Elderflower jelly, minced meat baklava, cassata ice cream – Nigel Slater's Christmas dessert recipes

There's a roughly cut sesame-flavored halva with dark chocolate, nuts, and sweet rose petals; golden baklava wedges with layers of sweetened ground meat and buttery filo; sparkling candied fruit and amaretti ice cream, and verrines of jelly that smell good of sweet orange, elderflower, pomegranate and fresh mint. A bowl of quince was cooked until the fruit was as red as garnet and as sticky as honey. The candles are lit. The Christmas dessert table is set.

As much as I love the traditional plum pudding with its sprig of holly and wreath of flames, so too is the sumptuously layered trifle. soft and white as goose down and chopped button-sized pies bubbly with sifted sugar, I like to offer more - a handful of little surprises, little temptations that no one expects. It's pure pleasure for the cook, the day spent putting a jar of cassata in the freezer or halva in a box; simmering jellies in the fridge, for tomorrow or the day after.

None of my Christmas extras need to be eaten when they're made. All keep for a day or two, and the ice cream can stay in the freezer all Christmas, ready to be sliced ​​or cut on New Year's Day. Flavored with orange and almond zest, vine fruits and candied citrus fruits; Sprinkled with chopped pistachios and rose petals or sprayed with gold, they are the essence of the season, sweets to have fun with and enjoy. None take very long to make, nor do they require special equipment. Just an hour or two to do something special, magical, a little something extra for anyone who comes calling.

Orange and Elderflower Jelly with Pomegranate and Mint (pictured above )

Sparkling jelly, well made with fruit juice and lightly set with gelatin sheets, is a refreshing delight among the sweet richness of Christmas. It also comes, at least in this house, with a whole bag of nostalgia for my childhood Christmases. Then we ate it with canned tangerines and maraschino cherries. These days, I prefer something more tangy and crunchy, like a pomegranate and mint salad.

Gelatin powder and I've never been friends, but the gelatin sheets give a smoother and more predictable overall taste. If you soak them in water no warmer than room temperature, the resulting drop of gelatin is easily removed with your hands and dropped into the slightly warmed juice, where it will dissolve with a stir or two. The hotter it is, your gelatin will lose its effectiveness and be difficult to use. Between cream and sugar, chocolate and icing, it's a quiet pleasure to come across a simple fruit paste. This recipe takes minutes.

Makes 6sheets gelatin 10g (5 sheets)orange juice 500ml elderflower cordial 60ml

For the saladpomegranate ½ mint leaves 20 caster sugar 4 tablespoons

To finishelderflower cordial 6 tablespoons

Soak the gelatine leaves in a bowl of cold water (not ice cold) pushing the leaves under water one at a time to prevent them from sticking.

Warm the orange juice in a saucepan, but do not leave it near the boiling. Remove the gelatin from the water - it should be a spongy lump - and stir it into the hot orange juice. When the gelatin is completely dissolved, stir in the 60 ml of cordial and pour into a pitcher. Pour into glasses or small dishes – the glass will help the jelly catch the light. Transfer to the refrigerator and let set for a good 4 hours.

Remove the skin from the pomegranate and separate the seeds. Be sure to remove any paper skin. Place the mint leaves and sugar in the bowl of a food processor and blend until the sugar turns green. Take the jelly out of the fridge and drizzle the surface of each with a tablespoon of elderflower syrup. Place a spoonful of pomegranate seeds on each jelly with a little mint sugar. Store any extra mint sugar in a jar for another day.

Chocolate Covered Halva