Christmas desserts the whole family will love

Christmas dessert ideas

by Lorna White |
Updated on

Sometimes, we can get that wrapped up with preparing the turkey and setting the table that we can forget about the Christmas desserts. While you might have bought a traditional Christmas pudding, not everyone is a fan.

After indulging in a big Christmas dinner, you might prefer something a little lighter on the palette. Alternatively, you might be a chocolate lover that needs something super chocolaty to finish your dinner. If you're catering for everyone this year, you might even want to create a large spread of several desserts, just in case.

Whatever you have in mind, we've got all the Christmas dessert inspiration and recipe ideas you need for the big day.

Christmas dessert ideas

Nigella's Yule log

yule log

A classic yule log is a must at this time of year, especially if you're a chocolate lover. They're notoriously tricky to make, so you might want a practise run before you make the final product. Serve with some fresh cream or vanilla ice cream and even some berries if you fancy.

Bailey's bread and butter pudding

bread and butter pudding

This boozy twist on the classic dessert is ideal for Christmas day. It's made using fluffy, sweet brioche bread with Bailey's custard. There's also dark chocolate chips scattered on this one too, making it extra decadent. It's also a great recipe for using up any leftover Bailey's after Christmas too.

Mary Berry's lemon posset tart with raspberries

lemon tart

Although it might not feel like a traditional Christmas dessert, this one is bound to bit a hit with everyone. If you're in the mood for something lighter after that heavy Christmas dinner, then this lemon tart is ideal. Best of all it can be made a day ahead so you'll have less to do on the day.

Chocolate orange tiramisu trifle

chocolate orange trifle

This pudding is a real showstopper for your Christmas dining table. It combines all the best parts of a tiramisu and trifle with delicious chocolate orange flavours. This serves up to 18 guests, so is ideal for larger Christmas get togethers.

Festive crumble

festive crumble

We love a crumble when the weather is cold to make us feel all warm inside. While a humble apple crumble or rhubarb crumble would be equally as lovely on Christmas day, this festive crumble is full of festive flavours including cinnamon, marzipan and almonds for a Christmassy twist.

Gingerbread cheesecake

cheesecake

Another flavour synonymous with the season is ginger, and this gingerbread cheesecake is the perfect combination of sweetness and richness to finish your dinner with. This particular one is also drizzled with caramel sauce for an extra indulgent feel.

Jamie's Christmas bomb

Christmas bomb

You'll need quite a bit of freezer space for this one, which we appreciate is tricky at this time of year, but if you can make room, we highly recommend it. Full of Christmassy flavours like clementines, cherries, pistachios and panettone with two whole tubs of ice cream!

Tropical fruit trifles

pineapple trifle

Enjoying tropical fruit isn't just for the warm summer months, it's just as delicious in winter too! This fruity dessert is full of pineapple, mango, passionfruit as well as some booze and cream to top it off.

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