No dinner party is complete without a special holiday dessert.
And the good news is that there are many amazing sweet treats to choose from, including classic, modern, chocolate, and sugary desserts, and everything in between!
The dessert ideas below contain basic instructions on how to make them, and the ingredients you will need on creating a successful dish.
Pumpkin pie
When it comes to festive dining, our eyes go right to the dessert table, searching for homemade pumpkin pie.
With a flaky crust, smooth pumpkin filling, and sweetened whipped cream, what is not to love about pumpkin pie? Pumpkin pie is a rich and creamy dessert.
It is made even more delicious with a homemade pie crust and topped with whipped cream. No holiday is complete without this traditional food for the soul.
Pavlova
Pavlova is a meringue-based dessert named after the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova. It is a meringue dessert with a crisp crust and soft and light inside, usually topped with fruit and whipped cream.
The dessert is believed to have been created in honour of the dancer either during or after one of her tours to Australia and New Zealand in the 1920s.
The nationality of its creator has been a source of argument between the two nations for many years.
So many desserts are complicated, but pavlova is one of the simplest desserts you can make. It just involves whipping some sugar and egg whites together.
Your electric whisk does all the hard work. You put the whipped whites on a sheet of baking paper and bake in the oven, and you are done.
Crème brûlée
Crème brûlée is a French dessert that is composed of a rich and creamy custard base that is topped with a layer of caramel that becomes hard and brittle.
The caramel topping adds a slight burnt sugar flavour and crunch to the dessert.
This elegant dessert is typically served chilled and can be garnished with various toppings such as fresh berries or chocolate shavings.
Double chocolate crème brûlée
Makes: 4 - 6
Ingredients
3 egg yolks
50g castor sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
300ml fresh cream
50g chocolate (any)
2 tbsp. brown sugar
Method
Place the egg yolks in a bowl with the castor sugar and vanilla essence. Whisk until combined.
Pour the fresh cream into a saucepan and bring to a boil.
Remove from heat and add the chocolate. Mix till smooth.
Slowly pour the cream into the bowl with the egg mixture, whisking continuously.
Pour the egg and cream mixture into the saucepan and place it on low heat.
Cook the custard, stirring constantly for a couple of minutes or until it thickens.
Sieve the custard and pour the mixture into ramekins.
Bake at 150 deg C in a water bath for 30 minutes or until set.
Allow to cool and place in the fridge to chill for at least an hour.
To serve:
Melt the brown sugar in a hot pan.
Stir till runny and pour over the brûlée.
Make sure to serve this immediately.
Cheesecake
Cheesecake is a beloved dessert around the world. It is made with cream and fresh cheese (typically cream cheese or ricotta) on a biscuit base. The first “cheesecake” was created on the Greek island of Samos.
Physical anthropologists excavated cheese moulds there which were dated circa 2000 BC. The ancient Greeks used the simple ingredients of flour, wheat, honey, and cheese formed into a cake and baked.
The texture of this dessert is extremely rich and creamy, and the taste can range from sweet to highly tangy.
In some places, cheesecake takes the form of a savoury tart, rather than a dessert food. One can also be made at home with relative ease.
Zola Nene’s quick and easy blueberry cheesecake
Serves: 8-10
Ingredients
350g ginger biscuits
80g butter, melted
800g cream cheese, at room temperature
200g sour cream, at room temperature
180g castor sugar
4 large eggs
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
100g fresh or frozen blueberries, puréed
Method
Pulse the biscuits in a food processor until fine.
Mix in the butter and then press the mixture over the base of a 20-cm round springform cake tin (not up the sides).
Refrigerate the base while you make the filling.
Set the NeoChef to 140 deg C on the convection setting.
In a bowl, mix the cream cheese, sour cream, sugar, eggs, and lemon zest until smooth.
Transfer 60ml (a quarter of a cup) of the batter to a separate bowl and mix in the blueberry purée.
Carefully pour the plain batter onto the biscuit base, then swirl the blueberry batter over the top and use a knife or skewer to incorporate the blueberry batter into the cheesecake to create a ripple effect.
Bake in the NeoChef for about 45 minutes or until the cheesecake is set and the middle is still slightly wobbly.
Turn off the NeoChef, open the door slightly, and leave the cheesecake to gradually cool in there until it reaches room temperature.
Then refrigerate for at least 4 hours before unmoulding, slicing, and serving.