What’s your favourite Christmas dessert? DE HQ have found the top 4 most popular Christmas desserts in the UK, did yours make the cut? (get it?!)
Christmas dinner is the time of year everyone waits for (or is that just me?) but what sets the meal off just right, is the dessert, when you have a good Christmas dessert, your evening is sorted. Does your family have a traditional dessert that you crack open once a year to gorge on? Or are you an adventurous lot and try something new every year?
Darwin Escapes HQ are all about the desserts, so we thought we would share our top 4 Christmas desserts with you all during this festive season…
Christmas Pudding
This is a traditional British dessert, originating from Medieval England with one of the earliest recipes found in a book written by Mary Kettilby in 1714! The custom of having a Christmas pudding was passed on to different part of the world by British colonists, and it is has become a common dessert in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and the Republic of Ireland. Traditionally a penny will be inside the pudding for you to find (be careful not to swallow it!), if you wanted to make it from scratch, follow this recipe.
Trifle
An English dessert made with fruit, which has become a popular Christmas dessert over the years. The bottom of the trifle is jelly, with a thin layer of sponge fingers (usually soaked in sherry), then a layer of custard and topped with whipped cream (the best bit). There are various versions of a trifle, from strawberry to a full chocolate version, and if you’re a Friends fan, you’ll know all about Rachel’s shepherd’s pie mix up! Avoid that horrible mistake and follow this recipe for a meat-free trifle.
Yule Log
This delicious treat is a traditional Christmas dessert in Belgium, Switzerland, France and former French colonies. Usually made from a sponge cake, which is iced and then rolled up before being topped with chocolate icing, a fork is then lightly dragged through the icing, to create a bark effect with powdered icing dusted on the top to create ‘snow’, all helping to make it resemble a miniature yule log. It is then decorated, usually with berries and sometimes with miniature ornaments to create a Christmas scene! Try the traditional recipe here.
Black Forest Gateau
Consisting of 3 layers of chocolate sponge cake (starting off well here), they are sandwiched with whipped cream and cherries. As well as being infused with speciality German liquor, called Shcwarzwalder Kirsch, from which the gateau takes its name, however other countries may change the alcohol used, or include no alcohol at all. The gateau is then decorated with whipped cream, chocolate shavings and maraschino cherries. This was a staple Christmas dessert for my family growing up! Take a crack at creating this beauty by following this recipe.
Is your favourite Christmas dessert in our top 4 list? Everyone has that one dessert that reminds them of the festive season, whether you gorge yourself on all the mince pies or splurge on a professionally made cake, we’d love to hear about your Christmas dessert tradition!