Traditional British Winter Desserts And What You Need To Make Them

Now that the weather has turned colder and the hours of daylight are much shorter, many will spend more of their time inside their homes snuggling up on the sofa eating comforting foods. Often, as the seasons change, and especially during the winter months, the food we eat changes too and families will be replacing salads and pasta dishes with warming meals like casseroles and stews. 

It isn’t just our main meals that we change when winter comes around either, many will mix up their go-to desserts and swap things like pavlova and trifle for desserts that can be enjoyed with warm custard. If you’re searching for some inspiration for classic traditional British desserts this winter, keep reading today. Below are some of the most commonly made after-dinner treats and what you’ll need ingredient-wise to make them yourself. 

Bread and butter pudding 

This is actually one of the easiest British desserts to make and it was originally designed to prevent wasting bread that was going stale. One of the earliest published recipes for a bread and butter pudding dates back to the early 1700’s and it has been enjoyed by Brits ever since. 

Whilst there are many different variations of the traditional bread and butter pudding, they all follow the same basic steps; layering slices of buttered bread that are scattered with raisins in an ovenproof dish and covering them with a seasoned egg custard mixture. 

If you want to make this dessert, you will need; 

• Bread (usually white)
• Butter 
• Raisins/sultanas 
• Milk 
• Cream 
• Eggs
• Sugar
• Nutmeg
• Vanilla extract 

Jam roly poly 

Everyone in the UK will be familiar with jam roly poly and this is another long standing dessert that has been enjoyed since the early 1800’s. This traditional pudding looks similar to the more modern swiss roll dessert and it is commonly served covered in custard. 

Making a jam roly poly is fairly straightforward and it is simply a flat-rolled suet pudding that is lathered with jam and then rolled up. You can either steam or bake a jam roly poly, but either way, it will taste amazing. 

To make a jam roly poly, you will need; 

• Self raising flour 
• Butter 
• Shredded suet
• Sugar 
• Milk 
• Vanilla essence or vanilla extract
• Raspberry jam 

Sticky toffee pudding 

For many Brits, this is their favourite winter desert and it is one that many will have multiple times throughout the colder months. The exact origins of the sticky toffee pudding are unknown, but it has been enjoyed for centuries by people here in the UK. 

This traditional dessert is essentially a very moist sponge cake that is made with finely chopped dates and of course, it gets its name from the toffee sauce that it is covered in. It is slightly more difficult to make than other British desserts, but you can easily pick them up ready made, like Aunty’s microwave puddings. 

If you want to try making it yourself, you will need; 

• Butter
• Sugar
• Eggs
• Self-raising flour
• Baking powder
• Bicarbonate of soda
• Black treacle
• Milk
• Dates 
• Double cream

Apple crumble 

Nowadays, this is probably one of the most versatile British desserts you can make and you can have any type of fruit in your crumble. However, traditionally it was made with apples and for many, this will still be their favourite type of crumble. 

It is fair to say that this is also one of the most straightforward desserts you can make and even if you have no baking experience, you will still be able to create an amazing apple crumble. It is much much easier than apple pie, due to its crumbly top and not needing any pastry. 

To make this dessert, all you will need is; 

• Apples
• Caster sugar 
• Plain flour
• Butter 

Purchasing the ingredients you need for classic British desserts 

It goes without saying that you don’t need an excuse to make any of these traditional British desserts this winter and they are the perfect after-dinner sweet treat whether you have friends round on a Sunday or you simply fancy something yummy on a Tuesday. Thankfully, you will be able to pick up the ingredients for all of these desserts in any British supermarket too. 

No matter where you are in the world this winter, if you’re looking for a way to get all of your favourite British treats delivered to your door, be sure to visit the British Essentials website. We are proud to be a trustworthy British food import store and you really can rely on us to supply you with all of the big named British brands that you know and love. Feel free to browse the rest of our website today to see exactly what we can offer you.