Traditional English Christmas Desserts

by Karin
(Soest, Germany)

Most families in England will have a traditional Christmas pudding to finish dinner on Christmas day.

Christmas pudding is a rich, dense pudding filled with dried fruits and Christmas spices and laced with brandy. Many families still make Christmas pudding at home, a few weeks ahead of the big day to give all the flavours time to mature.

But you can also buy ready-prepared Christmas puddings in the shops or from specialist suppliers. The Lakeland Christmas Pudding is one of the tastiest around.

Traditionally, Christmas pudding is doused in brandy and flamed at the table. It's served with brandy butter or pouring cream for an extra delicious end to the meal.

Traditional Christmas trifle © Monkey Business Images | Dreamstime.com Sherry trifle is also a very popular choice for a traditional Christmas dessert.

It's a little lighter than Christmas pudding and beloved by all children.

A delicious concoction of layered sherry-soaked sponge fingers, custard, jelly or fresh fruit and covered with softly whipped cream, sherry trifle is served in a beautiful large glass bowl to show off the coloured layers.

The top can be dusted with cocoa powder or sprinkled with grated chocolate, hundreds and thousands or silver balls.

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Mince Pies
by: Sue

Hi Caro,
I think it will only let you add a photo if you're starting the thread ... but never mind. Here's what our last batch of home-made mince pies looked like:

RE: Christmas Desserts
by: Caro

Don't forget that stalwart of Christmas, the mince pie. This does not as the name might suggest contain actual meat; they are usually small individual pastry pies filled with tasty, spicy cooked dried fruit. My mother's have a kick as she adds brandy to her mixture; they can be served on their own hot or cold with a cup of tea, or with custard, cream or ice cream for an alternative Christmas Dessert.

- I tried to add a photo but it wouldn't let me!

I am in the USA: how do I order
by: jovita

I went to your links but how do I order from the USA and can you include us dollar amount.

Answer:
My favourite Christmas pudding at the moment comes from Lakeland Ltd, a company based in England. They do ship to the US, but can only accept UK card payments at present. If you've a card issued in the US, you contact them here to discuss payment and shipping.

Alternatively, you could try Britshoppe - A company based in San Francisco, California, and offering a complete line of British
food and drink. They don't have my favourite, but you can find many typical English foodstuffs such as Christmas pudding, Christmas cake and brandy butter.

Prices for Christmas puddings depend on the maker and the size of the pudding. But for a good one, you should expect to pay between $10 and $30.

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