11 Best Christmas Desserts

A collection of 11 of my favourite Christmas dessert and candy recipes, from cakes to squares, nougat, pavlovas, cupcakes and more!

Christmas Gumdrop Nougat Candy

Who knew that marshmallows and white chocolate chips would make a chewy and delicious nougat? I do now! And with festive red and green gumdrops, this is a perfect Christmas treat. This Christmas Gumdrop Nougat Candy is an easy no-bake creation that’s perfect for the holiday season. Great as a homemade gift! Any of your friends or family would be happy to receive this cheerful little reminder of Christmases past.

Easy Christmas Crack Recipe

Sometimes the simplest, easiest recipes are the best ones! This Easy 5-Ingredient Christmas Crack Recipe is a holiday favourite! These dressed-up crackers are sweet, salty, caramel-y, and so chocolate-y. Perfect for cookie trays, holiday snack tables, cookie exchanges, and gift giving. One bite and you will understand the name! 

Classic Butter Rum Cake

Today I’m sharing my recipe for Classic Butter Rum Cake with Butter Rum Caramel Sauce. Just like Grandma used to make! This cake always appeared at the treat table at family gatherings when I was a kid and I finally decided to make it myself. This Butter Rum Cake is made up of 3 layers: The butter rum cake, the chopped pecan topping, and the butter rum caramel sauce. All the essentials of the most delicious Christmas dessert ever!

While my version is mostly homemade, I did use two shortcuts that I don’t apologize for in the slightest: golden cake mix and instant vanilla pudding mix. I’m sure my grandma didn’t use them but sometimes you just have to make things easier! These mixes make a moist, flavourful, and super delicious cake that I know your family and friends will enjoy.

Easy Eggnog Sheet Cake

I don’t know about you but sometimes I put pressure on myself to make everything from scratch, especially for the holidays. But as I get older, and the more I cook and bake and entertain, the more I realize that we don’t need to do everything from scratch. There are perfectly delicious recipe shortcuts we can use that take away a lot of the stress we put on ourselves. 

This Eggnog Sheet Cake with Eggnog Frosting is a great example of mostly homemade. I used a boxed Golden Cake Mix and pre-made buttercream frosting as the base. Then to give this cake some festive holiday flavour, I added creamy eggnog, rum, cinnamon, and nutmeg to the batter. Then I added a little rum and a bit of nutmeg to the icing mix to give it that eggnog flavour. This easy frosting pairs perfectly with the cake. The end result of your mostly homemade baking is a delicious and flavourful holiday dessert!  Eggnog-y, sweet, rich, moist, and super tasty. The perfect holiday dessert, with very little work or stress!

Cherry Cheesecake Cupcakes

If there’s one dessert that reminds me of Christmas as a kid, it’s these Cherry Cheesecake Cupcakes. My mom used to make them every year and I love them so much! Creamy smooth cheesecake on a vanilla wafer crust, topped with delicious cherry pie filling. Yes, they really are as good as they sound. These cupcakes are also really easy to make, much easier than a full cheesecake! They’re basically fool-proof.

Another thing I love about them is that they are actually better the day after you make them, because they set nicely in the fridge overnight and can even be served slightly cooler than room temperature. This and the fact that they are easy to transport makes them the perfect treat for Christmas dessert trays, potlucks, and bake sales too! I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do. 

Sticky Date Pudding Bundt Cake

This Sticky Date Pudding Bundt Cake with homemade Toffee Sauce is a perfect holiday dessert, and my personal take on the traditional sticky toffee pudding. The cake is tender, rich, and so flavourful, and tastes amazing with the homemade toffee sauce and a dollop of whipping cream. It’s the perfect ending to a delicious holiday dinner. One pan, one cake, and easy to serve! 

Chocolatey German Chocolate Cake

Oh my, this cake. It’s a dream. This German Chocolate Cake has to be one of my most favourite cakes of all time. I have such nice memories of when my mom made this cake for my birthday as a kid. That delicious coconut pecan caramel frosting with chocolate cake…it’s stuck with me forever.

I make this cake as a bundt cake because I love bundt cakes so much, as anyone who has been following me for any amount of time will know! I love the pretty pans, the shape the cakes come out as, and that they just look and feel special. This is a real showstopper dessert that is fancy-looking enough for any occasion, including Christmas dinner! Serve it with a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream and you are all set. 

Raspberry Eton Mess

Raspberries are my favourite fruit. So sweet with a nice little tang of sour, they are the perfect complement to so many desserts! And this Eton Mess is no exception. Eton mess was always something that I never thought to make because it just sounded too fancy and too hard, but in actual fact it’s neither of those things. I also didn’t realize that it’s really just a broken up Pavlova…what?! And honestly, after making this three times, I don’t know that I’ve ever had a dessert that I loved more. Layers of crunchy marshmallowy meringue, sweet and tart raspberry compote, and creamy whipped cream. The BEST. And a perfect red and white Christmas dessert. 

Christmas Dessert Cheese Plate

Are you looking for something different to serve as a dessert at your Christmas gathering this year? Think outside the charcuterie board, and make a Dessert Cheese Plate! This plate is loaded up with delicious cheese, chocolate, nuts, and fruit! Perfect for entertaining. More often than not, we think of cheese plates as savoury, but cheese is a wonderful addition to dessert too. Paired with all the right things, this dessert cheese plate is a perfect way to end a meal or to snack on while you visit. Nuts, honey, berries, pear & garlic jam, chocolate, fresh pears, oat cookies, pastries, figs…so much deliciousness all on one plate. Who can resist this?

Butter Tart Square

Are you looking for the perfect potluck dessert? With Christmas just around the corner, chances are you will be needing to contribute to a dinner or party at some point. Try these Butter Tart Squares! I like to stick with tried and true family favourites for gatherings, and this is one of the best. This square is really just a more simple version of a butter tart.  Classic Canadian butter tarts have a pie crust as the base, but Butter Tart Squares have a shortbread crust. On top of the shortbread is a delicious, gooey, sweet, and buttery layer filled with nuts and raisins, or neither. (I’m willing to fight about this. Butter Tart Squares should have raisins. The end. haha) The perfect addition to any potluck table! And for a really festive twist, try making them with a shortbread cookie crust!

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Have a delicious day!