IN LIEU OF A TRADITIONAL DESSERT, TRY ONE OF HELEN’S FESTIVE ALTERNATIVES

Cooking apples

MAKES 16-20 pieces PREP 20 mins plus 3 hrs chilling COOK 8 mins EASY 50g butter, plus extra for the tin400g blonde white chocolate (or use500g regular white chocolate),broken into pieces100g white cho

SERVES 8-10 PREP 20 mins plus cooling and 1 hr macerating COOK 45 mins EASY 200g butter, softened, plus extrafor the tin200g golden caster sugar4 eggs200g self-raising flour1 tsp baking powder2 tbsp m

SERVES 12 Topped with a chocolate butterscotch sauce, this makes a great alternative to traditional Christmas pudding. YOU WILL NEED 375g Medjool dates, pitted,roughly chopped5 balls stem ginger in sy

For those who think they don’t like trifle, forget rubbery jelly, soggy fruit, mushy sponge and sickly sweetness. We’ve omitted the jelly and used florentine between the layers for chewy crunch. Poach