Dessert focus: Peggy's puds

There's a very nice man who's taken over as manager of the mobile phone shop down the road. He's been in for a meal by himself a couple of times, so I asked him the other evening if he fancied staying for some afters. He left very quickly - funny, because most people are only too happy to stick around for a slice of my treacle tart. Perhaps he's a bit shy.

Pidy Ready-To-Fill Pastry Cases

I used to make all my own pastry but there's just no time any more, what with extended opening hours, risk assessments and Deal or No Deal. And, to be honest, the pastry from Belgian gourmet manufacturer Pidy is a lot more consistent than mine. The company's ready-to-fill pastry lines include all the dessert classics, such as profiteroles, éclairs, babas, horns, waffle baskets and a variety of shortcrust tart and tartlette cases. There's also a library of recipes on its website, including the Horn of Plenty, made with passion fruit couli. A recipe book, Pidy's Les Desserts, is available free on request, while stocks last.

Pidy: 01604 705666, www.pidygourmet.com

McDougalls/Robinsons mince pies

I will be making my own mince pies this year. It's just not the same without a mince pie at this time of year, is it? Like Santa without his sack. I'm using Robertson's Mincemeat and McDougalls High Yield Pastry Mix, both from Premier Foods. The mincemeat is a mix of fruits, nuts, spices and brandy, and can be used straight from its resealable tub. The pastry just needs blending with cold water using a slow beater until the dough is formed. After 15 minutes in the fridge it can then be rolled out to the required thickness. Lovely with a large cognac, I reckon.

Premier Foods Caterer Advice Line 0800 328 4246

Almondy thaw and serve cakes

I always thought the sweetest thing to come out of Sweden was Bjorn from Abba - he could take a chance on me any time. These Swedish cakes defrost in minutes and last up to seven days in the chiller - useful considering you never know whether people are going to stay for dessert. My favourite is the Almondy Dark Chocolate tårta, made with 60 per cent cocoa solids. An almond biscuit base with a rich chocolate cream, smothered with intensely dark chocolate - not much chance of that hanging around in my fridge too long.

Almondy 01628 894 838, www.almondy.com

Schöller Ice Cream cocktails

What a fantastic idea! Schöller Ice Cream has come up with a new cocktail menu featuring Mövenpick All Natural super-premium ice-cream with fruit-based liqueurs, syrups and alcohol. Forget about a warm sherry and a mini roll, that's going right on my list for the party season. The menus are available free of charge with purchases of Mövenpick ice-cream, and feature six cocktails including: Mexican Mudslide, a blend of Amaretto, Kahlua, chocolate syrup and vanilla ice cream; Friday Freeze, with vodka, mandarin and cranberry sorbet plus orange juice; and Oh la la!, a mix of rum, Amaretto, Baileys, Kahlua and tiramisu ice-cream. The WI bash will be a bit more lively than usual this year, I reckon. I may need to lay on security staff.

Schöller Ice Cream 01483 205500, www.schoellericecream.co.uk.

Vittles multi-portion gateaux

We've started serving up Vittles multi-portion gateaux, which have varieties including Wild Peach Liqueur & Mango Charlotte - sponge topped with a fresh cream, peach and mango mousse, sided with decorative sponge and finished with apricot halves and chocolate decorations - and the best seller, Chocolate Junkyard. This is a chocolate pastry case filled with a base of Belgian chocolate ganache and chocolate mousse, decorated with popular chocolate sweets and piled high with chocolate shavings. So much chocolate. I'm going to have to get back to my keep-fit class - I haven't been since the incident with the gaping gusset. I blame all that stretching they should make the material stronger. I had the receipt, there was no need for the shop to be quite so rude.

Vittles 0116 246 1951, www.vittlesfoods.co.uk  

Pritchitts Roselle Supreme

For a healthier dessert, I'm using Pritchitts Roselle Supreme in some of my creations. It's a cream alternative which whips up to three times its volume, which is 50 per cent more than dairy cream. It's ideal for use in dessert recipes or as an accompaniment, and has half the fat of dairy cream. It whips perfectly from room temperature and has a long ambient shelf life.

Pritchitts 0845 1300 307, www.pritchitts.com

Matthew Walker Christmas Puddings

My gran used to boil her Christmas pudding in one of her knicker-legs, which quite frankly put the rest of us right off eating it. This year, Matthew Walker, the UK's oldest and largest Christmas pudding manufacturer, will produce more than 25 million puddings, any one of which would be far nicer than anything gran served up. This year there are three pudding ranges for pubs - Standard, Luxury and Alcohol Free, although why you'd want one without a drop of something in it is beyond me. They can be steamed, boiled or pressure cooked, with no underwear required - if you see what I mean.

Matthew Walker 01773 760121, www.traditional-christmas-puddings.co.uk

Manns Brown Ale recipes

Unlike gran's questionable puds, this is a tradition that definitely needs to be preserved. I used to work in a pub with a bloke who'd been an army cook, and he used Manns Brown Ale in just about every recipe he made. He even taught me to make a great Dark Chocolate Cake with Manns, which I like to serve up for my regulars on winter afternoons. (For Peggy's cake and other great Manns recipes, go to our special recipe section using the link on the right

Refresh UK, 01993 890 800, www.refreshuk.com