You can't have Christmas dinner without dessert, am I right? This year, I'm thinking about going old school and making one of these traditional Christmas favorites.
• Almond-Sherry Christmas Trifle from Gourmet - Some assembly required with this boozy dessert. I'll hazard a guess that it's totally worth it.
• Bûche de Noël with Marzipan Mushrooms from Epicurious - The most impressive way to serve chocolate cake ever!
• Ultimate Christmas Pudding from Nigella Lawson - Nigella does it right with this prune-stuffed and sherry-infused cake. Served flaming.
• Christmas Croquembouche from The Kitchn - A tower of cream-filled puffs makes an extra-special finish to the Christmas meal.
• Orange, Cranberry, and Almond Mincemeat Pies from BBC Good Food - Don't be scared away by the name. These sweet pies are filled with a tasty mix of minced fruits and ground nuts. (Though if you want the really traditional recipe made with beef fat, check out David Lebovitz's recipe.)
What's on the menu for dessert at your Christmas dinner?
Related: Holiday Gift & Recipe: Hot Buttered Rum
(Images: Romulo Yanes/Gourmet, David Prince/Epicurious/Bon Appétit, Nigella Lawson, Liz of Zested, and BBC Good Food)





Straw Mat from The ...

We have had plum pudding as long as I can remember, drizzled with brandied creme anglais. Setting the cake on fire is always a hit. As I am spending my first Christmas away from my parents I will be making this for my in-laws. Mom just sent me a pudding bowl. Excited!
These look tasty, but that Christmas pudding seems strange to me: she says it keeps up to six weeks, but doesn't say anything about aging it? I'm not sure I can really trust a recipe that doesn't mention aging the cake. As far as I'm concerned, if you're making your Christmas pudding now, I would assume it is for Christmas 2012, and that, come Christmas, you'll be breaking out the one you made last year which is now aged to perfection.
I always make a pudding for Xmas, but our favorite is Sticky Toffee Pudding. Sounds like it would be for kids, but it's wonderful for grownups, too--steamed individual date cakes with a caramel sauce. Can't beat that!
sticky toffee pudding! yay! I'm making David Lebovitz's recipe this year for the first time. I'm hoping I can use some mini copper jell-o molds as forms for the cakes, and make them personal-sized. I'm super excited!