With another round of entertaining incoming, you’ll want plenty of easy desserts and bakes. We’ve got you covered with this selection that includes some of our favourite warming winter puddings, crunchy cookies and gooey bakes.
1. Sarah Mann Yeager’s pistachio, walnut and honey baklava is easier than it looks and perfect for a crowd as a little goes a long way. Pair with espresso shots or mint tea.
2. Continuing with a pastry theme, Joanna Nissim’s deliciously indulgent and perfectly parev knafeh is a gooey treat that everyone will adore. The rosewater-scented creamy, cheesy base (made entirely without dairy) is topped with crunchy kadaif pastry. Utterly delicious and a stunning showstopper everyone will be wowed by.
3. There’s plenty of fruit around at this time of the year with pears at their perfect best. Silvia Nacamulli’s pretty pear and almond spelt tart has a gorgeous nutty-tasting spelt pastry base topped with perfectly matched pears and almonds. Serve warm or room temperature.
4. Combine those pears with another seasonal special — apples — in Fabienne Viner-Luzzato’s French favourite, apple and pear crème brûlée. A creamy vanilla custard topped with crunchy, caramelised sugar make for the ultimately indulgent option.
5. Switch up your brûlée game with Ben Tenblat’s saffron and cardamom crème brûlées. The spice-spiked custard base gives a gorgeously grown-up Middle Eastern flavour that everyone will adore. And this recipe can be made milky or parev.
6. For another Middle Eastern-flavoured finish, pick Shiri Kraus’s crunchy honey nut cigars with rose-scented syrup. Simple to make, easy to share with a crowd and delicious served with glasses of hot mint tea.
7. Judi Rose’s strudel combines juicy fresh pears with sticky sweet dried ones for her flavour-filled double pear strudel, It’s ideal for Succot and can be frozen if you want to get ahead.
8. Pair apples with blackberries for Denise Phillips’s simple blackberry and pecan flapjack bars. Serve them as dessert or as a teatime treat with a steaming cup of tea.
9. For a bake that will be as delicious for dessert as it will be for teatime, Sarah Mann-Yeager’s pear, chocolate and ginger loaf is a keeper.
10. For another simple finish or to pair with a cuppa or shot of strong coffee whip up a batch of Fabienne Viner-Luzzato’s sesame strewn tahini and honey cookies. They also make a cute host gift.
11. My sticky sweet, white chocolate-loaded salted tahini halva blondies are a total crowd-pleaser and definitely worth serving up for a Succah tea or post-dinner dessert.
12. Heather Thomas’s pumpkin pie is a true seasonal treat. It’s packed with the autumn spice flavour profile that’s become a must for every coffee chain at this time of year.
13. If you’re trying to keep things healthy this carrot cake with orange and tahina frosting from Professor Tim Spector is packed with plants. The yoghurt-based ‘frosting’ helps balance any blood sugar spikes.
14. Fabienne Viner-Luzzato’s cute mini apple and cinnamon empanadas are bite-sized pastry parcels that will be popular with young and older eaters.
15. For a seasonal bake with one of his trademark sophisticated twists, try Yotam Ottolenghi’s plum, blackberry and bay leaf friand bake. It can be prepped ahead and will warm the coldest of Succah suppers.
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