Festive Desserts including 'Cheats" treats: indulgent and wallet friendly

OK, we can indulge during the Christmas and Hannukah, and any of these terrific recipes is guaranteed to wow guests and family.  

Some are easy, some healthier than most; some 'never-mind-the-calories; just enjoy the deliciousness!'  But all are mouthwatering and utterly delicious.

Options include luxury, tea-time, easy, vegan & cheats' delights.

Many have not appeared in previous compilations.

Note: for those celebrating Hannukkah, the dairy free options are clearly marked.  Or some friends make the cream-filled desserts as a special treat but wait 1-6 hours after the main course before offering them to guests.

Many posted Prices do not reflect recent inflation; note the dates on the individual posts, top left hand above the photo. 

 

1.  SPECIAL OCCASION -- Pure Indulgence

Luxury Pistachio Cheesecake: pale richly creamy fillling, studded with bright green chopped pistachios, slathered over a generous crumb crust

Singleton's Quick & Easy Chocolate Coconut Cream Torte; 15 mins prep; option for full size:high calories but wallet-friendly ingredients. Tasters said: 'Restaurant quality; sublinme; light, airy and delicious.

Egg Nog Truffles: boozy, creamy rich indulgence, surprisingly easy to make

 

Choco-Mint Croissant Bread & Butter Pudding: Truly To die for.  Households have  been known to make one for Christmas Mass supper and another for Christmas Day.  Rich, light, gooey, with a crispy top, the intensity of chocolate sends guests into raptures.  Cook's Delight: its made 3 days before it's needed and left until it's time to bake.

Triple Chocolate & Cointreau Shortbread, melts in the mouth, warms as it goes down!

Triple Chocolate Truffle Brownies, WOW!

2.  FESTIVE FABULOUSLY FRUGAL & WALLET-FRIENDLY 

Creamy Pineapple Pudding, thrifty, easy, dairy free opt, choice of fruit

Boozy Orange Marmalade Bread & Butter Pudding: Inexpensive but yummy with an alcoholic twist 

 

TEA-TIME TREATS

Twisted Scone Wreath stuffed with Chocolate & Nuts, Orange & Cinnamon

Sensational Lemon-Mint Angel Food Cakes: tender fluffy interiors with unexpectedly  crackly tops. Think they look boring?  Prepare to be blown away!  

Blueberry, Pineapple & Walnut Cake: rich, fine-crumbed Blueberry, Pineapple & Nut Cake is the perfect indulgence for visitors/guests. Tasters loved it.

Light Gingerbread Sheet Cake - (Dairy-free option) gingerbread cake but not as we know it, Jim: it's lighter and less gummy, fine textured and 'scrummy' without losing its gingery-ness.  Heavily praised by tasters!

3.  DIETERS' DELIGHTS

Skinny Chocolate Peppermint Mousse:  Dairy-free unless you want it as a to - and the pudding's choolate flavours are still deep & dark.  Option to replace mint with fresh fruit soaked in liqueur.  

Light & lovely but still intensely chocolatey; 
no-bake, butter-free, cream optional

Luscious Lemon Pudding: gloriously gorgeous crowd-pleaser; diary-free option:; yoghurt lightens & enhances creaminess and flavour; 67's Foolproof lemon curd instead of shop-bought elevates the dish

4.  Easy-Peasy

4-ingredient shortbread: dairy-free option; first class melt-in-the-mouth Scottish treat, needs only butter, sugar, flour and flavouring. And you can leave out the flavouring!  Perfect for a cost of living crisis. 

1 Recipe=2 Delicious Treats: Cinnamon Breakfast Twists for breakfast & Blueberry Scones for Tea: mouthwatering contrast of flavours 

5.  VEGETARIAN/VEGAN 

Special Occasion Lemon Drizzle Cake: VEGAN, Indulgent, fat & egg free.  Easily the best of the vegan cake recipes tested by 67goingon50.  Truly fabulous taste & texture but cake has a maddening tendency to sink in the middle but taste & texture not affected, just fill the dip with fresh fruit!

Cherry Garcia Ice Cream: VEGAN , easy-peasy; the nicest, tastiest, healthiest ice cream ever; no cream - just bananas...

'Irish Coffee' Chocolate Cake':  Vegan-glorious; dark, rich and gorgeously chocolatey, the cake is fine-crumbed and hints of whiskey.  The frothy topping is served on the side or turned into icing 

Pomelo (Chinese grapefrut) fruit platter with Cinnamon Vanilla Yoghurt Cream: wallet-friendly, low-fat 

Orange Berry Plate: fresh, colourful, guilt-free, budget friendly

6.  CHEATS' DELIGHTS

Cheat's Christmas Log: When the pressure's on, a good supermarket Swiss Roll, smothered in simple home-made chocolate ganache, makes a great impression.  

Cheat's Black Forest Trifle: Simple, light but ever-so-delicious, so yummy & quick

For more Christmas dishes, see How to...on the Nav Bar above; they're 2/3 of the way down the page

These recipes have been developed by B  Lee/ Bright Sun Enterprises and may not be reproduced without the author's written permission.