Christmas celebrations are never complete without an array of indulgent sweet treats. This year, a selection of Britain's most celebrated culinary experts have shared their ultimate festive dessert ideas to help you dazzle guests and reduce food waste.
Star-Studded Festive Inspiration
In a special festive collaboration, British food legends Mary Berry, Prue Leith, Rick Stein, Phil Vickery, and James Martin have revealed their favourite Christmas pudding recipes. Whether you're hosting a large gathering or need a last-minute showstopper, these creations promise to impress. The collection, published on 21 December 2025, includes clever ways to repurpose leftover Christmas cake into entirely new desserts, ensuring nothing goes to waste this holiday season.
Signature Recipes from the Masters
Mary Berry's Mini Mincemeat Cakes offer a delightful individual option. The recipe, which makes eight cakes, requires baking spread, caster sugar, self-raising flour, eggs, clementine zest, sultanas, and mincemeat. After baking at 160°C/140°C Fan/Gas 3 for 45–50 minutes, they are decorated with marzipan and icing. Mary notes they can be made up to six days ahead and freeze well undecorated.
Prue Leith's Christmas Cake Ice Cream provides a perfect solution for unused cake or pudding. Her method, honed over forty years, combines a litre of soft-scoop vanilla ice cream with roughly 350g of crumbled leftovers and 3 tbsp of brandy. The mixture is frozen for at least six hours, resulting in a dessert where visible chunks of cake remain. Prue advises chilling all ingredients beforehand for best results.
Indulgent Creations for the Sweet-Toothed
James Martin's White Chocolate & Whisky Croissant Butter Pudding is a famously rich dish. Using six large croissants, white chocolate chips, and sultanas soaked in whisky, it bakes at 140°C/120ºC fan for 45 minutes. James Martin humorously recalls criticism over its calorie content, famously suggesting it should be served with ice cream.
Phil Vickery's Christmas Cake Parfait offers a no-bake alternative. Combining Carnation Condensed Milk, single cream, crème fraîche, vanilla, brandy, and 450g of crumbled Christmas cake, the mixture is frozen until slushy before being set overnight. It is served with a cranberry compote.
Rick Stein's Apple & Mincemeat Strudel presents a lighter festive option. Substituting half the apple filling with mincemeat, the strudel uses Bramley apples, cinnamon, filo pastry, and toasted almonds. It bakes at 180°C/Fan 160°C for 40–45 minutes until golden, and is served dusted with icing sugar.
These recipes from the nation's favourite chefs provide not only delicious solutions for your Christmas table but also ingenious ways to ensure seasonal leftovers are transformed into brand-new culinary highlights.
