Christmas Desserts
Ten classic festive bakes in one online short class: fruit cake, gingerbread men and a gingerbread house, Linzer cookies, a chocolate-raspberry bûche de Noël, Christmas pudding and plated chocolate desserts. Learn them through self-paced video lessons from APCA Chef Online.
Quick Facts
- Category: Short Class
- Recipes: 10 festive desserts
- Format: Online video lessons
- Learn: Any day, anytime, at your own pace
- Theme: Christmas baking and pastry
Course Trailer Video — Coming Soon
What Are Christmas Desserts?
Christmas desserts are the sweets traditionally baked for the festive season across Europe and beyond: dense fruit cakes and steamed puddings rich with dried fruit and spice, gingerbread shaped into figures and houses, jam-filled Linzer cookies from Austria, and the French bûche de Noël, a rolled sponge decorated to look like a Yule log.
Many of these recipes are made ahead: fruit cakes and Christmas puddings mature over weeks, and gingerbread keeps well, which is why they became holiday staples long before refrigeration. Modern pastry kitchens add plated and layered desserts, such as chocolate with passion fruit, to the same festive menu.
The 10 Christmas Recipes
Every recipe in the Christmas Desserts short class, with a video lesson for each.
Fruit Cake with Christmas Deco
A rich, fruit-packed Christmas cake finished with festive decoration, the centrepiece of a traditional holiday table.
Passion and Milk Chocolate
A plated chocolate dessert that pairs the sharp, tropical tang of passion fruit with smooth, creamy milk chocolate.
Fromage Chibust
A cheese-based take on the classic French chiboust: light set cream with a caramelised, crackly sugar top.
Cakes Aztec
A deep chocolate cake inspired by the cocoa-and-spice flavours of Aztec drinking chocolate.
Gingerbread Man
The classic spiced Christmas cookie, cut into gingerbread figures and decorated with royal icing.
Buche Chocolate Raspberry
A French bûche de Noël (Yule log): rolled chocolate sponge with raspberry, finished to look like a winter log.
Linzer Cookies
Austrian sandwich cookies made with tender nut shortbread, a jam filling and a window cut-out dusted with icing sugar.
Gingerbread House
Spiced gingerbread panels baked, assembled and decorated with icing and sweets into a festive house.
Noel
A festive Noël dessert built for the Christmas table, finished with seasonal decoration.
Christmas Pudding
The traditional British steamed Christmas pudding, dark with dried fruit and warm spices.
Tips For Better Christmas Baking
- Bake fruit cakes and Christmas puddings ahead: their flavour deepens as they rest
- Chill gingerbread and Linzer dough before rolling so the shapes hold their edges in the oven
- Roll a bûche sponge while it is still warm so it does not crack later
- Let gingerbread house panels cool and firm up completely before assembling
- Use seedless jam in Linzer cookies for a clean, glossy window
Part Of APCA Short Classes
Christmas Desserts is one of the short classes at APCA Chef Online: focused courses on one topic at a time, curated by professional award-winning chefs, that you can learn any day, anytime.
Frequently Asked Questions
Ten recipes: Fruit Cake with Christmas Deco, Passion and Milk Chocolate, Fromage Chibust, Cakes Aztec, Gingerbread Man, Buche Chocolate Raspberry, Linzer Cookies, Gingerbread House, Noel and Christmas Pudding.
Yes. It is an APCA Chef Online short class taught through video lessons that you can watch any day, anytime.
A bûche de Noël, or Yule log, is a French Christmas cake made from a rolled sponge with a filling, decorated to look like a log. The course version is chocolate and raspberry.
Linzer cookies are Austrian sandwich cookies made from a buttery nut dough, filled with jam and topped with a cookie that has a small window cut out of it.
Many can. Fruit cake and Christmas pudding are traditionally made in advance, and gingerbread keeps well, which makes them practical for the festive season.
Browse all APCA Chef Online short classes, such as Tarts and Torte, Cheesecake and Choux and Cookies, on the Short Classes page.
More From APCA Chef Online
Want more festive baking? Browse all Short Classes, try Tarts and Torte, or go deeper with the complete Pastry Program.