Christmas Dinner pudding options

[CarcerDun]

Doing my first Christmas dinner this year and am stuck for what to do for dessert. Pils aren't keen on xmas pudding and I kind of agree that it's too much after a huge meal. We are six adults and a toddler and I just fancy doing something light that I can prepare in advance... any ideas? Pil normally do a fruit salad but I can't even be arsed with that, nor the space it takes up in the fridge.

Any ideas?

Well, there's nothing much that's simpler than a fruit salad, so why don't you just buy something?
You could offer some nice cheeses and biscuits, buy or make a triffle, buy some posh ice cream and buy or make a grown up boozy sauce to go with it.

We've just been having the same conversation and have decided on this. I'm not sure it counts as light but is easy, can be done in advance and is festive - plum tatin and will use up leftover marzipan from the cake. Alternatives could be a meringue roulade or fat less sponge Swiss roll? BBC Good Food has a fair few ideas.

nice chocolate log/fresh fruit and nuts/ after dinner chocs

Bailey's cheesecake

We had a pandoro for first time last year, and will be having it again this year- with vanilla cream and fruit of some sort. Think I'll do a pavlova too.

Sorry what I meant by not being bothered with fruit salad is that it needs a lot of prep on the day and can't really be made in advance. I won't have time for preparing the fruit in the morning as I'll be cooking the dinner. I like the idea of meringue... could do a pavlova or Eton mess. Meringue in advance plus cream/fruit.

I made these chocolate fondants last year. Really easy - make and freeze, then cook straight from the freezer on the day.

Now, they look good...

Meringue roulade can be very easy. Bake roulade in advance. Have cream whipped and I'd use a defrosted bag of frozen raspberries. Spread cream, spread fruit, roll...

Buy a nice vanilla ice cream and soften a bit in advance, stir in a little booze of choice, some booze soaked raisins, a few nice chopped nuts, even a bit of mincemeat (the mince pie sort, not the bolognaise sauce sort!) and other bits that will remind you of christmas, and refreeze for a kind of christmas pudding ice cream...

You could even refreeze it in an old christmas pudding bowl in the freezer - then you could serve it as a frozen ice cream pudding to look the part.

We are having Christmas pudding (yuk), fruit salad (yay) and profiteroles (meh).

Something for everyone I hope.

Another one that can be prepped in advance - oranges in mandarin napoleon liqueur...

They have been my favourite pudding ever since I can remember and make the best christmas breakfast ever. It's very 70s - my mum started to make them every year for when we had people that came around on Christmas eve for supper - she had about 5 puds that she would always make and we'd eat at them over the next few days, well if there were any left that is.

The oranges were always popular - she always made more juice than necessary then kept it topped up and added more oranges over the next few days.

it's basically oranges, peeled and cut into segements (taking away all the pith and separators between the segments). Then a syrup made with sugar, water, the spare orange juice from cutting up the oranges and mandarin napoleon liqueur, poured over the orange slices while warm and left to chill. It lasts at least 3 or 4 days and more if you top it up!

You can use another orange based liqueur if you don't have mandarin napoleon but that is the nicest one for it...

Warm mince pies and clotted cream yum!

I'm doing apple pie and baked toffee pecan cheesecake on Christmas Eve so there will be leftovers from that.

Christmas Pudding because I went to all the effort of making the blessed thing

Trifle will be after Christmas because the bowl takes up so much room. Maybe on Boxing day (and my Dad can have leftover Christmas Pudding because he can't bear to waste anything)

Lurking for inspiration.

Risalamande - Danish Christmas pudding which is basically rice pudding with almonds and cherries. It is delicious - but deceptively rich, my kids are convinced it is some kind of murder weapon in disguise.

nordicfoodliving.com/risalamande-danish-rice-dessert/

Ooh that Murder Weapon Pudding Risalamande has the whole almond in (like the silver sixpence in a Christmas Pudding) for someone to find and win a prize

I did a similar thing with my pudding, pushed a whole blanched almond in before steaming.

I love all these traditions

Delia Smith sticky toffee puddings (from John Tovey)

You can make them ahead, (she grills them to brown the sauce) and heat when needed. Serve with cream/ice cream/custard.

And there's dates in them, so practically a heath food

Sainsburys magazine has a very nice trifle recipe this month

Tescos has a lovely frozen chocolate roulade with black cherry

Have a look at booths, M&S or Sainsburys catalogue for inspiration (cheat!!)

Nigella has a great Ice cream cake recipe. Easy to make in advance and looks like you've gone to a lot of trouble.

Melon medley with sorbet.

Wait a few hours for food to digest, then go for something devilishly decadent!

We don't do much but I think this year will be a chocolate log and then a big cheese board.

Ice cream bombe! Wow.

We have a nice long break between main course and pudding to snooze watch the queen's speech. Otherwise we just don't appreciate it, however delicious it is.

I'm doing a trifle and a lemon meringue roulade. Although I've also been asked expected to do a banoffi pie but (a) I won't have time as I'm hosting the whole thing! And (b) I think it would be too heavy after such a big meal