I’m chilling out for Christmas with desserts that can be prepared ahead and frozen — or at least refrigerated for a day.
Cheesecakes are great freezer-loving sweet endings — especially the unbaked kind. They’re best thawed in the refrigerator 12 hours before enjoying and decorated on the day. A 23-centimeter cheesecake can feed a gang of 10 to 12.
Instead of having warm Christmas pudding I’m going to cube one that I have left over from last year and is still in perfect condition, then fold it into softened vanilla ice cream and set in a mould. It’s lovely served with brandy or caramel sauce.
A must in the freezer is Christmas Mince Ice Cream Slice. Take a long one-litre packet of vanilla ice cream and cut it in half lengthwise. Sandwich the halves together with three-quarters of a cup of Christmas mincemeat and a half-cup of toasted sliced almonds. Return to the freezer in an airtight container. Cut slices off when required.
Pavlovas can be frozen topped with sweetened whipped cream. They take about 1 hour to thaw in the fridge. Decorate just before serving.
Other delicious desserts that can be frozen or prepared ahead and refrigerated include: pumpkin pie, tiramisu, trifle, Christmas mincemeat flans and summer pudding.
Crepe cake
Crêpes or thin pancakes are stacked together with whipped cream and lemon curd. I used Marcels Gluten-free Pancakes. Get the recipe
Rolled chocolate pavlova
A twist on the traditional rolled pav recipe. Get the recipe
Mango cheesecake
A tropical treat for Christmas. Get the recipe
Cherry tart
Easy to serve.
300g sweet short pastry
Filling:
1 cup each: mascarpone, thick custard
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
Topping:
2 cups pitted cherries
1 cup pinot noir or other red wine
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon powdered gelatine
- Preheat the oven to 190°C.
- Roll out the pastry thinly and line a 35cm x 11cm oblong, loose-based flan pan. Press a sheet of lightly greased foil onto the sides and base of the pastry. Bake blind for 12 minutes, remove the foil and continue cooking for a further 5 minutes. Cool. This can be prepared up to 2 days ahead, covered and refrigerated.
- Combine the mascarpone and custard and vanilla to make the filling.
- Meanwhile, poach the cherries in the pinot noir and brown sugar for about 5 minutes. (Both the filling and the cherries can be prepared a day ahead.) Drain and return the juice to the saucepan. Simmer for 2 minutes. Add the gelatine, stirring until dissolved. Cool, until just beginning to set.
- Spoon the filling into the tart. Arrange the cherries on top. Spoon a little of the thickened juice over the top to glaze the cherries. Chill, until required.