The Steamed Christmas Pudding is one seasonal special, which you will want to keep preparing all round the year! Indeed, this buttery pudding made of bread crumbs, eggs and plain flour has a succulence and flavour, which make it quite addictive. The steamed pudding gets its extraordinary flavour, which is sweet, tangy and spicy, from a combination of ingredients like lemon rind, orange peel, ginger powder and cinnamon powder. Eggs are essential to get the authentic texture, while a medley of nuts give you a crunchy surprise in every bite! Enjoy the Steamed Christmas Pudding warm, with a scoop of ice-cream.

Italians are credited for creating yet another famous dessert , the Cassata. The name cassata literally means "little case" due to its brick shape. Cassata is an ice-cream, shaped like a brick, consisting of layers of ice-creams of different flavours on liqueur soaked sponge. This is the Sicilian version of the dessert. I have chosen ready-made ice-cream to make a quick dessert. You may make the ice-cream yourself at home. Rum steeped sponge cake, topped with a layer of strawberry ice-cream, flavoured rum soaked sultanas, candied peel, finally topped with coffee cinnamon ice-cream and garnished with grated chocolate. You can prepare the cassata upto 2 to 3 days in advance and keep it frozen. A great dessert for a great evening! Also do try other Italian desserts like Tiramisu , Almond Biscotti and Sicilian Orange Almond Cake .

The word "cassata" literally means "little case" due to its brick shape. Cassata is an ice-cream, shaped like a brick, consisting of layers of ice-creams of different flavours on liqueur soaked sponge. This is the Sicilian version of the dessert. I have chosen ready-made ice-cream to make a quick dessert. You may make the ice-cream yourself at home. You can prepare the cassata upto 2 to 3 days in advance and keep it frozen. A great dessert for a great evening!

A favourite Italian dessert of a sinfully rich chocolate cake sandwiched with a fruity ricotta filling topped with coffee cream. "ricotta" is a fresh and creamy soft Italian cheese similar to cottage cheese, but with a sweeter flavour, ideal for savouries and desserts. I have used freshly made cream cheese instead of ricotta for this recipe which gives very good results. You may need to increase the quantity of cream for the filling if the cream cheese seems too dry. If you like, you can even add fresh fruits in the ricotta filling. You can also try other interesting chocolaty desserts like Chocolate Truffle Ice Cream , Sizzling Brownie or Chocolate Walnut Fudge .