Traditional Christmas desserts with a twist

Botanical gin and tonic trifle

This pretty bowl of gin-spiked delight is your Christmas dessert sorted. The best bit: you can do this in stages, bits and bobs, here and there, as you get ready for Christmas. All you need to do on the day is whip a bit of cream and sprinkle all the pretty flowers, herbs and bits of delight on top.

I've kept it a little lighter – lemon curd does some of the heavy lifting rather than the usual custard. This keeps that amazing gin flavour alive through the layers. I've also ditched the traditional sponge for the crunch of golden pastry – it adds a textural reprieve between the layers. The addition of mini pavs at the top ticks two of our must-have desserts off the Christmas list. A trifle pav. Perfect.

INGREDIENTS

G&T jelly

6 titanium strength gelatin leaves

300g castor sugar

300ml water

250ml gin (I used Winston Quinn Slim Crop, but any floral, botanical gin works well)

400ml tonic water (I used Fevertree)

Pavlovas

4 egg whites

pinch of salt

1 cup castor sugar

1 tsp lemon juice or white wine vinegar

1 tsp cornflour

Lemon curd

zest and juice of 4 lemons

⅔ cup butter (about 160g)

1½ cups castor sugar

2 decent sprigs of lemon thyme

4 eggs plus 4 egg yolks

60ml gin

Crumble layer

1 sheet sweet shortcrust pastry (I used Careme)

¼ cup white chocolate chips (I used Callebaut)

½ cup roasted macadamias, roughly chopped

Whipped gin cream

400ml cream

¼ cup icing sugar

60ml gin

To garnish

125g fresh honeycomb (or a small drizzle of floral honey)

lemon verbena leaves

lemon thyme

about 20g freeze-dried raspberries

1 small punnet of edible flowers

METHOD

For the gin and tonic jelly bloom the gelatin in a bowl of icy cold water and set aside.

Add the sugar and 300ml of water to a large saucepan. Bring to the boil and stir regularly to dissolve the sugar. Add the gin and stir to combine. Add the bloomed gelatin sheets and whisk vigorously. Once fully incorporated add the tonic water and whisk again. Pour into a 25cm-diameter trifle bowl and place in the fridge to set overnight.

For mini pavlovas preheat oven to 150C and line several oven trays with baking paper.

Whisk egg whites and a pinch of salt in an electric mixer to soft peaks (4 to 5 minutes), then, with motor running, gradually add sugar and whisk until firm and glossy (2 to 3 minutes). Whisk in the lemon juice or vinegar, then fold in cornflour. Using 2 dessert spoons, shape into rough quenelles and place onto trays. Place trays in preheated oven, reduce the temperature to 120C, and bake until meringues are crisp but not coloured (1-1¼ hours). Turn off heat and cool completely in oven with the door closed (3 to 4 hours). Meringues will keep in an airtight container for one day.

To make the lemon curd add the lemon juice and zest, butter and castor sugar to a saucepan. Place over low-medium heat and cook for 1 to 2 minutes or until incorporated. Add the sprigs of lemon thyme and set aside for 10 minutes.

Remove the lemon thyme then add the eggs and yolks and return pan to the heat. Whisk continually until mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon. Add the gin and cook for another minute, then allow to cool slightly (about 15 minutes) before gently pouring the lemon curd across the gin and tonic jelly layer. Return the trifle bowl to the fridge for at least two hours to cool completely.

For the crumble preheat oven to 180C and line a baking tray with baking paper.

Place the sweet shortcrust pastry sheet on the lined tray and bake until golden and brown, about 10 minutes. Remove and allow to cool before breaking into 20-cent-coin-sized pieces into a bowl. Toss together with the white chocolate chips and roasted macadamias. Sprinkle the mixture over the top of the curd layer.

To assemble: On the day of serving, whip the cream to medium-firm peaks. Sift the icing sugar over the cream and whisk to incorporate. Just before serving, stir through the gin. Dollop the cream on top of the crumble layer. Gently arrange the mini pavlovas over the gin cream layer until they reach the top of your trifle dish (you should have about two layers of meringue; just place them as best you can; there is no need to be precise). Scatter over the garnish toppings and finish with broken pieces of fresh honeycomb at the centre.

Serves 8-10

Christmas roulade with pudding, cherries and white chocolate

This roulade is loosely based on a Helen Goh recipe – the roulade never fails or cracks and breaks. Baking should always reward, and this is no exception. I happened to have some leftover gold edible glitter and crystalised verbena leaves from a kids' birthday cake which look pretty, but are by no means a necessity.

INGREDIENTS

Spiced sponge

4 large eggs, separated

2 heaped tsp mixed spice

130g castor sugar

2 tbsp water

70g almond meal (freshly ground is best)

80g self-raising flour

20g icing sugar

Spiced nougat and Christmas pud cream

250g cream cheese, softened and cut into cubes

150g white chocolate, melted

1 tsp vanilla bean extract

85g soft nougat, chopped into bite-sized pieces

100g Christmas pudding, roughly chopped

Topping

½ cup glace cherries, halved

2 tsp edible gold glitter (optional)

25g freeze-dried sour cherries

a few crystallised verbena leaves (optional)

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 170C and line a swiss roll tin (about 22cm x 30cm) with baking paper.

2. Place the egg yolks and mixed spice in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Start to beat on low speed.

3. Meanwhile, add the sugar and water to a saucepan and place over medium-high heat. Stir regularly until the sugar has dissolved but not taken on any colour. Remove and allow to cool slightly (about 45 seconds), then pour down the side of the bowl of the egg yolks. Be careful that this isn't burning, or it will collapse the egg yolks. Increase speed to medium and whisk for about 4 minutes or until thick and creamy.

4. Remove the bowl from the stand mixer then gently fold through the almond meal and self-raising flour.

5. In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form, then gently fold the almond mixture through the egg white mixture, one third at a time.

6. Scrape the batter into the tray and bake for 15 minutes or until the cake springs back to the touch in the centre. Remove and set aside.

7. Sift half the icing sugar over the cake and cover with a clean tea towel. Place a wire rack on top then flip it so the wire rack is underneath. Lift the tray off, carefully peel away the baking paper and lightly dust the top of the cake with the remaining icing sugar.

8. With one of the short ends of the sponge facing towards you, roll up the still warm cake with the tea towel inside. Allow the rolled cake to rest for 20 minutes or so, then gently unroll and set aside to cool completely. The cake will be curved at the ends, but this helps prevent the sponge from breaking – it trains it for its second roll.

9. Add the filling ingredients, except the nougat and pudding pieces, to a bowl and whisk vigorously until thoroughly combined.

10. When ready to assemble, remove the tea towel from the cake. Use a small spatula to spread most of the white chocolate and cream cheese mixture across the surface of the sponge, leaving a 2cm border without any cream at the short end of the cake furthest away from you. Scatter the chunks of nougat and Christmas pudding over the cream.

11. Roll the cake up as you did before. Transfer the cake to a long platter.

12. If you have a few tablespoons or so of the white chocolate cream cheese remaining spread this along the top of the roulade, to help the toppings to stick. Scatter over the freeze-dried sour cherries, glace cherries and any other Christmassy toppings you'd like to use, then cut into 2.5-3cm-thick slices and serve.

Serves 10