Mark Moriarty: Crowd-pleasing retro desserts perfect for serving over Christmas

This week my recipes are inspired by the 1970s. How does a man born in the 1990s know anything about this decade? Well, he watched Reeling in the Years, didn’t he?

This is the decade that gave us Disney World, Apple and Star Wars, and claimed Elvis and The Beatles, but it was also an iconic period for home-made desserts. I’m showcasing two of them here. You’ll most likely have eaten or possibly made them before, but there are a few tricks to bring them to the next level.

The first is one of my favourite desserts, tiramisu. It translates from Italian as “pick me up”, something we all need at some point. Its debut appearance is disputed, both in recipe terms and in birthplace. But we can be safe in the knowledge it was somewhere in Italy in the early 1970s. This is the perfect dessert for hosting. It actually needs to be made in advance, benefiting from a long period chilling out in the fridge, the boozy syrup settling into every nook and cranny. I make mine in a cake tin, giving me a creative outlet to cut perfect rectangular portions when it’s popped out. “It really doesn’t matter,” my wife will tell me as I go in search of the ruler. Oh, it does.

[ Drinks to cover all eventualities during the festive season ]

If you don’t have as much time as I do, the same recipe can be layered in a pot, a tin, a bowl, or even little individual tea cups for a dinner party. The key stages include allowing the mascarpone to come to room temperature before mixing, whipping the egg yolks and sugar until pale, and adding a touch of sea salt to the main mix. It won’t taste salty; this just pushes back the sugar and makes the mascarpone taste “creamier” – give it a go.

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The second recipe is the loosely termed Eton mess. This refers to a collection of seasonal fruit and syrup or coulis, whipped cream and crushed meringue, served in the form of a mess. In the restaurant kitchen, if someone makes a mess of plating, you would start again and offer the culprit some choice words. Here, it is encouraged, so it’s the perfect recipe for anyone lacking competence in the dessert department. Eton refers to the notable British school in which it was designed. Famed scholars, royalty and notable politicians would have feasted on this dessert in the lavish dining hall.

With Christmas just around the corner, I’ve added a boozy prune and blackberry compote. It’s packed with winter spices and can be made in a larger batch and served throughout December. It also works beautifully with cheese. You’ll notice the whipped cream has been upgraded to a custard cream; you won’t go back to plain whipped after tasting this. Lastly, I just use shop bought meringue, I don’t have time for making it. I need that time to cut my perfect tiramisu rectangles.

Recipe: The perfect tiramisu to please a crowd

Recipe: Eton mess with custard cream and boozy autumn fruit