Christmas Day Desserts
What to Bake for Christmas - Friday Food Chat with Kath
Is what’s for dessert on Christmas Day or Eve a big question in your household?
My family always has Pavlova, a tradition started by my Grandma. I love Pavlova so much, it wouldn’t be Christmas without it. However the Christmas Day menu is talked about over much of December, I’m sure other families are the same!
If you are in need of some festive dessert ideas, I have collated a selection below for you.
Pavlova - top of the list for me! Here is a traditional Australian version topped with lots of berries, and a Gingerbread Pavlova if you would like to try a twist on the original.
Trifle - Trifle is good for feeding a crowd, and this Gingerbread Trifle is right up my alley (and suitably festive!), and this berry packed Retro Trifle is tasty and looks a treat (pictured above).
Christmas Cake - Maybe not so much a Christmas lunch dessert, but something to snack on with tea after a long day of eating and celebrating. I have shared two of my Grandma’s Fruit Cake recipes over on my paid subscribers newsletter - both a Boiled Fruit Cake, and a Golden Fruit Cake studded with a generous amount of glacé fruit. And if the popularity in recent months of this Stained Glass Window Christmas Fruit Cake shared on my blog is anything to go by, it would make an excellent addition to your festive menus too.
Christmas Pudding - I’ve never made a Christmas Pudding, and I can’t say they appeal to me that much. However this year my Mum has made this pudding recipe by Tilly Pamment, and I think my refusal to try such puddings will end this year! The recipe doesn’t require soaking the fruit for long or anything like that so you still have time to make one if you are so inclined.
Mince Pies - another traditional Christmas offering, that might be a nice Christmas Eve or Boxing Day treat, but if Mince Pies are your thing, then I daresay they’d make a great dessert too! This is the recipe I use, though I have to say the heat of Summer has me buying some good quality vanilla bean shortcrust pastry to use instead of making my own these days! I often make them a little bigger now too, using a larger star cutter to cover the tops (pictured below). This Fruit Mince and Frangipane Pies recipe (again from Tilly!) also looks fab, especially if you want to make a decent amount of fruit mince. For those who don’t want to make their own fruit mince, my friend Amy’s Grandma’s Fruit Mince Pies would be the one to try.
Check out more recipes over on the paid version of this newsletter featuring, A Ginger Sponge Cake, A Festive Boiled Fruit Cake and A Caramel Ginger Pudding. See the whole archive here and sign up to support my work and get it all straight to your inbox or Substack feed!
Raspberry & Rose Pavlova
Another Pavlova option! This one is a double layer Pav lightly scented with rosewater, packed with delicious berries. This is a great one to make if you have lots of people to feed, or want a real showstopper for dessert.
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