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Food and Drink
What’s the best Christmas dessert? This is Team Stylist’s official ranking of festive puddings
By Stylist Team
2 years ago
5 min read
Are mince pies delicious or vile? Can you really class gingerbread as a pudding? Sixteen Stylist staffers battled it out to crown the ultimate festive dessert.
Nothing has ignited such intense debate among the Stylist team as when they were asked: Christmas pudding, yay or nay? Hours of back and forth about the merits of this classic dessert ensued, and it got us thinking: what other sweet festive fare could we weigh up?
Cut to a week later in the Stylist office, when 16 staffers passionately dragged and dropped eight Christmassy desserts to rank them from best to worst via a Very Official Online Survey. We counted the votes, we did the maths and now we bring you Stylist’s definitive ranking of festive puddings…
8. Christmas cake
Maybe Team Stylist is full of raisin haters. Maybe the public campaign against marzipan that’s been running for as long as we can remember has finally taken hold. Maybe it’s because some among us don’t consider it a real dessert (*cough* Stylist’s entertainment director Helen Bownass). Whatever the reason, at the bottom of our leaderboard, Christmas cake won’t be making an appearance at many Stylist festive gatherings this year.
7. Stollen
A lesser-spotted alternative to Christmas cake, this almondy dessert adds proof to the hypothesis that Stylist is not a hub of marzipan lovers. The icing sugar dusting may feel snowy and festive, but it’s a polite ‘no’ from the team. Most of the team, at least. “As a marzipan apologist, I’m not happy with this ranking,” says Stylist’s features writer Holly Bullock, “but for the sake of team harmony, I’ve decided to let it go.”
6. Christmas pudding
What we’re learning is that raisin-packed stodge is not a hit with Team Stylist. While some are furious that this classic – the classic – didn’t rank higher, the general verdict in the office is that setting it on fire is the best part. Eating it… not so much. (If you’re open-mouthed with horror at this ranking, Stylist’s digital content director Felicity Thistlethwaite is with you. “There is nothing better than a steaming bowl of Christmas pudding smothered with hot custard after a giant plate of turkey and PIBs. This is a hill I’m willing to die on (probably as I follow in my mother’s footsteps trying desperately to set fire to a spoonful of old brandy on 25 December),” she says.
5. Mince pies
Just missing out on reaching the top half of this lineup, mince pies are the ultimate Christmas dessert for neutrals. Aside from the aforementioned raisin-haters, they’re unlikely to upset anyone; equally, they’re unlikely to generate much excitement. According to writer Shahed Ezaydi, there’s an optimal way to serve them: “Warmed up in the microwave is the only way to enjoy mince pies,” she says. Perhaps one to serve with a cup of tea on weekday December afternoons rather than on the big day.
4. Trifle
Debates about whether this is a Christmas dessert (rather than, say, a children’s birthday party staple) rage on but, the Stylist team are fans nonetheless. Often an unsung star of Boxing Day rather than Christmas Day itself, whether you prefer to stick with a classic strawberry/raspberry and vanilla flavour pairing or go for something less traditional (chocolate orange, anyone?), it certainly provides welcome relief for anyone who spends December swerving dried fruit.
“Sponge, cream, glace cherries, jelly and custard: five of the greatest sweet things ever invented,” says Stylist’s deputy editor Tom Gormer. “All together and in a huge bowl, it looks show-stoppingly amazing on the table, and nobody can say that about a stollen or a pudding that is literally on fire. Trifle forever.”
3. Gingerbread
Can a biscuit really count as a dessert? There’s been much debate about this in the Stylist office. According to Stylist’s sub-editor Steven Cowan, gingerbread is a “baffling inclusion” in this list. “It’s available in biscuit/person form 365 days a year,” he says. But deputy digital editor Ellen Scott is much more on board. “For me, it’s only when the gingerbread biscuits are in the oven that Christmas has truly begun.”
For this purpose, we’re going with Ellen’s manifesto. Enjoyed by almost everyone on the team, this is a true people-pleaser to hand around after a Friendsmas dinner or casual Christmas get-together. Determining whether people start with the head or limbs of a gingerbread person is the ultimate personality test, right?
2. Panettone
What’s this? A surprise fan favourite? The Italian bread-slash-cake almost took our top spot thanks to its moreishly squidgy texture and supreme versatility. Toasted and buttered? Sounds great. Made into bread and butter pudding? Also excellent. Broken off from the main loaf and nibbled? Still good.
“I’m not a fan of many traditional Christmas desserts, but I can eat cloudlike pannetone by the fistful,” says Stylist contributor Moya Crockett. “It’s satisfyingly tear-able and share-able and delicately sweet rather than punching you in the face with overpowering flavours. Plus, the fancy packaging makes it look like a gift in its own right – rightly or wrongly, I still think turning up to a festive gathering with a posh pannetone in tow is a very chic move.” The only thing that could pip it to the post is…
1. Yule log
In true chocolate-loving form, this crowd-pleasing dessert came out on top with Team Stylist. Like a Colin the Caterpillar cake that’s suddenly been made Christmassy, it’s the ultimate festive dessert for people who don’t like festive desserts (and a fun departure for those who do). Annie Simpson, Stylist’s email content editor, is a big fan. “Although I’d give it a few hours before tucking in after Christmas dinner, it’s my top pick of puddings,” she says. “Chocolately and rich is exactly what I lean towards during the festive season.” Full marks, no notes. Yule log: you are our winner; keep doing what you’re doing.
Image: Getty
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