Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference dessert line for Christmas features 14 new or improved-recipe products, including a Belgian Chocolate Brownie Torte and a Toffee Pecan Roulade. It is also launching several Taste the Difference chocolate desserts, including: Gift Cake a square sponge base topped with a rich mousse, laced with brandy, glazed with a ganache-style topping and adorned with a handmade white chocolate ribbon; a Triple Layer Cake three layers of Belgian chocolate cake; and an all-butter vanilla cake sandwich, together with a chocolate buttercream filling and topped with chocolate icing and flakes. All its Christmas cakes, including a Taste The Difference Holly Leaf version, are new, says a spokesperson.

Morrisons will be making festive bakery products fresh in-store every day, according to a spokesperson. These include several new items: a White Chocolate Snowball Dessert; a Chocolate and Mandarin Bar Gateau; panettone in addition to an Indulgent Belgian Chocolate Cake; stollen; and mince pies.

Its savoury range includes game pies and a Chicken and Stuffing Star Roll, while its ’The Best...’ range features a Chocolate and Ginger Pudding, Winter Spiced Pudding, Cherry Almond Topped Pudding, and a Chocolate and Irish Cream Cluster Cake.

The two big cake launches for Asda this year are an Alpine scene cake and a ski-slope scene cake, says a spokesperson. The Extra Special 3 Month Matured Courvoisier VS Cognac Laced Alpine Scene Cake is an all-butter fruit cake, laced with Courvoisier VS Cognac and layered with marzipan and icing, and hand-finished with an Alpine snow scenein edible decorations and glitter. The ski-slope scene sponge cake, filled with plum and raspberry jam and vanilla frosting, is covered with soft fondant icing and hand-finished with royal icing snow, with Rudolph and Percy Penguin characters. The retailer will also offer mini brownies and biscuit bites for a mixed dessert option, a sherry trifle cake and a profiterole cake.

Waitrose’s Christmas bakery range features a Hidden Orange Christmas Pudding, from the new Heston at Waitrose range, with a whole candied orange hidden inside. Also new for 2010 is a Toffee and Pecan Pudding; Mincemeat Crumble Slices; and Royal Iced Christmas Cake Slices. A spokesperson says the recipes for its decorated fruit Christmas cakes including Waitrose Christmas Tree Iced Christmas Cake, Waitrose Richly Fruited Snowflake Cake by Fiona Cairns and Duchy Originals Organic Dundee Cake have all been redeveloped for this Christmas and feature new decorations. Some of its undecorated cakes have also seen recipe changes, including its Waitrose Rich Fruit Christmas Cake.

The Co-operative’s in-store bakery will be offering mini chocolate logs, ’decorate your own’ gingerbread men, gingerbread novelty shapes and mince pies. One of its key Christmas items is a Limited Edition Truly Irresistible Irish Cream Melting Middle dessert made with rich dark chocolate free-range egg sponge filled with Belgian milk chocolate and Irish cream-flavoured sauce. For ethically-minded food fans, Fairtrade products include Christmas pudding and mince pies.

New products in Tesco’s bakery range include, in its Finest Range: an Ultimate Christmas Cake and Iced Rich Fruit Christmas Cake; a Tesco Angel Fruitcake; and a Luxury Chocolate Panettone. As part of its party food selection Tesco will be offering Finest Mini Steak & Ale Pies, Mini Cornish Pasties, Mini Eclairs and Mini Doughnuts. Other festive bakery products include a Tesco Fresh Cream Chocolate Log; Iced Rich Fruit Christmas Cake Bar; Ultimate Matured Christmas Pudding with Courvoisier VS Cognac; and a Matured Christmas Pudding with Cherries and Brandy or Apricots and Cognac.