumbs

250g soft brown sugar

½ tsp ground mixed spice

¼  tsp nutmeg, grated

¼  tsp cinnamon

50g nibbed almonds

90g dates, stones removed

125g raisins

125g sultanas

125g currants

25g mixed peel

1 Bramley apple, peeled and grated

1 orange, juice and zest

1 lemon, juice and zest

3 eggs

75ml rum

75ml brandy

75ml Guinness

100g golden syrup

Brandy butter

Brandy to taste

100g unsalted butter, softened

225g icing sugar

To plate:

200ml double cream

Brandy

Method:

1. To prepare the pudding mix, sift the flour into a bowl and combine with the breadcrumbs, suet, almonds, sugar and spices​. Remove the stones from the dates, chop the flesh and combine with the remaining fruits. Add to the flour mixture and mix well​.

2. Whisk the eggs together and add to the pudding mixture with the rum, brandy, Guinness and golden syrup. Stir thoroughly to combine. Leave the mix in the fridge for one week to develop its flavour. During this time, taste the mixture occasionally – more spices or alcohol can be added if required.

3. To cook the pudding, butter and flour a pudding basin, then fill it three-quarters of the way up the side with the mixture. Place a circle of parchment paper on top of the mixture, cover the basin with tin foil and seal tightly.

4. Place in a steamer and steam the pudding for four hours. Once cooked, allow to cool and store tightly wrapped in the fridge or a cool place until required. To reheat the puddings, return to the steamer and steam for a further 2 hours. To prepare the brandy butter, add the butter to a large bowl and allow to soften. Once soft enough to beat, whisk the butter until light and creamy​.

5. Add the icing sugar and beat again until all of the sugar is mixed in, then whisk in the brandy, tasting to achieve the right balance of sweetness and alcohol. Store the butter in the fridge until required. Serve the reheated Christmas pudding with a good dollop of brandy butter or some cream. If desired, turn down the lights, splash some more brandy over the hot pudding and set it alight!

Recipe from www.greatbritishchefs.com

Gluten-free chocolate Christmas pudding

Proof that going gluten-free doesn’t mean sacrificing the rich, decadent magic of Christmas pudding (Supplied)

By: Victoria Glass

Think it’s too late to make your own Christmas pudding? Think again. Victoria's gluten-free chocolate recipe takes minutes to stir up and you can get on with wrapping your presents while it gently steams.

Ingredients:

100g light muscovado sugar

100g butter, chopped

100g dark chocolate, broken into pieces

120g sour cherries, dried

40g raisins

40g sultanas

75g currants

25g dried cranberries

150g pitted prunes, chopped

Stem ginger, 2 balls, finely chopped

150ml brandy

100ml port

50ml Cointreau

2 oranges, zest and juice

1 vanilla pod, seeds scraped

1 large egg, beaten

50g hazelnuts, blanched roughly chopped

100g rice flour

50g cocoa powder

1 tsp mixed spice

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

½ tsp nutmeg, freshly grated

1 pinch of salt

Method:

1. Put the sugar, butter, chocolate, dried fruits, stem ginger and alcohol in a saucepan and stir over a gentle heat until the chocolate and butter have melted. Bring to the boil and immediately turn off the heat. Stir in the orange zest, juice and vanilla seeds and leave to cool.

2. Once cool, mix in the beaten egg and hazelnuts before sifting over the flour, cocoa, spices and salt. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet until thoroughly incorporated. Spoon the mixture into the prepared pudding bowl and smooth over the top.

3. Cut out a 13in baking parchment circle. Pleat the circles and place over the pudding. Cover the pudding with a lid made from a pleated circle of tin foil. Wrap string twice around the basin and tie to secure the paper. Use more string to wrap over and under the bowl and tie a knot to make a handle.

4. Put the basin on the top of a steamer of simmering water for three hours, topping up with boiling water every hour to prevent the pan from boiling dry. Once cooked, remove from the steamer and leave to cool. Once cool, unwrap the pudding and re-wrap to ensure that no water has got inside. Cover the cold pudding tightly with foil and store in a cool, dark place, preferably for at least a month, until ready to reheat.

5. On Christmas day, steam the pudding for one and a half hours to reheat, before turning the pudding out and pouring flaming brandy over the top and serving with generous lashings of brandy butter, cream, ice cream or all three.

Recipe from www.greatbritishchefs.com

Dark chocolate and orange trifle

Prue Leith’s nostalgic take on trifle, bringing leftover treats back to life with bold chocolate and citrus notes (Ant Duncan)

By: Prue Leith

Rather egotistically, I consider myself the trifle queen! Any leftover cake, croissants, brioche, panettone or raisin bread in our house ends up spread with a suitable, sweet spread (jam, honey, Nutella), soaked in a compatible booze (sherry, brandy, rum, fruit or coffee liqueur), and sunk in lashings of custard and cream.

I’m not above using bought cake and custard either. And I love to decorate the top with a colourful mixture of traditional trifle toppings (glacé cherries, angelica, walnuts) or more modern ones, like freeze-dried raspberries, fresh fruit and edible flowers.

Indeed, I mostly just assemble anything I can from the larder and pile the lot on – and I think it looks wonderful.

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:

4 large oranges

3 tbsp Cointreau or other orange liqueur

300g 70 per cent dark chocolate

500ml double cream

50g caster sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 chocolate Swiss roll (about 250g)

500ml vanilla custard

Method:

1. Segment the oranges, keeping any juice separately from the segments.

2. Add the Cointreau or other orange liqueur to the juice.

3. Roughly chop 250g of the dark chocolate, then melt it in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir occasionally until the chocolate is smooth and fully melted. Remove from the heat and let it cool.

4. Whip 200ml of the cream with the sugar and vanilla until it will just hold its shape.

5. Fold the melted chocolate into the whipped cream until combined, creating a rich chocolate mousse.

6. Cut the Swiss roll into 1cm-thick slices and use two-thirds of them to line the bottom and sides of a deep trifle bowl.

7. Pour half of the orange juice mixture over the Swiss roll layer

8. Spread the chocolate mousse over the cake.

9. Arrange the segmented oranges over the mousse, keeping a few back for garnish.

10. Add another layer of Swiss roll slices, then drizzle them with the remaining orange juice mixture.

11. Pour the custard all over, spreading it out evenly.

12. Whip the remaining cream until it will just hold its shape (the soft peaks stage).

13. Using a vegetable peeler, shave the remaining chocolate to create chocolate curls for decoration. Or simply grate it.

14. Top the trifle with the whipped cream, remaining orange segments and a sprinkle of chocolate.

15. Chill in the fridge, preferably for two to three hours, or overnight, which gives the dessert time to set. (Although, it will still taste terrific if you have to eat it straight away.)

Recipe from ‘Life’s Too Short To Stuff A Mushroom’ by Prue Leith (Carnival, £25)

Sticky toffee coffee pudding

Jamie Oliver’s sticky toffee showstopper with a caffeine kick, perfect for keeping the party going (Chris Terry)

By: Jamie Oliver

Serves: 16

Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients:

For the pudding:

170g unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing (at room temperature)

340g self-raising flour, plus extra for dusting

450g fresh Medjool dates

1 level tsp ground cinnamon

1 whole nutmeg, for grating

50g walnut halves

170g golden caster sugar

170g dark muscovado sugar

4 large free-range eggs

For the caramel sauce:

250g unsalted butter

125g golden caster sugar

125g dark muscovado sugar

50ml espresso

50ml dark rum

250ml double cream

70g walnut halves

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas 4. Grease and lightly flour a 26cm bundt tin or a 20cm x 30cm baking dish.

2. Destone the dates and put into a food processor with the cinnamon and 300ml of boiling water, then finely grate in the whole nutmeg. Leave the dates to soak with the lid on for 10 minutes, then blitz to a purée, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides to help it along.

3. Add the walnuts to the food processor and blitz again. Add both the sugars and the butter and blitz until combined. With the motor still running, crack in the eggs. Add the flour and a pinch of sea salt, then pulse until combined. Pour the pudding mixture into the prepared tin, then bake for 45 minutes, or until an inserted skewer comes out clean.

4. When your pudding is almost ready, make the sauce. Place a wide saucepan over a medium heat, cube and add the butter, then sprinkle over the sugars.

5. Once the butter has melted, stir in the espresso, carefully add the rum (it may splatter), then bring to the boil. Add the cream and walnuts, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened and turned a lovely deep golden colour.

6. Remove the pudding from the oven. If using a bundt tin, flip out the cake onto a platter and brush it all over with the sauce – as the cake cools down, the sauce will harden into a delicate crisp layer. If using a baking dish, poke holes in the top and pour over one-third of the sauce.

7. Decorate the sponge with the walnuts, using a fork to remove them from the sauce. Serve with a jug of the remaining sauce and some double cream, ice cream or custard, if you like.

‘Jamie Cooks Christmas’ aired on Channel 4 on Sunday 8 December. Recipe from Jamie Oliver Enterprises Limited 2024

Red velvet sandwich cake

Mary Berry’s festive twist on a classic, where vibrant red sponge meets creamy mascarpone (Laura Edwards/PA)

By: Mary Berry

Use a professional food colouring paste, if you can; a natural liquid colouring won’t work and may turn the sponge green. For a particularly elegant finish, you could make extra icing and crumb coat the sponge before applying the top layer of icing.

Serves: 8

Ingredients:

Butter, for greasing

250g plain flour

1 tbsp cocoa powder

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

250g light muscovado sugar

200ml buttermilk

150ml sunflower oil

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp red food colouring gel or about ¼ tsp food colouring paste

2 large eggs

8 white chocolate truffle balls, to decorate

For the buttercream icing:

250g butter, softened

2 tsp vanilla extract

300g icing sugar

250g full-fat mascarpone cheese

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Grease and line the bases of 2×20cm sponge sandwich tins with non-stick baking paper.

2. Measure the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and sugar into a bowl and mix well.

3. Mix the buttermilk, oil, vanilla, food colouring and 100ml water in a jug. Add the eggs and whisk until smooth. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk until combined. The mixture should be bright red; it will get a little darker as it cooks. If it’s not as vivid as you’d like, add a touch more colouring.

4. Divide the mixture evenly between the two prepared tins and level the surfaces. Bake in the preheated oven for about 25-30 minutes, or until well risen and shrinking away from the sides of the tins. Cool in the tins for 10 minutes, then turn out, peel off the paper and leave to cool completely on a wire rack.

5. To make the buttercream icing, place the soft butter and vanilla extract in a large bowl and sift in half the icing sugar. Mix with an electric whisk until smooth. Sift in the remaining icing sugar and mix again. Add the mascarpone to the bowl and gently stir with a spatula until smooth (don’t beat with a whisk as it may split). Put a fluted nozzle in a piping bag and spoon about 150g of the buttercream into the bag.

6. To assemble the cake, sit one of the sponges on a cake plate and spread a third of the buttercream over the cake, then sit the other cake on top. Ice the cake by first spreading a thin layer of icing – a crumb coat – over the whole cake before chilling for 30 minutes. Then pile the remaining icing from the bowl on top and spread over the top and around the edges to completely cover the cake. Make sure that the icing is smooth around the edges before starting to create lines up the sides. Using a small palette knife, make wide lines up the sides and swirl the top. Pipe a rope design around the edge of the top of the cake and decorate with the eight chocolate truffles to finish.

Recipe from ‘Mary Makes it Easy’ by Mary Berry (BBC Books, £28)

Winter wonderland cake

Nigella Lawson’s rebellious alternative to traditional Christmas cake, made for chocolate lovers (Ocado)

By: Nigella Lawson

Much as I love a slice of dense Christmas cake, especially when eaten with a slice of strong, sharp cheese, I am surrounded by those who abominate dried fruit in all its seasonal manifestations. If no one in your family likes dried fruit, there’s no point having a Christmas cake gathering dust or just being eaten on sufferance. If chocolate cake appeals more, go for it.

It was made clear to me long ago that, in the interest of harmony in the home, I needed to introduce a new tradition that made us all happy, and this cake is it. Tradition is a glorious thing at this time of year, but I’m all for embracing new Christmas rituals of our own.

Ingredients:

For the cake:

150g unsalted butter, cut into 5 slices, plus extra for greasing

1 x 100g bar 70 per cent dark chocolate, bashed and broken up inside the packet

100g soft dark muscovado sugar

125g caster sugar

1tsp baking powder

200g plain flour

½tsp bicarbonate of soda

50g cocoa

½tsp fine salt

2 large eggs

50g soured cream (serve the rest of the tub with the cake, if you like)

2tsp vanilla extract

For the filling and recipe:

150g frozen raspberries

2 large egg whites or 2 x 5g sachets Dr Oetker free range egg white powder

150g golden syrup

125g caster sugar

½tsp lemon juice

Pinch of fine salt

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Grease 2 x 20cm sandwich tins (preferably not loose-bottomed) with butter and line the bases with circles of baking paper. If you only have loose-bottomed tins, then cut the baking paper circles slightly bigger than the bases so they go up the sides of the tins just a little.

2. Over low heat, start melting the butter in a heavy-based saucepan of 22-23cm diameter. Put the kettle on. Tip the bashed up chocolate pieces into the pan, and when the butter and chocolate are all but completely melted, pour in 250ml freshly boiled water, followed by both sugars, stirring very gently to get rid of any lumps. When you have a smooth liquid, take the pan off the heat and leave the mixture to cool a little.

3. Meanwhile, measure the baking powder, flour, bicarb, cocoa powder and salt into a bowl. Loosely whisk the eggs, soured cream and vanilla extract together in a measuring jug.

4. Tip the dry ingredients into the saucepan, and whisk slowly and carefully until smooth. Then gradually whisk in your jug of wet ingredients until everything’s incorporated and the batter is dark and glossy.

5. Divide the batter equally between the prepared tins, and bake in the oven for 18-20 mins: the top of the cakes should be set (don’t worry about the cracks) and coming away from the tins at the edges. A cake tester will come out mostly dry but still slightly smudged with chocolate.

6. Leave to cool on a rack for 15 minutes or until you can handle the tins without oven gloves. Turn the cakes out, peel off the baking paper and leave until cold.

7. While you wait, tip the frozen raspberries onto a lipped plate in one layer and leave to thaw.

8. You can leave the cold cakes, covered, for a couple of hours, if needed, before icing them. But once the cake is filled and iced, it really is at its best served within 1½ hours or so.

9. Now to the icing, which requires a bowl and pan that you can fashion into a double boiler. Put a very little bit of water into the pan and bring to a simmer. Put the egg whites into a wide-ish heatproof bowl that will fit over your pan (if you’re using the egg white powder, make it up first, according to packet instructions). You want the gentle steam from the water to heat the base of the bowl, but no water should touch it, ever! Add the golden syrup, caster sugar, lemon juice and salt and, using an electric hand-held whisk, beat the mixture vigorously for 5 mins: it starts off rather yellowy and very liquid, but when the 5 mins are up, you will have a firm, thick, voluminous and snowy meringue mixture. Lift the bowl immediately off the saucepan and place it on the cool kitchen surface.

10. Sit one of the sponges, domed side down, on a cake stand or plate – 23cm diameter at most or it will look lost – and spread enough of the icing to give you a layer about 1cm thick. Then top with the thawed raspberries, leaving a pure white ring of icing about 2cm wide all around the edge.

11. Gently sit the other sponge, domed side uppermost, on top. Ice the top and sides, using a couple of spatulas for ease, swirling the top and smoothing the sides as best you can.

12. Adorn with Christmas decorations if you wish, and leave for 30 minutes or up to 1½ hours before you slice into it. Serve with the extra soured cream, if you like, and joy in your heart. Store leftovers for 1 day in an airtight container in a cool place.

Cranberry and chestnut cheesecake

Mark Hix’s creamy, nutty creation is the perfect choice for those who’d swap Christmas pudding for a slice of indulgence (Jason Lowe)

By: Mark Hix

If you gave most families the choice between a cheesecake and Christmas pudding, they would probably opt for a cheesecake. There is something so comforting about a creamy cheesecake with its biscuity base – with Christmas fruits, it keeps everyone festive.

Serves: 8-10

Ingredients:

150-200g fresh cranberries

Grated zest and juice of 1 orange

150g caster sugar

100ml water

1tsp cornflour

200g Hobnobs or digestives

80g butter, melted

For the cheesecake:

500g cream cheese, such as  mascarpone, softened; you can also  use Philadelphia

300ml double cream

120g caster sugar

120g prepared weight of vacuum-prepared chestnuts or fresh, roasted  and shelled

Canned chestnut purée (optional)

Method:

1. Put the cranberries in a saucepan with the sugar, orange juice, zest and water, bring to the boil and simmer gently for about 5 minutes; then dilute the cornflour in a little water and stir into the cranberries. Continue simmering for a few minutes until the cranberries are just coated in 3-4 tbsps of the thickened liquid, then remove from the heat and leave to cool at room temperature.

2. Place the shelled chestnuts on a tray lined with foil and scatter a couple of tbsps of sugar from the 120g you need for the cheesecake. Lightly toast under a medium grill, turning them as they are cooking, for 2-3 minutes.

3. In a food processor, crush the biscuits to a coarse breadcrumb-like consistency. To do this by hand, put the biscuits in a plastic bag and smash with a rolling pin. Next, mix them with the melted butter.

4. Line a 14-18cm round or square removable-bottomed cake or deep flan tin with greaseproof paper. Because the cheesecake is soft, the sides of the tin must be detachable. Pack the biscuit mixture into the tin, firming it down with the back of a spoon.

5. Using a mixing machine or by hand, whip the double cream and sugar until fairly stiff. In a clean bowl, again by machine or hand, soften the cream cheese then add the whipped cream. If you’re using mascarpone, rather than Philadelphia, you may need about 50g less cream. Carefully fold in half of the cranberry mixture and half the chestnuts to form a rippled effect. Now spoon the mix on to the biscuit base, leaving the top a bit rough. Leave to set in the fridge for 2-3 hours until firm. Remove the cheesecake from the tin – you may need to run a hot knife around the edge – then slide it on to a serving dish. Spoon the rest of the cranberry mixture on top and then scatter the rest of the pecans all over.

6. If you want to add a little final flourish – as I have done – buy canned chestnut purée. Put a small amount in an old-fashioned piping tube/cylinder and squeeze it over the top of the cheesecake.

Yule log with Grand Marnier

Michel Roux’s elegant roulade, where rich ganache meets the bright zing of orange liqueur (Cristian Barnett/PA)

By: Michel Roux

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients:

For the ganache:

200g dark chocolate (70 per cent cocoa solids), broken up

200g double cream

Splash of Grand Marnier

For the sponge:

6 free-range eggs, separated

150g caster sugar, plus extra for dusting

70g plain flour

30g pure cocoa powder

Pinch of salt

30g butter, melted

2 tbsp icing sugar

For the caramelised hazelnuts:

About 20 whole peeled hazelnuts

250g caster sugar

Method:

1. Start by making the ganache. Put the chocolate in a bowl. Pour the cream into a pan and bring it to the boil, then pour it over the chocolate and mix until smooth. Leave to cool, then add Grand Marnier to taste. Whisk until light and fluffy.

2. For the sponge, line a baking tray measuring about 30 x 40cm with baking parchment. Preheat the oven to 200C/Fan 180C/gas 6. Beat the egg yolks with 100g of the sugar until pale, then add the flour, cocoa powder and salt, followed by the melted butter. Whisk the whites until frothy, then add the remaining sugar and continue to beat until stiff. Fold the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture, then spread over the baking tray. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes.

3. Lay a clean tea towel on your work surface and turn the sponge out on to it. Remove the baking parchment. Dust the sponge with a little of the caster sugar, spread some of the ganache over it and roll the sponge up as tightly as possible into a neat log. Leave the sponge to cool, then cover it with the rest of the ganache and leave it to chill in the fridge.

4. To make the hazelnut decoration, stick a toothpick into each hazelnut and set aside. Have something ready to stand the toothpicks into while the nuts harden, such as a piece of polystyrene. Heat the sugar in a heavy-based pan until you have a golden-brown caramel. One by one, dip the hazelnuts into the caramel, then stand them in whatever you have prepared and leave them to harden. Drizzle any remaining caramel in a criss-cross pattern over a piece of baking parchment and leave it to harden.

5. Dust the log with icing sugar and arrange the caramelised nuts on top. Scatter over the pieces of caramel to look like hay.

Recipe from ‘Michel Roux At Home’ by Michel Roux (Seven Dials, £26)

Black forest tiramisu

A boozy, cherry-kissed tiramisu that reimagines a Black Forest gateau for modern Christmas tables (Jack Lewis Williams)

By: Melanie Brown, chef-owner of The Laundry

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

210g Boiron back cherry puree

210g Monin cherry syrup

16 sponge fingers

40g mascarpone

40g icing sugar

410g double cream

2g ground cinnamon

6g vanilla extract

Zest from ½ an orange

50g maraschino cherries

Cocoa powder and dark chocolate to garnish

Method:

1. Blend the cherry puree and syrup together. Lay sponge fingers on a flat tray and pour over the syrup. Leave the fingers to the side until they have absorbed all the syrup - around 2 hours but do ensure during this time you turn them regularly.

2. Meanwhile make your cream. Beat the mascarpone, icing sugar, cinnamon, vanilla extract and orange zest together until smooth (using a stand mixer is best).

3. Whilst gently still mixing gradually pour in the double cream until well combined – do not over whip – you want the consistency to be no more than soft peaks.

4. Roughly chop up the maraschino cherries.

5. When ready to build your tiramisu lay half-soaked sponge fingers on the base of your serving bowl, top with a third of the cream, sprinkle all of the chopped cherries over the cream now lay the remaining fingers over the chopped cherries and finish by spooning remaining cream over this.

6. Refrigerate until needed – ideally 2-3 hours and no more than 48!

7. When ready to serve dust generously with cocoa powder and grated dark chocolate. Enjoy.

Hazelnut and sourdough breadcrumb frangipane topped mince pies

A rustic twist on mince pies, proving even festive staples can benefit from a little reinvention (Twelve Triangles)

By: Twelve Triangles

Ingredients:

For the shortcrust pastry:

200g plain flour

100g unsalted butter (cubed)

50g caster sugar

1 egg yolk

1.5 tbsp cold water

For the frangipane:

200g unsalted butter

200g soft light brown sugar

3 eggs

100g ground hazelnuts

100g sourdough breadcrumbs

45g plain flour

Zest of 1 orange

Method:

1. To make the pastry, rub the butter into the flour using your fingertips and work quickly so it doesn’t melt, or else you can use a mixer or a food processor.

2. Add in the sugar then the egg yolk and water and mix until it comes together and forms a ball.

3. Wrap it in clingfilm and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

4. For the frangipane, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

5. Gradually add in the eggs one at a time, allowing each to be fully mixed in before adding the next one.

6. Fold through the remaining dry ingredients and orange zest.

7. Preheat the oven to 180C.

8. Roll out your pastry until it is about as thick as a 50p piece. The easiest way to roll it out is between two sheets of greaseproof paper and then it won’t stick to your worktop.

9. Cut circles out and then use these to line your tins making sure you push the pastry down into the corners.

10. Place 2tsps of mincemeat into each case and then top with your frangipane mix. If you are using shop-bought mincemeat you can always make it a little more exciting by adding some fresh orange zest or a splash of brandy and stirring through.

11. Let this rest for half an hour either in or out the fridge.

12. Back in the oven for 20-25 minutes until the frangipane is lightly browned and puffy and the edges of the pastry is nice coloured.

13. Dust with a little icing sugar and enjoy.

Chestnut pavlova with caramelised apples

A delicate balance of nutty sweetness and tart Bramley apples, perfect for impressing a crowd (Jonathan Buckley/PA)

By: Sarah Raven

The nuttiness of this chestnut meringue with the tartness of the Bramleys is wonderful.

Serves: 8

Ingredients:

For the meringue:

110g granulated sugar

110g caster sugar

4 egg whites

1 tsp cornflour

1 tsp vinegar

For the filling and topping:

300g cooked chestnuts, fresh or tinned

275ml double cream

Splash of brandy

Caster sugar, to taste

2 Bramley apples

25g unsalted butter

Icing sugar for sifting

Method:

1. Preheat a cool (160C/gas mark 3) oven. To make the meringue, mix the two sugars together. Whisk the egg whites until they are really stiff and continue whisking while you add three-quarters of the sugar, one tablespoon at a time. Make sure that the mixture regains its former stiffness and finally, carefully fold in the remaining sugar with a metal spoon. Add the cornflour and vinegar. Sparsely oil two circles of greaseproof paper (or use silicon mats) and divide the mixture between the two, spreading it out as lightly as possible.

2. Cook in the preheated oven for about 45 minutes until the meringue is crisp and has turned coffee-coloured. Turn off the heat and allow the meringue to cool completely in the oven before removing from the baking sheet.

3. To make the filling, first purée 200 grams of the chestnuts in a food processor. Then whip the cream with a tot of brandy and sugar to taste, and carefully fold into the chestnut purée to combine the two.

4. Peel and core the apples, and cut into thickish slices. Toss these in melted butter and a little sugar over a high heat until they begin to go brown, but remove them to a bowl before they become soft, and keep warm.

5. Add the remaining whole chestnuts to the pan in which you heated the apples and toss them until they are glazed with the sugar and butter mixture. Add to the apples.

6. Sandwich the two meringue layers together with the chestnut cream and a layer of caramelised apples and chestnuts, sift icing sugar over the top and serve with the rest of the apples and chestnuts.

Cranberry tart with hot toffee sauce

A dessert with a festive punch, blending the sharpness of cranberries with the indulgence of molten toffee (Jonathan Buckley/PA)

An excellent Christmas pudding for eating at any time when you have lots of people to feed. It has a good balance of sweet and sour. You can swap cranberries with rhubarb. Serve with crème fraîche.

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

500g cranberries, fresh or frozen

Juice and grated zest of 1 orange

200g caster sugar

150g shelled pecan nuts

1 egg, beaten well

60g plain flour, sifted

75g butter, melted

Crème fraîche, to serve

For the toffee sauce:

180g dark brown sugar

120g butter

120ml double cream

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4. Grease a 20cm-diameter springform cake tin.

2. Put the cranberries in a non-stick pan with the orange juice and zest and mix well in the tin. Cook them for about three to four minutes, until the cranberries pop.

3. Put the just-cooked cranberries into the prepared cake tin. Sprinkle with half the sugar and the pecans, and mix well.

4. In a bowl, beat the remaining sugar with the egg and mix very well (for four to five minutes) until the mixture pales and leaves a trail as you whisk. Add the flour and melted butter to make a smooth batter. Pour this over the cranberries in the tin and bake for 40-45 minutes.

5. To make the toffee sauce, heat the sugar, butter and cream together until the sugar has dissolved and the sauce is bubbling. Take off the heat and serve warm. This makes generous quantities of sauce, and you may have some left over for ice cream the following day. Serve the tart warm with the hot toffee sauce and crème fraîche.

‘Sarah Raven’s Garden Cookbook’ by Sarah Raven (Bloomsbury, £35).

Proofiteroles

Simple choux pastry elevated to Christmas grandeur with rich chocolate sauce and Chantilly cream (Charlie McKay)

By: Francesca Strange, founder of The Proof bakery, London

Makes: approx 20

Ingredients:

For the choux pastry:

100g unsalted butter

125ml cold water

125ml whole milk

150g sifted plain flour

1 tsp caster sugar

Pinch of salt

4 large eggs

For the chocolate sauce:

25g unsalted butter

125ml double cream

90g caster Sugar

½ tsp vanilla extract

50g cocoa powder

25g chopped dark chocolate (min 70% cocoa solids)

For the créme chantilly:

250ml double/whipping cream

Vanilla extract and paste

30g caster sugar

Method:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4.

2. Into a heavy based saucepan pour your milk, water, butter, sugar and salt and bring to a boil over a medium heat.  Add in the flour and stir for 3-5 minutes until the mixture starts coming away from the sides of the pan.

3. Take the pan off the heat and leave the mixture to cool for 10 minutes.

4. After 10 mins, put the cooled mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer (you can also use an electric hand whisk) and slowly add the pre-whisked eggs a bit at a time, ensuring they are combined before adding more. You are aiming for a glossy, smooth thick mixture once the eggs are added and may not need all of the eggs so go slowly.

5. Once your choux pastry is ready to cook put your pastry mixture into a piping bag with a tip of around 2-3cm cut off the end. Pipe tall blobs of your choux mixture onto a lined baking tray and bake in your pre-heated oven for 20-22 minutes until golden brown and firm. When they are cooked, place onto a cooling rack and pierce each one to release the steam and prevent them from collapsing.

6. While your choux cools make your dark chocolate sauce. Simply add the cream, sugar, vanilla and butter into a saucepan and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly. Whisk in the cocoa powder until the mixture is shiny and combined. Finally take off the heat and add the chopped chocolate, stirring until it has all melted and combined.

7. Now whip your chantilly by putting all of the ingredients into a mixer and slowly whipping to peaks.

8. To construct your profiteroles just make a hole in each ball, pipe in your chantilly and when ready to eat generously pour over your hot chocolate sauce and eat immediately. That’s an order!

White chocolate and cranberry bread-and-butter pudding

A comforting dessert with a festive makeover, blending tart cranberries and creamy custard (Great British Chefs)

By: James Mackenzie

James Mackenzie’s bread and butter pudding is laced with sweet white chocolate, perfectly balanced by the tartness of the cranberries. This cranberry bread and butter pudding recipe produces the ultimate Christmas dessert, not only for its festive flavour, but because it can be prepared in advance to reduce stress on the day.

Ingredients:

4 eggs

6 egg yolks

80g of caster sugar

500ml of milk

500ml of double cream

150g of butter, softened

10 slices of stale bread, white

2 tsp ground mixed spice

150g of cranberries, semi-dried

200g of white chocolate buttons

6 satsumas

200g of caster sugar

100g of butter

200ml of fresh orange juice

75g of cranberries, semi-dried

2 tbsp of Demerara sugar

Method:

1. Begin by preparing the custard. Beat the eggs and sugar together in a bowl until pale and smooth. Add the milk and cream to a pan, heat until simmering then remove from the heat. Pour the hot milk over the eggs and sugar, mixing well as you do so. Grease an ovenproof dish with some butter. Remove the crusts from the sliced bread and butter all of the slices on one side. Cut the slices in half.

2. Spread out a layer of the buttered bread to cover the bottom of the dish, slightly overlapping each slice. Sprinkle with a good pinch of mixed spice, some cranberries and some of the white chocolate. Pour over some of the custard to cover the first layer. Repeat this process to make more layers of both the bread and custard until used up, leaving a little custard for serving. Press down firmly, cover with cling film and leave to set in the fridge overnight to allow the bread to soak up the custard.

3. For the satsuma and cranberry suzette, begin by segmenting the satsumas. Add the sugar to a non-stick pan and heat until a golden caramel forms. Remove from the heat and add the butter. Shake the pan to mix in the butter, add the orange juice and return to the heat. Bring to the boil and reduce until it reaches the consistency of a caramel sauce. Stir in the cranberries and satsuma segments and warm through.

4. Preheat the oven to 160C/gas mark 3. Remove the bread and butter pudding from the fridge and sprinkle over some Demerara sugar. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until it feels firm when pressed lightly – do not overcook it. Remove from the oven and spoon over some warm satsuma and cranberry suzette. Serve with custard, perhaps flavoured with some cloves for an extra wintry flavour.

Recipe from www.greatbritishchefs.com

Marmalade bread and butter pudding and cinnamon ice cream

The nostalgic charm of bread pudding, spiked with citrusy marmalade and topped with spiced ice cream (Fionnan Flood)

By: Fionnan Flood, head chef at The Chelsea Pig, London

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

For the custard:

110g milk

110g double cream

50g sugar

1 egg

20g egg yolk

For the marmalade bread and butter pudding:

6 brioche slices

Butter

Marmalade (to taste)

Caster sugar

1L orange juice

For the cinnamon ice cream:

330g milk

90g double cream

120g sugar

100g egg yolks

Vanilla extract (to taste)

½ tsp cinnamon powder

Method:

For the custard:

1. In a Kitchenaid, mix all the ingredients for the custard together until emulsified.

For the marmalade bread and butter pudding:

2. In a 5x4in cast-iron pot, melt a stick of butter over a low heat and spread this to evenly coat the base of the pan before dusting with a layer of sugar on top.

3. Separately, spread a liberal amount of butter on one side of each piece of brioche, before adding a layer of marmalade and forming into a sandwich.

4. Cut the sandwiches in half to make a triangle shape and gently place these into your cast iron pot without leaving any spaces or gaps.

5. Pour half your custard into the cast-iron pot to allow the brioche to fully absorb it, before adding the final half of the mix on top. 

6. Using a bain-marie, steam your pudding at 150C for 25-30 minutes until cooked through, before allowing this to cool down completely.

7. Next, place the pudding in the oven and bake at 220C until puffed up and golden brown on top.

8. While your pudding is cooking, heat your orange juice in a saucepan with 150g of sugar until thickened into a syrupy consistency. 

9. Pour syrup on top of your pudding when ready to serve, before adding a scoop of cinnamon ice cream.

For the cinnamon ice cream:

10. In a saucepan, pour in all the ice cream’s ingredients. 

11. Heat the mix to 85C, constantly stirring until you reach a custard consistency.

12. Leave the mixture to cool before placing in the freezer and waiting overnight, or until completely frozen.

13. Cut your frozen custard into smaller pieces before using a blender to blitz until smooth.

14. Refreeze the mixture and use when required.

Panforte

An Italian festive treat bursting with nuts, fruit, and honey – the perfect gift for those who savour tradition (Great British Chefs)

By: Louise Robinson

‘Stir-up Sunday’ may be traditionally a day to make your Christmas pudding, but it is also a great opportunity to get ahead and make other Christmas treats. Panforte is a traditional Italian cake originating from the Tuscan city of Siena. Packed full of nuts, fruit, honey and spices, it has an almost candy-like chewy texture and flavour that is hard to resist.

Panforte is quite straightforward to make, but do line the base with rice paper if you have it. The cake is quite sticky on the bottom and rice paper will make it easier to remove from the tin. If you do not have rice paper, just use some more baking paper as a lining for the base instead.

The cake can be wrapped in parchment, then wrapped over in foil and stored for up to two months at room temperature. If you are making the panforte to give away as Christmas gifts, layer the cut wedges between parchment in gift boxes or bags. Don’t forget to attach a label with storage instructions and an eat-by date.

Ingredients:

100g of blanched almonds, whole

100g of blanched hazelnuts, whole

100g of dried apricots

100g of mixed peel

100g of walnuts

150g of dried figs, finely chopped

175g of runny honey

200g of muscovado sugar

¼ tsp ground cloves

¼ tsp ground nutmeg

1½ tsp ground cinnamon

2½ tbsp of plain flour

175g of ground almonds

Butter, for greasing

Icing sugar, for dusting

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 160C/gas mark 3. Line a baking sheet with baking paper and add the whole hazelnuts and whole almonds. Place in the oven for 10-12 minutes until lightly toasted. Set aside to cool. Grease and line the sides of a 20cm / 8-inch springform cake tin with non-stick baking paper. Line the base with rice paper or more baking paper. Place the apricots, mixed peel and walnuts in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add the figs and pulse briefly again.

2. Place the runny honey and sugar in a large heavy-based saucepan over a medium flame and gently heat until dissolved. Bring to the boil, add the ground cloves, ground nutmeg, 1 teaspoon of the ground cinnamon, 2 tablespoons of the flour, and stir to combine. Take the pan off the heat and add the whole hazelnuts and almonds, ground almonds and chopped fruit. Stir to combine, the mixture will be quite stiff. Tip the mixture into the prepared cake tin and press down until it is level.

3. Place the remaining ½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon and ½ tablespoon of flour into a small bowl and stir to combine. Dust over the top of the panforte mixture and bake for 30-35 minutes until the cake has risen slightly. Brush off the excess flour and leave to cool completely in the tin. Dust with icing sugar, cut into small wedges and serve.

Recipe from www.greatbritishchefs.com

Mincemeat sponge pudding

Light, airy sponge paired with boozy homemade mincemeat, for a quick and festive pudding fix (Great British Chefs)

By: Angela Field

Homemade mincemeat is so much tastier than shop bought, the combination of good quality dried fruit mixed with spices and alcohol tastes so festive and warming. Sometimes recipes that include mincemeat can be heavy and quite dense, if you want a lighter alternative to the traditional offerings, this mincemeat doesn’t contain suet and is very quick to make with minimal preparation and cooking needed. This recipe makes more than you need for the sponge pudding, but there are plenty of other things you can use the mincemeat for, I particularly like a spoonful on top of some warm porridge.

This mincemeat sponge pudding is a great quick-fix pudding. It’s baked instead of steamed, so it has a much shorter cooking time than traditional sponge puddings. Also most of the ingredients you would normally have in the cupboard, so if you have last-minute guests this is a pudding you could quickly prepare with very little advance warning. The ground almonds in the recipe help to keep the sponge moist and soak in some of the syrup and juices that bubble away from the mincemeat when cooking. Serve the warm pudding upturned onto a plate with clotted cream, custard or double cream and enjoy.

Ingredients:

For the mincemeat:

175g of raisins

100g of dried cranberries

175g of sultanas

175g of mixed peel

175g of dried apricots

1 apple, for eating

125g of butter, cut into cubes

50g of whole almonds, roughly chopped

225g of dark muscovado sugar

1½ tsp mixed spice

1 lemon, grated rind and juice

150ml of spiced rum

For the sponge pudding:

75g of golden syrup

130g of plain flour, sifted

1½ tsp baking powder

100g of ground almonds

130g of unsalted butter, softened

130g of caster sugar

3 eggs

5 tbsp of milk

Method:

1. Begin by making the mincemeat. Place all of the ingredients apart from the rum in a large saucepan. Heat the mixture, allowing the butter to melt, and simmer very gently, stirring regularly. After 10 minutes, remove the mincemeat from the heat. Allow to cool completely then stir in the spiced rum. You can omit the rum if you don’t want to use it, just add a little water if the mincemeat is too dry. The mincemeat will make more than you need for this recipe. Reserve 200g of the mincemeat and place the rest in sterilised jars. The mincemeat will keep for a few months, maturing the longer it is left.

2. To make the sponge pudding, preheat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4. Grease the bottom and sides of a 1 litre pudding basin. Place the golden syrup in the bottom of the basin. Add the reserved 200g of mincemeat to the basin, completely covering the syrup. You may need more than 200g if it is looking a bit sparse. To make the sponge pudding mixture, combine the flour, baking powder and ground almonds in a mixing bowl.

3. Beat the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy then add the eggs one at a time, beating them in as you go. Next add the milk and stir it in. Finally, sift in the flour and almond mixture until evenly combined. Take the sponge mixture and spread it over the mincemeat. Bake for 35-40 minutes until golden and risen, and a skewer poked into the sponge comes out clean. Turn the sponge out on to a plate and carefully remove the basin. Serve the warm pudding with cream or custard. This pudding is best eaten on the day it’s made, but leftovers can be warmed in the oven or microwave and enjoyed the next day.

Recipe from www.greatbritishchefs.com

Mixed berry pavlova wreath

A dazzling centerpiece of crisp meringue and jewel-toned berries, guaranteed to steal the show at Christmas dinner (BerryWorld)

This mixed berry meringue wreath is a great dessert option for the festive season. Simple but delicious, it’s bound to impress dinner guests.

Prep time: 30 minutes plus 2 hours cooling | Cooking time: 1 hour

Serves:6-8

Ingredients:

3 large egg whites

150g caster sugar

1 tsp cornflour

For the topping

300g cranberries

1 large orange, zest and juice

180g caster sugar

250ml double cream

Raspberries, strawberries, blackberries and blueberries to serve

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to 130C. Using an electric whisk, whisk the egg whites until they become stiff. In a separate bowl, mix together the sugar and cornflour, then gradually add one spoonful at a time to the egg whites, whisking well in between each addition until all the sugar is combined and the whites are stiff and glossy. This is your meringue mixture.

2. Spoon the meringue into a ring shape on a baking sheet lined with silicone paper. Run the back of your spoon around the top of the ring to create a furrow all the way round so when cooked, there will be an indentation to hold the topping.

3. Cook on the middle shelf of the oven for 1 hour then turn off the oven, do not open the oven door, instead leave the meringue in to cool for a further two hours. Meanwhile, prepare the topping. Put the cranberries, orange zest and juice in a saucepan and sprinkle over the sugar. Heat the mixture to a simmer then bubble for 10-12 minutes until the juices thicken but the fruit retains some shape. Set aside to go cold.

4. When the meringue has cooled, take it out of the oven and carefully slide off the paper onto a serving plate. It should be crisp and slightly golden, but it will still be soft in the middle. Beat the cream to soft peaks and spread over the meringue ring. Drizzle over the cold cranberry sauce, decorate with fresh raspberries, strawberries, blueberries and blackberries and serve.

Note: Make sure the bowl and whisk you use for the egg whites are very clean. If there’s any residual grease or oil then it will inhibit the volume of the meringue. Leaving the meringue in the oven to cool slowly will help make sure it doesn’t crack. If it does crack, don’t worry, it will be covered with the cream and toppings.

Recipe from Berryworld.com