Christmas is coming!

Christmas is actually around the corner, and there is bound to be some activity with the menus and party planning. When I last wrote about Christmas desserts we had spoken about using fresh fruits to make desserts that are best served warm and are soul satisfying.

Two more Christmas dessert recipes are given here for you.

BAKED PAPAYA WITH SPICED WALNUT FILLING: Preheat oven at 190 degrees C. Roll up four pieces of silver foil into thin sausage shapes and use them to hold the halved papaya in an ovenproof dish. Mix 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind, 1½ teaspoons lemon juice with 2 tablespoons sunflower oil, 2 teaspoons ground ginger, 2 teaspoons cinnamon powder, ¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg and 3 tablespoons brown sugar. Stir in ½ cup finely chopped walnuts and 1 cup brown breadcrumbs; mix until the crumbs are evenly moistened. Spoon the mixture into the halves of 2 small deseeded ripe papayas forming a heap. Bake for about twenty minutes, until the filling is browned. Serve hot with yogurt.

CARAMELIZED PINEAPPLE GRATIN: Mix 3-4 tablespoons vanilla custard powder with half a cup of cold milk, mix till smooth and set aside. Heat 2 ½ cups milk with 4 tablespoons sugar and bring to a boil. Stir in the cold custard milk and cook on low heat, stirring continuously, till thick and creamy. Remove from heat, cool and refrigerate to chill. Combine cubes of ½ medium ripe pineapple, ¼ cup dark rum, 2 tbsps unsalted butter, few drops vanilla essence and half a cup of brown sugar in a saucepan and cook on medium heat for eight to ten minutes or till caramelized. Transfer the caramelized pineapple into a greased baking dish. Spoon the prepared custard over the caramelized pineapple evenly. Mix ½ cup brown sugar with 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind and sprinkle over the custard. Cook the pineapple and custard under a hot grill for four to five minutes or until the sugar has melted and caramelized. Serve.

As we wish for your repertoire of Christmas dessert recipes to keep growing every year, how about browsing through these too? Christmas waffles, Christmas Pudding Ice cream, Christmas Punch.