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5 Freezer-Friendly Holiday Desserts

Here at RICARDO, we’re mad about desserts. But we know that when the stress of holiday entertaining creeps in, the last course isn’t always front of mind. A crowd-pleasing dessert doesn’t have to be a complicated affair. Enter these five freezer-happy treats. Prepare them well before your guests arrive—try days, if not a week, before—then simply thaw and serve.

1. Chocolate and Clementine Yule Log

Our idea behind this cake was to create a yule log that not only holds up nicely in the freezer (even when iced and decorated!), but tastes delicious—and just a little bit different. Mission accomplished, thanks to white chocolate whipped cream and clementine slices that you confit, like a pro, in your microwave. If you decide to assemble this bûche the day of, you can still get a jump on a couple of steps: Both whipped cream and candied citrus will keep well in the refrigerator for a few days.

2. Chocolate Mousse Cake

We have to confess that we still love McCain Deep ’n Delicious, the cornerstone frozen dessert of our childhood. This mousse cake is our homage to the Canadian favourite, just in time for the holidays. It starts with a bottom layer of cake, and includes cream, in lieu of egg whites, to give the mousse better consistency. A final flourish of warm, gooey ganache, after the cake is removed from the freezer, is guaranteed to impress. Prediction: This sinful treat won’t last long in your house. 

3. Sticky Toffee Pudding Cake

This holiday homage to sticky toffee pudding elevates the classic English dessert to cake status. Made in a large soufflé dish with a Quebec pouding chômeur technique, the moist, date-laden cake holds up beautifully when frozen in advance. Come serving time, just submerge in a hot water bath to unlock all that caramel goodness at the bottom, and accompany with whipped cream.

4. Eggnog Cheesecake

Our recipe developers are masters of reinvention. They’ve outdone themselves with this take on two of the season’s staples: eggnog and cheesecake (always a natural for the freezer). This innovative spin on both sticks to all the flavour fundamentals we know and love—graham cracker crust, cream cheese, eggnog spices, rum—and binds them together in what we’re calling a new holiday classic. Who knew the best eggnog is one you eat with a fork?

5. Mont Blanc Chestnut Cake

Mont Blanc is the signature dessert at Angelina, a pastry shop in Paris that has served the ­alpine-like dome, layered with meringue, chantilly cream (sweet whipped cream) and vermicelli made of sweet chestnut purée, since 1903. While all of our freezer cakes can be enjoyed fresh, our Mont Blanc was expressly adapted to be made and frozen ahead of time. Don’t forget to dust it with icing sugar before serving to recreate the snow-capped splendour of Western Europe’s highest peak.

In order to help you in this quest to freeze your desserts, check out our 10 commandments for freezing food. There are ways to optimize your freezing methods and ensure safe defrosting of your recipes!