2 ultra-gourmet recipes for the holidays

What could be more festive than a Christmas Pandoro? To end the year on a high note, let yourself be tempted by the Pandoro with mascarpone cream and citrus compote imagined by artisan pastry chef Christophe Louis. A fruity, gourmet dessert to enjoy by the fireside.

• The syrup: in a saucepan, add the sugar and water, scrape out the vanilla half-pod, then bring to the boil and leave to infuse and cool.
• For the confit: use a peeler to remove the zest from the citrus fruit, avoiding the zest. Blanch the zest 3 times by plunging it into a pan of water and boiling for 10-15 seconds. Drain and repeat the process 2 more times. Place the blanched zest in a saucepan with the lemon juice and sugar. Simmer for around 45 minutes, then reduce the total mass by a third (you can weigh to check). Using an immersion blender, blend hot until fine and smooth, with as few pieces of zest as possible. Pour the confit into a sterilized container. Chill at +4°C. 
• Mascarpone cream : soak the gelatine in cold water. Make a syrup with the water and sugar, then bake at 121°C. Place the eggs and yolks in the bowl of a mixer. Drizzle the syrup over the yolks and eggs to make a bombe batter. Leave to cool. Squeeze out the gelatine and melt in the microwave. Pour into the bombe batter. Allow to rise and cool. Whisk in the mascarpone. 
• Assembly: using a saw knife, slice the Pandoro horizontally into slices about 2.5 cm thick. Soak each slice in vanilla syrup. Spread a thin layer of confit over each slice. Using a piping bag and plain tip, poach the mascarpone cream and proceed in the same way for each layer. Dust with powdered sugar. 

Last year, @jaifaim made our mouths water with his the recipe for its Upside down orange cakefor this year's festive season, the epicurean duo have dipped into their cookbook to reveal the perfect holiday recipe.

• 120g white chocolate 

• 100g dried cranberries 

• 200g flour 

• 100g semi-salted butter 

• 140g sugar 

• 1 egg 

• 1 tsp vanilla extract 

• 1 tsp chemical pound 

• 1 pinch salt 

• Sesame puree