When it comes to festive desserts, theres a lot more you can do than mince pies and Christmas pud. And to be totally honest, I’m still a little sickened by how many mince pies I ate last year, so this Xmas I’m steering clear and focussing on these adorable alternatives.

We’ve given a pana cotta recipe a festive flare and come up with these super easy snowman-na cotta that we promise, we wont even try and take credit for.

You’ll need (for 4 servings):

• Small aluminum pudding moulds
• 2 leaves of gelatine (or vegetarian alternative)
• 300ml double cream
• 80g caster sugar
• 150ml full fat milk
• Vegetable oil
• Orange peel
• Melted chocolate

Method:

1. Soak the gelatine leaves (or vegetarian alternative) in cold water. Pour the cream into a pan, add the sugar and heat gently, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to only just a simmer, and then take off the heat

2. Squeeze out the gelatine and then stir it into the warm cream mixture to dissolve. Pour through a sieve into a clean bowl and stir in the milk. Taste for sweetness and add more sugar if necessary

3. Grease the inside of your moulds and divide the mixture between them. Cool and then refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight

4. Place the dishes briefly in boiling water and then invert on to plates

5. Decorate with orange peel and melted chocolate or anything suitably snow-mannish and edible

If you liked this, check out some of our other easy dessert recipes, like our Lemon and Raspberry Posset, Classic Sticky Toffee Pudding or Super Simple Chocolate Mousse.