RECIPE: 10 easy, last minute desserts for your Christmas party

SUMMER BERRIES CREPES

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Makes 10 crepes

INGREDIENTS
80g plain flour
25g sugar
A pinch of salt
1 egg
165ml fresh milk
Unsalted butter for brushing
Berries, toasted almond flakes, whipped cream and snow powder for topping

DIRECTIONS

1 Sift 80g plain flour, 25g sugar and a pinch of salt into a bowl. Make a well in the centre and add 1 egg. Slowly stir in 165ml fresh milk to prevent lumps from forming.

2 Pass the batter through a fine sieve, and chill for at least an hour.

3 Pour 2 tbsp batter onto a lightly greased pan, spreading it out thinly. Cook each side for 20 seconds.

4 Brush some unsalted butter over the crepe and fold it in half. Brush again with butter and fold the crepe into a quarter. Remove from heat. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until the batter is used up.

5 To serve, top each crepe with berries, toasted almond flakes and whipped cream. Sprinkle snow powder* over and top with vanilla ice cream.

*Snow powder is similar to icing sugar, but it does not melt into pastries when it’s sprinkled over them. It’s available at baking supply stores like Phoon Huat (171 Bencoolen Street).

ROYAL JELLY

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Makes 10 glasses

INGREDIENTS

5 green apples
25g dried chrysanthemum
300g sugar
40g gelatin powder
Mangoes
Blueberries
Strawberries
1 tsp royal jelly honey*
Chopped peanuts, raisins and mint leave for garnishing, optional

DIRECTIONS

1 Fill a pot with 1 litres of water. Add 5 green apples (halved) and 25g dried chrysanthemum, and bring to a boil. Simmer for 30min and remove from heat.

2 Sieve the liquid and transfer to a mixing bowl. Stir in and dissolve 300g sugar and 40g gelatine powder. Cool to room temperature, and chill overnight.

3 Dice some mangoes, blueberries and strawberries finely.

4 Layer the fruits and jelly into 10 flute glasses, in this order: mangoes, jelly, blueberries, jelly, strawberries, jelly. Drizzle 1 tsp royal jelly honey on top.

5 Top with a sprinkling of chopped peanuts, raisins and a mint leaf. Perch a lime wedge on the rim of the glass, and serve

*Made from a milky substance created by honeybees. It is available at supermarkets and honey specialty stores.

OREO NUTELLA TRUFFLES

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INGREDIENTS
2 rolls of Oreo cookies
½ cup Nutella
1/3 cup Hershey’s Cocoa Powder
¼ cup icing sugar

DIRECTIONS

1 Crush 2 rolls of Oreos in a large mixing bowl until you get a soil-like consistency.

2 Add ½ cup of Nutella and mix with your hands to form a sticky mixture.

3 Spoon out a portion and roll it into a small ball. Repeat until you’ve used up all the mixture. Place on a tray and freeze for 10min.

4 Mix 1/3 cup Hershey’s Cocoa Powder with ¼ cup icing sugar.

5 Lightly coat each ball in it and serve.

MANGO PUDDING

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Makes 8-10 portions

INGREDIENTS
170g fine sugar
35g gelatin powder
500g cubed mango
130g whipped topping
150ml condensed milk

DIRECTIONS

1 Combine 170g fine sugar and 35g gelatin powder in a pot and mix well.

2 Pour in 300ml boiling water and bring it to the boil. Set aside to cool.

3 Stir 500g cubed mango, 130g whipped topping* and 150ml condensed milk into the cooled mixture.

4 Pour the mixture into small cups. Chill for 45min until it solidifies. Serve cold.

*Chef uses Redman Whip Topping (available at baking supply stores like Phoon Huat), a non-dairy substitute for whipped cream that gives the mango pudding a smoother texture.

LEMON DRIZZLE CUPCAKES

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Makes 12

INGREDIENTS

1 cup pure cream (45 per cent fat)

1 cups caster sugar

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 cups self-raising fl our

Finely grated zest of 3 lemons

Juice of 3 lemons

DIRECTIONS

1 Preheat oven to 180 deg C. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake liners.

2 In an electric mixer on low speed, use the whisk attachment to combine the cream, 1 cup of caster sugar and the eggs for about 30 seconds, until the sugar dissolves completely and the mixture is smooth.

3 Gradually add the flour and 2/3 of the lemon zest. Continue whisking on low speed for 1min until the batter is thick and smooth.

4 Pour the batter into the muffin pan and bake for 15-20min, until a skewer inserted into the cupcakes comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let the cupcakes cool in the muffin pan.

5 Mix the remaining 2/3 cup of sugar and lemon zest with the lemon juice to make the drizzle.

6 While the cakes are still warm, use a fork to prick small holes all over the surface. Pour the drizzle over each cupcake to form a crisp, sugary icing.

7 Let the cupcakes cool completely in the muffin pan before serving.

FRIED ICE CREAM

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Serves 8
INGREDIENTS

Ice cream – any flavour
8 slices of wholemeal bread
Cooking oil
Chocolate sauce

DIRECTIONS

1 Scoop 8 balls of ice cream onto a tray, spacing them out. Freeze overnight, uncovered.

2 Trim the edges of the slices of wholemeal bread, then flatten with a rolling pin.

3 Place an ice cream ball in the centre of a piece of bread. Wrap it by pinching the two diagonal corners together, then pressing the seams together to make a triangle.

4 Fold in the other two corners to fully wrap up the ice cream ball.

5 Freeze the ice cream parcels overnight, uncovered.

6 Over high heat, add cooking oil into a pan to about 3cm deep. When the oil starts smoking, place an ice cream parcel in it. Roll it around the pan for 10sec until evenly golden brown.

7 Drizzle over with chocolate sauce and serve.

COFFEE GRANITA

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Serves four
INGREDIENTS

300ml of your favourite coffee
60g brown sugar
A dollop of whipped cream

DIRECTIONS
1. Make 300ml of your favourite coffee, dissolve 60g brown sugar into it and freeze overnight. Scrape it with a spoon into flaky crystals, then top with whipped cream to serve.

CHOCOLATE MOUSSE

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SERVES 4

INGREDIENTS

150g dark chocolate

250ml creme fraiche

284ml double cream

25g icing sugar, sifted

1-2 tbsp Kahlua or Tia Maria (optional)

2 chocolate covered honeycomb bars, frozen for 10 min

DIRECTIONS

1 Break 125g of the dark chocolate into small pieces (reserve 25g for grating). Melt the pieces in a bowl placed on a pot of boiling water (or a double boiler). Remove from heat and set aside.

2 Add the creme fraiche to the melted chocolate and whisk until combined.

3 Place the double cream and icing sugar in a bowl and whisk with an electric whisk until it forms soft peaks. Fold the chocolate mixture into this mixture, and add the Tia Maria or Kahlua. Stir to combine.

CHOCOLATE MILK TIRAMISU

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Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

250g mascarpone

3 eggs, whites and yolks separated

½ tsp vanilla essence

50g sugar

10-12 sponge fingers

500ml hot milk, mixed with 50g of cocoa powder

4 tsp cocoa powder

DIRECTIONS

1 With an electric or hand whisk, whisk the mascarpone, egg yolks, vanilla essence and sugar until smooth.

2 In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form.

3 With a spatula, gently mix the mascarpone mixture with the whisked egg whites.

4 Break the sponge fingers into half or a third to fit your glasses.

5 Dip the sponge fingers into the hot milk. Lay them in a layer into 4 glasses.

6 Top with a 2cm-thick layer of the mascarpone-egg white mixture.

7 Place another layer of sponge fingers in the glass. Top with another 2cm-thick layer of mascarpone-egg white mixture.

8 Chill for an hour. Sprinkle 1 tsp of cocoa powder over the tiramisu in each glass before serving.

BANANA CHIMICHANGA

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INGREDIENTS
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 cup sugar
1 banana
1 tortilla
Cooking oil for deep frying
Chocolate sauce for drizzling
Fresh berries and vanilla ice cream

DIRECTIONS
1 Mix 1 tbsp cinnamon with a cup of sugar, then dust the cinnamon sugar over a banana, covering it entirely.

2 Roll a tortilla around the banana, securing it with a toothpick in the middle.

3 Deep-fry for 3-4min, until golden brown.

4 Remove from heat and drizzle storebought chocolate sauce over it.

5 Serve with fresh berries and a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side.

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RECIPE: 10 easy, last minute desserts for your Christmas party

Still need a dessert for your Christmas party? These indulgent sweets, from kids-friendly treats like chocolate milk tiramisu to fancy desserts like truffles, are delicious and quick to put together.

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RECIPE: 10 easy, last minute desserts for your Christmas party

Still need a dessert for your Christmas party? These indulgent sweets, from kids-friendly treats like chocolate milk tiramisu to fancy desserts like truffles, are delicious and quick to put together.

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