There are loaaads of brilliant gluten free desserts in the shops this December, so here’s a little round up of my favourite finds. I’ve also included some gluten free dessert recipes in case you prefer homemade options. Whether you decide to make your own or buy a premade creation, there is something here for you! I have broken this gluten free desserts list down into categories to make your decisions easier.
Festive Gluten Free Desserts 2019
1. Lemon Meringue Yule Log
This is a homemade dessert and one of my faves for Christmas time. Gluten free sponge roulade, with lemon curd and mascarpone cream filling, then a bruleed lemon meringue icing! You can grab the recipe for my gluten free lemon meringue yule log here.
2. Christmas Pudding
Every supermarket is selling gluten free Christmas pudding this year. The larger stores tend to have various sizes available, from individual portions to larger sharing puddings. You can find these in the free from section and most varieties are both gluten and dairy free.
If you are looking for a vegan gluten free Christmas pudding, try this once from independent producer LillyPuds.
3. Christmas Pudding Truffles
While we are on the topic of Christmas pudding, why not transform any Christmas pud leftovers into these tasty chocolate truffles. Or simply buy a pud especially to make these – I guarantee they will go down a storm:
- You can find my Christmas Pudding Truffle recipe here.
4. Christmas Cake
There are some beauuutiful gluten free Christmas cakes on sale in shops this year, here are some of the major ones:
- Asda Extra Special Free From Christmas Cake – £5.00 – gluten and dairy free fruit cake with royal icing and gold bow and holly leaf decoration.
- Morrisons Free From Jewelled Fruit Cake – £3.50 – gluten free.
- Marks & Spencer Made Without Christmas Cake – with red star decoration
- Waitrose Gluten Free Christmas Cake – £5.00 – a gluten and dairy free fruit cake finished with a marzipan edible decoration.
And for those of you that (like me) don’t like fruit cake, Morrisons are doing this very cute sponge cake alternative:
- Free From Robin Sponge Christmas Cake – £5.50 – gluten and dairy free Madeira cake, filled with vanilla flavour frosting and raspberry jam, covered with soft icing and hand finished with icing decorations
5. Mince Pies
Every supermarket seems to have at least one variety of gluten free mince pie on sale this year, if not multiple varieties. Have a read of my Gluten Free Mince Pie Round Up for details of what’s available and where to buy.
6. Chocolate Yule Logs
My Christmas dessert of choice is yule log,., as YES I am that person who doesn’t like mince pies, Christmas cake or Christmas pudding! There are a couple of lovvvely looking gluten free yule logs on sale this year:
- Marks & Spencer Made Without Chocolate Yule Log
- Asda Extra Special Chocolate Yule Log – this one is both gluten and dairy free.
- Sainsburys Taste the Difference Gluten Free Yule Log
- Tesco Finest Free From Chocolate Yule Log – gluten and dairy free.
I was also recently sent this gluten free vegan yule log to try, which I think is the only one I have seen on the market this year. It is from independent London deli Les Filles Cafe.
7. Roddy the Reindeer Cake
Asda (and Morrisons – see 8) have the perfect centrepiece dessert this year – this very cute Roddy the Reindeer cake! Roddy is priced at £6.50 and is free from gluten and dairy, consisting of a soft chocolate sponge centre with chocolate frosting and iced decorations.
8. Rudi the Reindeer Free From Cake
Not one, but TWO novelty cakes, hurrah! Rudi the Reindeer from Morrisons is £5.50 and a chocolate cake with frosting and sugar decorations. Also dairy free.
9. Fruity Santa Hats
These cute santa hats could be added to a sharing dessert platter and both M&S and Sainsburys are selling them this year:
- Marks & Spencer Mini Santa Hats – these are really yummy, I was actually surprised at how nice they are! A crispy meringue base, with sweet vanilla cream and a perfectly tart real raspberry jelly topping. Freezer.
- Sainsbury’s Strawberries & Cream Santa Hats – £4.50 – freezer.
10. Sponge Puddings
There are lots of individual serve gluten free sponge puddings available this year, including some fun flavours like the sour chrry or chocolate and salted caramel. Here are a few examples:
- Aldi Syrup Sponge Puddings/Chocolate Sponge Puddings Duos
- Morrisons Free From Sour Cherry Pudding – £1.50 – Moist almond sponge with a fruity cherry sauce – gluten and dairy free.
- Sainsbury’s Free From Chocolate Sponge Pudding – £1.55
- Tesco Finest Gluten Free Chocolate & Salted Caramel Sponge – £3.00
11. Meringue Wreaths
- ASDA Extra Special Raspberry and Pistachio Wreath – £5.00 – freezer – Crisp chocolate meringue crowned with ganache, raspberries, chopped pistachios and a sweet snow dusting.
- Morrisons The Best Salted Caramel Wreath – £6.00 – Brown sugar meringue, topped with salted caramel whipped cream, pecan pieces, salted caramel sauce and Belgian milk chocolate drizzle
- Sainsburys Taste the Different Raspberry & Lemon Meringue Wreath – £6.50 – freezer
12. Meringue Stacks/Pavlovas
Lots of options in this category:
- ASDA Extra Special Hand Finished Raspberry & Prosecco Pavlova Stack – £5.00 – freezer
- Coop White Forest Meringue – layers of meringue, white chocolate cream and cherry kirsch sauce topped with cherries and white chocolate
- Morrisons The Best Raspberry & Clementine Stack – £6.00 – freezer – Layers of meringue with Heritage raspberry compote, clementine and whipped cream, finished with raspberries and white chocolate curls
- M&S Collection Winter Berry Pavlova
- Sainsburys Taste the Difference Raspberry & Prosecco Meringue Stack – £5.00 – freezer
13. Meringue Roulades
Most supermarket meringue roulades are gluten free BUT not all as I found a few that listed wheat starch in the ingredients, notably Waitrose. Please always check the label rather than assuming all roulades are safe. Here are a few that are gluten free:
- Aldi Deluxe Black Forest Roulade – freezer.
- ASDA Extra Special Belgian White Chocolate & Raspberry Roulade – £4.00 – freezer
- ASDA Extra Special Hand Finished Sicilian Lemon & Mascarpone Roulade – £4.00 – freezer
- ASDA Extra Special Belgian Chocolate & Salted Caramel Roulade – £4.00 – freezer.
- M&S Blackcurrant Roulade – freezer.
- M&S Toffee & Pecan Roulade – freezer.
- M&S Lemon Meringue Roulade – freezer.
- Sainsbury’s Toffee & Pecan Roulade Dessert, Taste the Difference – £4.00 – Toffee meringue with whipped toffee cream and Dulce de Leche toffee filling, encrusted in pecan nuts
- Sainsbury’s Berry Meringue Roulade Dessert, Taste the Difference – £4.00 – Meringue with whipped cream, raspberry sauce, Heritage raspberry pieces and blackcurrant filling
- Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Belgian Chocolate Roulade – £5.00 – Chocolate meringue with dark chocolate shavings, filled with whipped cream and chocolate sauce, decorated with chocolate sauce
- Tesco Finest Chocolate & Praline Roulade – £5.00 – Chocolate meringue roulade filled with whipped praline cream and Belgian chocolate sauce. Hand finished with a Belgian chocolate drizzle and a metallic coloured dusting.
- Tesco Finest Toffee Pecan Roulade – £4.00 – Brown sugar meringue studded with pecan nut pieces, filled with whipped cream and Dulce de Leche toffee sauce
- Tesco Finest Blackcurrant & Winter Spice Roulade – £5.00 – Meringue filled with whipped blackcurrant cream and spiced mulled wine flavoured sauce, decorated with a silver coloured dusting.
- Waldrons Patisserie Belgian Chocolate & Mascarpone Meringue Roulade – £12.00 – Ocado.
14. Sticky Toffee Pudding
Yummmmm, I love sticky toffee pudding! Here are some gluten free sticky toffee pudding choices:
- Morrisons Free From Sticky Toffee Pudding – £1.50
- Sainsbury’s Free From Sticky Toffee Sponge Pudding – £1.55
- LillyPuds Large Sticky Toffee Pudding – £7.95 – buy online.
15. Panettone (Bread & Butter Pudding)
I tend to have panettone for breakfast, but could could transform it into a lovely gluten free bread and butter pudding for dessert:
- Morrisons Free From Gluten Free Mini Panettone – £2.50
- Tesco Free From Gluten Free Mini Panettone
- Waitrose Arden & Amici Mini Panettone – £2.50
- Carluccios Large Gluten Free Panettone – £13.95 – I have been eating this one all week for brekkie and it would really recommend.
16. Asda Vegan Gluten Free Caramel Chocolate Swirl Wreaths
These Asda gluten free vegan desserts will be available in stores a couple of weeks before Christmas, but I was able to preview them at a press event. Vegan caramel sauce and dairy free mousse in a Belgian chocolate shell with gold lustre, they are a brilliant gf df dessert as they look beautiful. They are quite sweet but pop a scoop of dairy free ice cream on the side and you’re away!
17. Vegan Chocolate Torte
ASDA Extra Special Vegan Chocolate Torte – £4.00 – normal dessert freezer section – a rich, indulgent mix of cashews, almonds and vegan Belgian dark chocolate.
18. Tiramisu
Some individual serving tiramisu options, including two dairy free choices:
- Schar Gluten Free Tiramisu Pots – £5.30 for two – Asda – found in the freezer section.
Dairy and Gluten free:
- Asda Free From Italian Coffee Desserts – £1.00 – fridge
- Tesco Free From Italian Coffee Dessert – £1.75 – fridge
19. Melting Chocolate Puddings
Actually very easy to make at home! Try my chocolate lava cake pots recipe, or scroll down for some shop-bought versions.
- Asda Extra Special Free From 2 Melt in the Middle Belgian Chocolate Puddings – £2.00 – freezer section free from.
- Gu Free From Chocolate Melt in the Middle – Ocado – £3.50
- Coop Belgian Chocolate Melting Puddings
20. Cheesecake
Cheesecake is easy to make at home, so here are a few recipes in case you have the time to make one yourself:
- Triple Chocolate Cheesecake – a classic style gluten free cheesecake with dark, milk and white chocolate.
- Dulche De Leche Baked Cheesecake – a New York baked-style cheesecake with optional caramel sauce topping.
- Smores Cheesecake Pots – individual pots of vanilla cheesecake topped with chocolate toasted marshmallows.
Otherwise, this is my favourite shop-bought gluten free cheesecake, plus if you scroll down you will find a selection of gluten and dairy free cheesecakes:
- Marks and Spencer Made Without Free From New York Style Cheesecake
Dairy and Gluten Free Cheesecakes:
- Daiya Chocolate Cheezecake – Asda and Sainsburys £5.50 (find it in the free from freezer section). Also vegan.
- Food Heaven Lemon Dairy Free Dessert – Ocado and Waitrose – £3.00
- Gu Free From Chocolate & Vanilla/Spanish Lemon/Rhubarb Strawberry Cheesecakes – RRP £3.50 (but they are nearly always on offer somewhere) – Morrisons, Ocado – fridge section.
21. Almondy Cakes
Almondy do a nice range of naturally gluten free cakes, which are handy to have in the freezer in case of last minute guests:
- Daim Bar Cake – £3.00 – Asda, Morrisons, Sainsburys, Tesco.
- Cadbury Rocky Road Mud Cake – £3.00 – Morrisons.
- Toblerone Chocolate Cake Dessert – £3.00 – Sainsburys.
22. Profiteroles
There are quite a few supermarkets offering gluten free profiteroles now, which you can either serve as is or add to a yummy dessert platter with homemade sauces for dipping:
- Asda Free From 16 Cream-filled Profiteroles – £1.50 (found in the free from freezer section). Cream-filled gluten free profiteroles with chocolate sauce.
- Co-op Salted Caramel Profiteroles 210g – Gluten & Milk Free – freezer.
- Morrisons 16 Gluten Free Profiteroles With Chocolate Sauce – £1.50 – freezer.
- Rule of Crumb Salted Caramel & Chocolate Sauce Profiteroles – £2.99 – Ocado – Choux pastry filled with cream and served with a yummy salated caramel and chocolate sauce – freezer.
23. Ice Cream Cakes
A new trend this year seems to be for ice cream cakes and semifreddo mousse in various novelty shapes. PLUS I realised Vienetta, the classic dessert of my childhood, is also gluten free and it is a great value choice. Here are some fun gluten free desserts to try:
- ASDA Igloo Iced Cream – £4.00 – freezer – white chocolate semifreddo, layered with dark chocolate sauce and chocolate meringue, encased in more white chocolate semifreddo and sprinkled with a metallic-coloured dusting.
- Morrisons The Best Iced Cream Chocolate Orange Christmas Present – £5.00 – freezer – chocolate orange semifreddo mousse with chocolate meringue and a Belgian chocolate sauce centre, finished with a chocolate bow.
- Tesco Strawberry Candy Cane – £2.50 – strawberry and white chocolate flavour candy cane semifreddo, with hidden pools of sweet strawberry sauce.
- Viennetta Limited Edition Chocolate and Orange Flavour Ice Cream Dessert – £1.00 – Asda, Sainsburys, Tesco.
24. Salted Caramel Treacle Tart
My gluten free salted caramel treacle tart is a yummy homemade option to try, plus if you are short on time you can use ready made gluten free shortcrust pastry for the base.
25. Chocolate Brownie Tart with Raspberries
And last but not least on the gluten free desserts front, for a zingy raspberry-finished chocolate dessert, try my gluten free Chocolate Brownie Tart with Raspberries. A guaranteed crowd pleaser!
Et voila, your festive gluten free desserts sorted! If you are looking for more festive food inspiration why not check out some of my other guides while you are here:
- Festive Party Food Guide
- Christmas Gift Guide 2019
- Gluten Free Christmas Dinner Guide
- Catering Safely for Coeliac & Gluten Free Guests
- Slow Roasted Honey Ham Recipe
Happy Christmas, everyone! x
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