Best shop-bought desserts for Christmas 2014
Over five weeks, the BBC Good Food team blind-tasted hundreds of supermarket products to create the ultimate best buys collection for Christmas 2014. Here, we share our eight favourite decadent desserts.
Best... Stylish dessert
Heston from Waitrose ultimate chocolate bar dessert
The dessert of the season? This layered slice of caramel mousse, crunchy chocolate biscuit, salted caramel and nougat mousse has serious visual clout thanks to its glossy finish and defined interior.
£9.99, from Waitrose
Best... Panettone
Lidl Favorina large panettone
We loved the buttery dough of this budget bread. It's evenly filled with dried fruits and the bread has a nice rise to it and tears apart beautifully.
£3.99, from Lidl
Best... Party pudding
Sainsbury's salted caramel wreath
Consisting of deliciously indulgent caramel mousse and choux pastry with chocolate decorations on top, this extra-special pud means business. The pastry has good texture and doesn't go soggy - a winner all-round.
£12, from Sainsbury's
Best... Stollen
Aldi Specially Selected luxury stollen
This affordable log has a thick layer of almonds running across the top and looks really impressive. It is sweet, squidgy, fruity and very moreish.
£4.99, from Aldi
Best... Christmas pudding
Lidl 18-month matured Christmas pudding
This was our stand-out favourite pudding. The flavours blend well with a hint of treacle, whole nuts and a touch of booze.
£7.99, from Lidl
Best... Special diet Christmas pudding
Sainsbury's gluten-free Christmas pudding
This gluten-free offering is a sweet, mild pudding, with a good coarse texture and fruity flavours. This has more citrus notes than other puds we tried.
£3.99, from Sainsbury's
Best... Family cake
Co-op Loved by Us snowman cake
This cute cake is small but enough to feed eight children. Thin icing covers good Madeira sponge with a cream and jam filling.
£6, from Co-op
Best... Christmas cake
Tesco Finest hand-decorated falling holly rich fruit cake
This cake is one elegant and boozy festive number. The double-tier, sticky cake comes with pretty decorations, soft icing and great chunks of fruit and nut.
£20, from Tesco
Best... Centrepiece
M&S Made Without Gluten Christmas cake
This cake was the most attractive gluten-free cake we tried. It has a sticky middle with an added hit of booze plus the elegant decoration would look beautiful on any table.
£12, from M&S
For more taste-tested products, equipment rundowns and buying advice, visit our review section, plus our Christmas kitchen contains everything you'll ever need for perfect festive feasting.
