35 show-stopping Christmas dessert recipes (2024)

The festive season is upon us, and what better way to unwind after a long, arduous year than with a decadent spread of divine cakes and treats. Following the mains and sides, were you planning to serve up a show-stopping trifle or is a classic pavlova more up your ally?

Get started on road-testing and planning your baking now, as you'll want to try more than one of these delectable desserts.

We've rounded up BHG's 30 best Christmas desserts to help you impress all your guests. Whether it's a boozy Christmas pudding or a decadent cheesecake, we've got you covered.

1.Double chocolate mousse trifle

You can’t beat this stunningly decadent take on a traditional trifle! A homemade chocolate case is filled with white chocolate custard, sponge, fruit, jelly and nuts – what’s not to love?

2. Pavlova cheesecake

There are so many ways to make pavlova, but if you're after a show-stopping dish to impress your guests, look no further.

3.Christmas fruitcake

Give your traditional fruitcake a speccy makeover. Decorate with sparklers and pretty sprigs from the garden, wrapping the stems in foil.

4. Choco-caramel popcorn ice-cream cake

Cake-it-away with this ice-cream dream. Turn a tub of yum into lolly-filled layers of amazing – and it’s so easy!

5.World's easiest Christmas pudding wreath

If making atraditional Christmas puddingorfruitcakeis way too time consuming, this incredibly simple but delicious dessert is the answer to your seasonal prayers.

6.Pavlova Christmas tree

If you normally opt for a classic circular shaped pav,how about giving the Christmas centrepiece a merry, tree-shaped makeover.

7. Mango no-bake cheesecake tart

When you’re looking for an easy dessert to bake this Christmas… don’t. Bake, that is! You should definitely make dessert, just don’t turn on the oven, as it’s not needed for this terrific mango tart.

8.Berries and cream mille-feuille

Give your Christmas cake a summer makeover with berries, ice-cream and flaky pastry.

9. Classic steamed pudding

Love a traditional Christmas pudding? Your search is over.Serve your perfectly turned-out pudding drizzled with creme anglaise - which is the fancy way to say homemade pouring custard.

10.Watermelon star pavlova with rosewater cream

This modern twist on the classic pav will be the crowning glory of your dessert table. Cut watermelon slices into stars using different-sized cutters for a nice festive touch.

11.Rum-soaked fig, ginger and whitechocolate ice-cream

Serve up this sophisticated sweet this year that takes ice‑cream to dizzying new heights.

12. Pina colada trifle

Give your favourite dessert a pina-colada co*cktail-inspired taste twist with coconut-flavoured cream, pineapple jelly, fresh fruit and toasted coconut flakes.

13. Cranberry chocolate crunch bundt

This spectacular sweet is easy to achieve with a ring-shaped mould and shards of chocolate.

14. Coffee and fig fruit cakes

Get in quick! These rich, snowflake-shaped cakes won't last long.

15. Chocolate semifreddo with raspberries and honeycomb

Ice-cream lovers will devour this decadent chilled dark-chocolate semifreddo.

16. Chocolate, cherry and brandy yule log

Layered withcake, jam, cream, icing and chocolate bark. We're drooling.

17.Cheat's pavlova

Create your own masterpiece on a shop-bought meringue base. Talk about minimal effort, maximum impact!

18. Dark chocolate, fig and spiced rum cakes

Shards of chocolate resembling tree bark surround cakes full of spiced, rum-soaked prunes, raisins and figs.

19.Grand marnier ganache-filled Christmas pudding

Bake a ganache ball - made with chocolate and cream - in your Guinness-flavoured pud for a rich, gooey, to-die-for dessert.

20.Mango ice-cream cake

Divinely decadent, this Weiss Bar-inspired cake uses mango sorbet and macadamia ice cream – made by you – topped withRafaelloballs. Wow!

21.Luxe dessert platter

A divine dessert spread is as easy as fresh fruit, nuts and indulgent choccies, teamed with sweet cheat’s tarts and pavs. Amazing!

22.Summer fruit cheesecake with lemon ginger crust

It may look elaborate, but this no-bake cheesecake is easy to make and exciting to decorate.

23.Paris-Brest with plums and honey mascarpone

Con Poulos photography

An elegant addition to your dessert table,it will have everyone talking.

24.Mini lime pies

Con Poulos photography

Add your own festive flair to this famous dessert.You just add white chocolate swooshes to custard-filled, cream-topped pies to give them wings!

25.Mini strawberry yoghurt bundt cakes

Con Poulos photography

Piled with fairy floss and rose petals, these bite-sized bundt cakes haveall the grace and style of beautiful swooshing dancing dresses.

26.Miniature spiced choc-cherry ripple cakes

Con Poulos photography

These luscious mini drums make forthe most delicious beats around! Thetiny drumsticks are edible, too.

27.Choc-caramel rocky road pavlova

Loaded with classic rocky road flavours and textures, this is your most divine pavlova ever. The choc-caramel shard toppers look super fancy but are a cinch – just melt, swirl, roll and crack.

28. Fruit cake and peach trifle

Con Poulos

The hero ingredients fora luxe trifle with a twist could be hiding in your fridge and pantry!

29.Festive ice-cream sandwiches

These bite-sized beauties are styled for a white Christmas but designed for warm-weather festivities.

30.Berry tiramisu

Serve your guests a very merry and berry Christmas with this decadent dessert, layered up with bikkies, berries, jam and cream. Flavourwith Chambord for adults only, orgo PG with cherry juice.

31.Christmas kahlúa and chocolate tart

a naughty but oh-so-nice Noël tart that chocolate lovers will rejoice over! Make the crust from store-bought bickies for a smart shortcut.

32. Mini pavlova Christmas trees

Turn your Christmas dessert into a whimsical masterpiece with these mini pavlova Christmas trees.

33.Tangy passionfruit and lemon meringue ice cream pie

Put a twist on lemon meringue and turn it into anice cream pie.

34. Ginger, mango and honey cheesecake

A dreamy dessert to star on your table topped with ribbons of mango and crumbled pistachios!

35.Frozen burnt brandy butter Christmas pudding

Scoop your way to the coolest dessert of the season with brandy-infused fruit, ice-cream and shards of toffee and honeycomb!

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35 show-stopping Christmas dessert recipes (30)
Eunice Oh

Based in Sydney, Eunice Oh is a content producer, K-beauty expert and major foodie. Her work has appeared in That's Life, Woman's Day, Girlfriend Magazine, 7News and BEAUTYcrew.

35 show-stopping Christmas dessert recipes (2024)

FAQs

What is America's favorite Christmas dessert? ›

Consumer dessert preferences for Christmas in the United States 2021. When asked what their most essential dessert for Christmas was, approximately 46.3 percent of responding U.S. adults picked apple pie in 2021. Chocolate chip cookies were the second most coveted dessert for Christmas.

What to put on a Christmas dessert platter? ›

Candies: Here are some sweet candy options: sugar cookie truffles, eggnog fudge, sugar cookie fudge, chocolate-covered pretzels, candied walnuts or pecans, candy canes, and Christmas M&M's (red and green). Cookies: Butter cookies, sugar cookies, and Christmas monster cookies made the cut for my board.

What do Americans eat for dessert at Christmas? ›

Common desserts include:
  • Frosted sugar biscuits.
  • Pies. Chocolate pecan pie (especially common with southern families) Pumpkin pie. Apple pie.
  • Spritz biscuits (an almond-flavoured sugar or shortbread biscuit, often with dried fruit added)
  • Pull-apart rolls (such as monkeybread)
  • Layered or “bar” biscuits (see pictured above)

Does Pavlova contain gluten? ›

That's three completely different textures in one single bite. The crunchy edges are just like meringue cookies. Pavlova loves to be dressed up with assorted toppings, mainly fresh whipped cream and piles of fresh fruit. Naturally gluten free, pavlova is light, sweet, and screams warm weather favorite.

What is typically hidden inside of this traditional Christmas dessert? ›

It was common practice to include small silver coins in the pudding mixture, which could be kept by the person whose serving included them. The usual choice was a silver threepence or a sixpence.

How do you make a dessert table look good? ›

Make sure the decorations don't overcrowd the table. There should be enough space for the desserts to shine. Create a focal point on your dessert table with a centerpiece. This could be a beautifully decorated cake, a tiered cupcake stand, or a decorative dessert tower.

What item is traditionally put in a Christmas pudding? ›

A Christmas pudding should have 13 ingredients – that represent Jesus and the 12 disciples. Traditionally, these ingredients include: raisins, currants, suet, brown sugar, breadcrumbs, citron, lemon peel, orange peel, flour, mixed spices, eggs, milk and brandy.

Which is a real dessert served at the Christmas feast? ›

About Christmas pudding:

Plum pudding is a very rich dessert which is boiled or steamed. It's made of a heavy mixture of dried fruit and nuts. Sometimes suet is included in the recipe, which is a mixture of beef or mutton fat, something which harks back to the savoury origins of the dish.

What is a typical sweet eaten during the Christmas season? ›

For dessert, Christmas cookies – usually butter cookies stamped into Christmas-inspired shapes and decorated with icing – are a popular snack all season long, as are mince pies, gingerbread cookies, Bûche de Noël (rolled chocolate cakes meant to resemble the Christmas Yule log), panettone (a sweet, fluffy bread popular ...

What is the cake people eat on Christmas? ›

Christmas cakes are made many different ways, but generally they are variations on classic fruitcake. They can be light, dark, moist, dry, heavy, spongy, leavened, unleavened, etc. They are made in many different shapes, with frosting, glazing, a dusting of confectioner's sugar or plain.

Why do you put vinegar in pavlova? ›

The acid will actually help stabilise your whipped whites too. That's why we add cream of tartar to our pavlova recipes. If you use a little more vinegar in the meringue, you'll encourage a soft centre and a crisp shell.

Can celiacs eat custard? ›

Most homemade custards are made from milk, sugar and eggs which are naturally gluten-free ingredients. That being said, some big brands of pre-packaged custard could have issues with cross-contamination and/or using gluten ingredients as thickeners. Please read the ingredient and nutrition label carefully.

Do eggs have a lot of gluten? ›

Real eggs, no matter their grade, size or color, are naturally gluten free. Whether the egg comes from a chicken, duck, or another bird doesn't make a difference. Even egg products like liquid egg whites are often gluten free, though it's a good idea to check the label to be sure.

What is America's most favorite dessert? ›

Ice cream is America's favorite dessert and is a key driver of the frozen food category.

What is the most popular Christmas cookie in the US? ›

Peanut Butter Blossoms are America's favorite Christmas cookie, based both on total number of pageviews from the U.S. population as a whole, and number of states that ranked it as their top cookie (which is six, by the way).

What food do American eat the most on Christmas? ›

Every family in every part of the world serves their own traditional Christmas foods, but in the U.S., some are enjoyed nationwide:
  • Turkey.
  • Prime Rib.
  • Baked Ham.
  • Mashed Potatoes & Gravy.
  • Stuffing.
  • Green Bean Casserole.
  • Candied Sweet Potatoes.
  • Roasted Vegetables.
Dec 19, 2022

What is the national dessert of America? ›

The Delicacy Apple Pie - is the Official “National dessert of the United States of America” respectively. American Apple Pies are also sometimes considered the national dishes of the US.

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