Need an easy but impressive dessert

[TheABC]

We are going to my parents for Christmas. There's going to be a crowd of adults, a small but excited toddler, a large (and probably excited) dog, two demented cats and a lot of food. So bugger all space in the kitchen.

DM has asked me to bring a dessert for the day - partly as I like helping out and partly because DH hates currants. It needs to be quite light (may be a mousse cake?), and easy to transport as it's a three hour car journey.

WWYD?

I'd make an easy lime torte (which looks & tastes far better than it should given how simple it is) like so:

Mix together 200g packet of crushed ginger nut biscuits and with 50g of melted butter and press into the base of a 18cm spring sided, or loose bottomed cake tin.

Place 2 x 259g tubs of mascarpone, 40g icing sugar and the zest and juice of 2 limes in a bowl and beat together.

Spread the mixture over the base.

To decorate sift a little icing sugar over the top & if you're feeling flash use a stencil (like they do in Costa coffee) and sift some cocoa powder to make festive patterns - stars look good.

Chill for 30 minutes.

Leave the torte in the tin to transport it & chill again when you get there

Nigella's Irish Cream Tiramisu. It's incredibly easy and transports well. It does have alcohol in it so not great for anyone abstaining or the toddler...

This is stunning. You can make it now and freeze it. I make it in a springform tin and I would transport it in that.

Mmmmmnnn! They all look lovely! I may have to have a taste test....

I made this once for a dinner party and it was v good and pretty easy.

I'd be worried about transporting anything that requires chilling, particularly if there's a 3 hour journey involved. I've transported tiramisu before, and it was a lot gloopier as it lost some of the firmness in transit.

Would a pavlova be an option? Dead easy to make. You can prep fresh fruit and transport that, and a meringue is so easy to bring with you. Just whisk up some cream when you get there, and arrange the fruit on top, and you're done.

Failing that, some nice things I've made in the past are:

Christmas-spiced chocolate cake

Yule Log

The easy lime torte is gorgeous and very easy to make.

Nigella's Irish Cream Tiramisu. It's incredibly easy and transports well. It does have alcohol in it so not great for anyone abstaining or the toddler...

Second this my children always love a bit of booze in their special puds!

Cheese cakes also good as they can stay in the tin plus you could freeze it.

Dont worry about chilling, food stays cold if surrounded by other food stuff in the boot.

Transporting tip - place cake on lid if tin and use the body of the tin as the lid. This way you don't damage it trying to get it in/out of high sided tin esp if it might melt a little in transit.

Are you arriving a day or two before christmas day? If you are at your mums on xmas eve, then you could make the cheesecake & chill it the night before. Nigella Lawsons key lime pie is lovely.

I always make a tiramisu for things like that.