Matt Preston ranks his top 10 favourite winter desserts

Apple crumble, golden syrup dumplings and self-saucing chocolate pudding hit the winter sweet spot but don’t make Matt Preston’s winter dessert list. See his 10 favourites here.

Nothing delivers warming reassurance as something comfortingly sweet this winter.

For me, everyday summer desserts are often a bit of an afterthought – a bowl of ice cream or some fresh fruit, usually – but in winter the sweet stuff really comes into its own, such as golden syrup dumplings and self-saucing chocolate pudding.

And you’ve only got to think of the sticky, singed edges of an apple crumble (where the juices have bubbled up and soaked into the topping) to feel as warm as if you were snuggled into that big scarf your favourite aunty (or uncle) knitted you.

So which winter treats are delicious. magazine readers loving right now?

We’ve taken out the three aforementioned – because I’m always talking about them this time of year anyway – to inspire you with these top 10 sweets, in reverse order …

Matt Preston reveals his favourite winter desserts.

10. CARROT CAKE

Fans of the River Cottage UK TV franchise may not remember chef Gill Meller, but they won’t forget his apple, carrot, lemon and cinnamon cake once tasted.

This carrot cake is made with spelt flour (a type of wheat flour) and a silky compote of cooked apples. Plus, the butter icing can easily be replaced with cream cheese icing if you so require – and, really, who doesn’t?

9. ANZAC BISCUITS

Intrinsically linked with April 25, ANZAC biscuits are still very much a thing over the winter months. You’ll hear no complaints about that from this quarter.

8. & 7. CHEESECAKE

I always think of cheesecake as a summer- holiday sort of thing, but perhaps the presence of berries throughout the year accounts for why we have two berry cheesecakes on this list.

Jamie Oliver makes a great baked berry cheesecake.

Choose between Jamie Oliver’s baked berry cheesecake or Shannon Bennett’s famously secret raspberry cheesecake to see which appeals. (Personally, I’d go with my irresistible salted chocolate sour cream cheesecake as chocolate just seems more wintry if, like me, you live in the southern states.)

6. BEE-STING CAKES

Other than Maggie Beer and the red wine, my other weakness in the Barossa Valley is bienenstich (German bee-sting cakes).

Topped with an almond-honey toffee, these small custard-filled brioches are a guilty pleasure best consumed by yourself in the car, thus avoiding having to share.

I love Phoebe Wood’s idea of making one full-sized cake so sharing is less painful.

5. CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Even one of our easy chocolate chip cookies makes that mid-morning break so much more than just a cuppa. But who stops at just one?

Chocolate chip cookies are an all-season favourite.

4. & 3. LEMON CAKES

Lemon cakes are really having their moment in the sun, even if it is a pale, watery, winter sun. Yotam Ottolenghi’s stir-and-dump blueberry, almond and lemon cake is extra simple because he makes it in a loaf tin, so there’s no need to juggle cooking times for whichever round cake tin you have.

Phoebe Wood’s Amalfi lemon cake recipe is becoming a much- loved Aussie staple, too. And if you haven’t made it yet, you should take this as a sign.

2. SCONES

Like a perfect hard-boiled egg or a great green salad, scones are a classic you tend to forget are so good until you reacquaint yourself with the pleasure of peeling back a tea towel to find them steaming inside.

Scones are a great dessert for winter.

Matt Moran’s best date scones are the top choice for winter. Perfect by themselves, with a slab of butter, or with cream and a rosewater-kissed raspberry jam, they cry out for a big pot of tea and an open fire.

1. STICKY DATE PUDDING

The moment you add dates to your sticky toffee pudding, it becomes undeniably Aussie. That makes it the perfect recipe to take out our number-one spot for winter sweets.

Don’t forget the butterscotch sauce (sugar, cream and butter) hit with a sprinkle of salt flakes and a small splash of vinegar to make it sing.

And remember both the ice cream and the double cream; it’s winter, after all, and those big coats and baggy jumpers will cover such excesses.

All the recipes mentioned here can be found at delicious.com.au. Well, apart from the golden syrup dumplings, so you’ll have to buy my second cookbook Fast, Fresh And Unbelievably Delicious for the recipe – if you’re lucky, you’ll fin it in the discount bin at the book store!

For more food, travel and lifestyle news, go to delicious.com.au

Originally published as Matt Preston ranks his top 10 favourite winter desserts