Christmas desserts, if they’re to earn their place at the table, need to work harder than their everyday counterparts. This is the time of year when the kitchen is already ablaze with roasts, reductions and the last-minute panic of bringing a menu together, so the sweet course must provide poise and calm. The trick is to think ahead: choose something that can be made well in advance, tucked safely in the fridge or freezer, and then simply sliced or spooned when the moment arrives. A dessert that behaves itself is a gift to the home chef.
Ease doesn’t have to equal compromise. A Christmas dessert has to look the part. It should sit proudly in the centre of the table with enough height, gloss or colour to hush the room for a second. Think of a shimmering chocolate mousse cake glazed like black marble, or a tiramisu set in a long, elegant dish, its cocoa-dusted top as smooth as new snow. Even a simple trifle, properly layered, can become a stained-glass window of fruit and cream.
And then there’s the theatre. The traditional flambéed pudding has taught us that dessert can also be a performance, a brief moment when food becomes spectacle. You don’t need blue flames to achieve it, but a touch of drama – pouring a warm caramel sauce at the table, cracking through a brûléed top, unveiling a glistening tarte Tatin wrapped in parchment (see my November recipe) – adds that festive fun. As you’ll see in this year’s Christmas dessert recipes, we are showcasing beautiful dishes that can be made and assembled before the day arrives.
The first is the classic trifle, which according to the laws of cookery must always contain fruit, sponge, custard and cream to earn its name. As a law-abiding citizen of the kitchen, I’ve stayed on the road here. The individual desserts are assembled in cocktail glasses with some lightly set strawberry jelly, soaked sponge, vanilla bean custard and lightly whipped double cream. They’re garnished with raspberry powder and some small mint leaves to bring a sense of occasion to proceedings.
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The second dessert is sure to please the younger guests while still paying homage to classic French patisserie. This cake is essentially a very fancy version of Nutella pancakes: crepes layered with chocolate and peanut butter cream and chilled until set. It’s then dusted with cocoa powder and sliced to reveal a mosaic worthy of your festive table.
