I love these weeks coming up to the festive season, with their almost tangible Christmas feeling. It’s made all the more infectious when there is the prospect of Santa visiting to the house.

On the home-making front, it is a time when the house is decorated and looking at its best, many of us using the festive season as an annual improvement deadline for completion of those annoying little jobs that tend to linger.

So, with the house spruced up and the Christmas tree in the first flush of youth, what better time of year to have friends and family over for dinner or a big Sunday lunch. I hope my recipes will bring some festive fun to your table.

The spiced red velvet and white chocolate mousse cake is a perfect grown-up dessert. The cake itself is lightly spiced, which works beautifully with the luscious white chocolate mousse. I am not usually a big fan of white chocolate as I don’t find it the easiest ingredient to work with. However, this recipe is pretty much foolproof.

During the summer I made a little too much of the white chocolate mousse for the red velvet cake and ended up freezing it in 2lb loaf tins. It is now a staple in my freezer, the perfect dessert for entertaining, literally just take it out and slice it – served frozen with plum compote.

Photography: Shane O'Neill, aspectphotography.com
Food Styling: Leona Humphreys, onefineplate.com
Props: Industry Home & Lifestyle, industrydesign.ie