All The Classic Desserts To Make For Christmas

A good feast is successful only if you have all the elements that make it a great meal. That means you need dessert, even one that is easy to make.  

These classic desserts are the easy holiday food recipes you can make for your Christmas table:

Photo by Pikrepo

1 Leche Flan Recipes 

You will find few gatherings without a plate (or four) of these steamed custards. The leche flan is the ultimate Filipino dessert. It's got a silky texture and tastes creamy and bittersweet from the caramelized sugar. 

The classic flavor of these flans is from the zest of the dayap, also known as a lime. You can swap that out with calamansi zest or lemon zest. Modernize the flavor and use vanilla extract. You can even level up the flavor with other extracts or you can top your version with a layer of ube halaya for a truly sinful dessert that can end any meal on a fantastic note. 

  

Photo by Riell Santos

2 Food for the Gods Recipe 

Dates and nuts are the main ingredients that make these bar cookies taste delicious. It's the sticky quality of the ripened dates that distinguishes these brownies from other brownie recipes that might be similar. 

These dark sugar-enhanced brownies are classic Christmas food gifts! Cashews or walnuts make great nuts mix-ins. Dates may be hard to find, but you will find these plentiful at your local baking supply store during the holidays. 

Photo by Shutterstock

3 Buko Pandan Recipes

This super easy chilled dessert is a classic party dessert. The coconut or buko is a classic ingredient for many Christmas desserts while the pandan is the Asian equivalent of vanilla. It's super aromatic!

It's a fantastic refreshing dessert that marries ingredients we inherently love: the creaminess of kakang gata or coconut cream lightly sweetened with condensed milk, the tender strands of coconut meat, and the gulaman slivers flavored with pandan. Combine these flavors in a classic version or take it up a notch by baking these flavors into a stunning cake.  

Photo by Riell Santos

5 Rum Cake Recipe

If you're a big fan of cakes, this cake is one of those cakes that will leave you craving more. This cake is super moist, courtesy of the sugar syrup that you pour over the entire cake while it's still hot. The cake is drenched in it and absorbs it until you're left with a cake that can't help but be irresistible. 

The hit of rum in the syrup can be subtle or you can splash another dose for good measure just before pouring it over the cake for a stronger flavor. 

Photo by Riell Santos

4 Red Velvet Cake Recipe 

Speaking of cake, the traditional Christmas cake of old has been overshadowed by this stunning and vibrantly red cake. Red food coloring is responsible for the color but the texture of the cake together with the tangy frosting are the real lures that have everyone hooked and wanting more. 

A perfect red velvet cake should have a tender and velvety texture while the frosting should have enough cream cheese in it that it's sweet with a distinct tang with every bite. Bake it into a cake that's fit for sharing, into cupcakes with a tall order of frosting on top, or make a loaf that's easy to decorate and slice.  

Photo by Majoy Siason

5 Fruit Salad Recipes  

If buko pandan is not enough fruit for you, you can use the full can of fruit cocktail instead. A classic fruit salad is an incredibly creamy dessert. It's best chilled until the thickened cream coats each fruit chunk. It's the only way to enjoy this dessert that's the next best thing to ice cream without needing to freeze it.

Modernize your version and up the flavors by using other kinds of fruits or swapping out some of the cream with cream cheese for a tangy hack. 

Photo by Riell Santos

6 Fruit Cake Recipes 

Not everyone likes fruit cake. However, those who do want one that's done right. A classic fruit cake recipe should be loaded with glazed fruits and nuts. Most importantly, it should be brushed with rum regularly to develop and enhance the flavors in the fruits and the cake. 

Even if you're not a fruit cake fan, you can still have fruit cake! Try a chocolate version that doesn't need much curing with the rum, an easy fruit cake in bar form that doesn't need to be cured for months, or a white chocolate cake that uses dried cranberries for a festive look without the glazed fruits that you don't like in your version. 

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