As Christmas and New Year’s are drawing nearer, it’s that time of the year again when I think about enjoying sweet treats with my family and close friends.
I want to share with you three budget-friendly desserts you can prepare at home that still look like stylish restaurant specialties. They don’t require advanced cooking skills but are a great addition to your festive table, whether you celebrate with friends, your closest family, or even by yourself.
Crème caramel with imagination
This caramel custard dessert is the perfect choice to demonstrate your decoration skills and amaze your guests.
Needed ingredients: a crème caramel ready mix from your local shop (I use the Dr. Oetker powder mix) and milk, as well as coconut shavings and sugar for the decoration.
First, add the ready-mix to the milk and bring to boil while stirring everything to get a smooth mixture. Once it begins to thicken, remove it from the stove, and pour into several small bowls or cups.
For the decoration, heat the sugar until it melts and turns a dark color. Then, take a bowl and turn it upside down. With a spoon, pour caramelized sugar over the bottom and sides of the bowl and spread it in random directions. It takes a few seconds for the caramel to cool. Carefully remove the molding so that the threads don’t break. The last step is to add a portion of the crème caramel inside your caramel bowl.
As a finishing touch, sprinkle coconut shavings on top of the custard to dull the bitter taste of the caramelized sugar. Your temptingly beautiful dessert is ready!
My tip: Use your imagination and create different shapes with the caramelized sugar to make each portion of the dessert look unique.
Stylish tiramisu cream
This classy dessert is sure to impress your partner, family, or friends.
Needed ingredients: a tiramisu cream ready mix and milk. For the decoration, you can use your favorite sweets, but I like biscuits, ladyfingers, chocolates, and raw nuts the most.
Like with the previous dessert, the first step is to stir the ready mix in the milk until it boils and thickens. Take several cocktail or dessert glasses and crumble some biscuits or ladyfingers at the bottom. Then, pour the tiramisu cream.
To decorate the dessert, use whatever treats you love and have at home: raw nuts, cookies, dried fruits, chocolates, and more. My favorite chocolates for decoration are those with cream and whole hazelnuts inside because they add a nice crunchy taste.
My tip: It is best to serve after putting the dessert in the freezer for 15 minutes.
Candies with a twist
These delicious treats have only two ingredients, but they can come in different tastes depending on what you use to decorate them.
Needed ingredients: plain biscuits and butter. For the decoration, I recommend chocolate spread, sugar syrup, nuts, coconut shavings, and sprinkles, but feel free to use whatever you have at home.
Crumble the biscuits in a deep bowl, add the butter, and knead everything well until it becomes smooth. After that, take small amounts of the mixture with your hands and roll them into balls. Arrange them on a plate and leave them for 15-20 minutes in the fridge so that the butter can harden a bit again.
Meanwhile, place the jar of chocolate spread in a large container filled with hot water for about ten minutes, so it melts.
Now it’s time for the decoration! To make coconut candies, dip a ball in sugar syrup and then roll it in coconut shavings. The syrup intensifies the taste of the coconut and helps the shavings stick better. To make chocolate candies, dip a ball in the melted chocolate spread and roll it in crushed nuts or sprinkles.
Lastly, put everything back in the fridge for another 15-20 minutes for the chocolate to harden.
My tip: Take a deep glass and arrange different candies to put on your festive table. You can also serve the coconut balls with strained yogurt: the perfect light dessert after a holiday feast.
Do you prepare desserts at home for the holidays? What are your favorite recipes and tips for great festive desserts? Tell us in the comments below.
We love to serve it with vla (vanilla sauce). Have you tried it?
