Desserts which are surprisingly impressive for little effort!

[PayandPark]

We have some friends over for dinner this weekend. I am struggling to think of an easy to make dessert that looks good.

The dish I am doing for the main course is quite labour intensive, so I wanted something simple to make for dessert.

Does anyone have any brilliant ideas? Thanks in advance.

I do a cheaty trifle, vaguely black forest gateaux themed:

Nice glass bowl - bottom layer sponge fingers, pour over a jar of cherries in kirsch. Next later tub of ready made custard. Final layer whipped cream with a bit of grated dark chocolate on top.

Looks good, no effort.

Next layer

Delia’s chocolate bread and butter pudding is v easy plus as it needs to be done at least 24hrs in advance there is no faffing on the day.

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/persimmon-membrillo-galette

This can be as easy or as difficult as you like, depending on whether you rely on shop-bought or home made components. And it sounds fancy

Eaton mess - meringue, cream and fruit

Nigella does an amazing melting chocolate pudding that basically involves whipping everything together and microwaving... Looks like you've spent hours baking. It's in How to Eat but someone has put it online here

I've tried it and it is super easy & delicious

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/squidgy-chocolate-pear-pudding
Very easy and delicious.

Nigella's chocolate pots are easy but absolutely delicious.

Another vote for Eton mess. I buy meringues and crush, whip up double cream with vanilla extract and mix with berries.

Buy meringue nests, fill with whipped cream, top with raspberries or strawberries.

Or if you want something lighter but that looks good, try poached pears. DH does them in a cardoman spiced syrup.

Delia’s chocolate mousse. I make with the green and blacks ginger dark chocolate

Lime and ginger pudding

Smashed up ginger nuts mixed with melted butter for the base then cream, condensed milk and lime juice beaten together on the top. Can be made in advance and chilled in the fridge like a cheesecake

any meringue roulade which a 5-year old could make. Fill with a mix of cream/sweetened marscapone and fruit, dust with icing sugar and toasted almonds.
Creme caramel takes 10 minutes to make, 20 to cook, and is a beginners' dish which always gets oohs and aahs.
Lemon posset in little glasses or ramekins is another quickie - basically just double cream heated up with some sugar and mixed with lemon juice. Easy to tart up with some dusting or cream on top.

I make chocolate chestnut meringues: use either bought or home made meringue discs (about 5cm diameter) and sandwich together using: small tin of sweetened chestnut purée folded together with 100g melted dark chocolate and 250ml whipped cream. (Only add the cream when the choc mixture is cool or it collapses). You could also add 15ml of brandy.
Dust with cocoa powder

Depending how many you make there maybe left over filling which is far tastier in toast than Nutella

Pavlova is always much easier than I think it is and always looks impressive - you need a stand mixer though.

Banoffee pie. Bash up digestive biscuits and mix with melted butter and push into bottom of pie dish. Leave to set. Top with layer of chopped bananas and layer of the tinned caramel that you find next of the condensed milk in supermarkets. Top with whipped cream and decorate with crushed Flake.

Homemade ice cream.

OMG.............So many fantastic ideas! Thank you so much. I can't wait to try them.

lemon posset. Really simple plus you can make it the night before.

Tiramisu - dip sponge fingers in strong black coffee (instant is fine) and tia Maria if you don’t mind alcohol, layer in the bottom of the dish, whisk together a tub of mascarpone cheese and ready made posh vanilla custard, spread on top os sponge fingers, do another layer the same them top with whipped cream and dust with cocoa powder

Lemon Posset.

cream, sugar and lemon juice/zest. Boil up over low heat and pour in glasses till set and very chilled.

Sorry, but Eton Mess isn't impressive to anyone who's ever made one!

Baked Alaska is easy but sounds time-consuming and fiddly.

Get a ready-made flan case, fill with red fruits (the frozen bags of strawberries, etc, are fine). Dump a huge mound of posh vanilla ice-cream on top and shape into a dome, covering the inside of the flan case. Put the filled flan case into freezer.

Make a big load of meringue. When you're ready to serve, completely cover the frozen flan/fruit/ice-cream with the raw meringue. No gaps! Then bake for 6 minutes at 180c until it's lightly golden. Serve, to rapt awe.

Bananas Foster, sliced bananas softened in butter in small frying pan, after a few moments add some soft brown sugar and stir well. Then add a splosh of rum. Let it start to bubble, then immediately pour over vanilla ice cream.
For a small number of people use a small banana each, but as numbers increase use fewer bananas, four people will only need three bananas, five people will only need four bananas.
To make it very quickly, use ready made rum butter instead of separate ingredients.

Viennetta. In the freezer section.