Give me your quickest (vaguely Christmassy would be brilliant) desert or cake

[Tipsntoes]

I used to bake a lot, but I'm now sugar free and sooo much less moody happier for it.

I'm hosting Christmas Day and in my head the Christmas Pud (which mum has made) and a pack of mince pies to bring out at tea time was more than sufficient for those who expect a sweet treat, alongside the Turkey with all the trimmings and a cold spread tea with loads of lovely cheese, nuts, fruit, cold cuts, pate, salmon, salads etc. But it's not is it?

What can I rustle up with store cupboards ingredients? (A fairly well stocked bakers cupboard, I do have sugar and syrup!)

thegreatbritishbakeoff.co.uk/mary-berrys-tunis-cake/

Or just ordinary madeira cake with the thick chocolate topping.

Tin of drained pears in bottom of cake tin, sprinkle with brown sugar, the darker the better. Then make up a ginger cake mix pour on top an cook, will reheat in the microwave if you want it as a hot pudding.

Was going to say a ginger cake but skin andbones idea with pears sounds brilliant.

Sticky toffee pudding?

Chocolate cake of some sort?
Cheesecake if you happen to have cream cheese in

Chocolate is a problem, it's just not something I buy these days.

I have a carton of cream but that was for the pud.

There's a great Hugh Fearnley recipe for a quick Christmassy fruit cake, let me find a link.

www.nigella.com/recipes/meringue-gelato-cake-with-chocolate-sauce

Easy just need time to freeze it.

Mincemeat cheese cake? Biscuit base, soft cheese,whipped double cream, icing sugar, stir thought a jar of mincemeat and set.
Simple

Nigella's Clementine cake is a firm Christmas favourite- so easy, just microwave the clementines, mush them with a blender, eggs, sugar, baking powder and ground almonds.
It's like a squidgy bitter marmalade cake.

Knock up a trifle, really easy, not heavy and people love it

Christmas flapjack

4oz butter
4oz brown sugar
3tbs golden syrup
Tsp cinnamon
2oz each flaked almonds, sultanas, sesame seeds
3oz oats
Half a sheet of ready roll puff pastry
12 half cherries

Heat oven 180
Melt butter sugar and syrup in large pan. Add everything apart from pastry and cherries and mix well

Grease a A4ish sized tin and line bottom with pastry. Add mixture and press down with back of spoon. Decorate with half cherries. 25-30 mins in oven (watch it at the end as it can catch) leave to cool and cut into slices.

It's delicious. You can substitute other dried fruit and different nuts (pecans are good) but the sesame seeds really make it.

link

Jelly. Sugar (not much) cinnamon, squeeze of Clementine, whisker of brandy and nutmeg, dried apricots, prunes, Apple, pear, keep the soaking juice, gelatine obvs.

these looked lush on Nigella's Christmas show...www.nigella.com/recipes/forgotten-cookies

Nigella chocolate gingerbread cake is amazing. If you don’t have chocolate, just leave out the chocolate chips.

Meringue nests with cream/custard and fruit

Shop bought trifle

Chocolate/butterscotch self saucing puddings. Very easy to make from scratch and uses store cupboard ingredients

I still bake a lot and that's all we're having for pudding. I have ice cream for the children who don't like Christmas pudding.

There's a Christmas cake, but we often don't get round to it before Boxing day.

Nigella Lawson sticky toffee pudding - even without the dried fruit works and easy

Or ginger bread cake if you have black treacle