I want to make a complicated faffy pudding - something spectacular

[Hassled]

but not Masterchef levels of faffy. Something challenging - I was thinking of one of those towers of profiteroles with the spun sugar on the outside, but then I thought while it looks great, it probably doesn't taste that great. But I need to move on from tarts and cheesecakes - I'm bored of my repertoire. And I have time - not much on tomorrow. I'm a competent cook, rather than a talented one.

This for a meal at a friend's tomorrow - I traditionally make the pudding. They have low expectations and would be happy with some ice-cream.

Any thoughts?

Have you thought of Googling "fancy tart"?

I would concentrate on yummy and unusual rather than faffy. For example, there is a fabulous orange, date and cardamom tart in Paramount Desserts by Christine Manfield. I can't find the exact recipe online but this is close to it:
www.nytimes.com/2000/09/20/dining/dispatches-from-a-culinary-frontier.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm

I have to say I dithered over googling fancy tart. I was expecting to find a Victorian prostitute in lace and crinoline. But I did actually find some fancy tarts :o.

slhilly - that looks good - thanks. Will keep mulling.

Seriously, why don't you make the croquembouche?

And then spend all of Sunday chiselling spun sugar off the floor?

Ah you see I couldn't remember what it was called so I couldn't look up a recipe :o. But won't it just taste of cream and sugar? Are those things actually meant to be eaten?

I have the most amazing recipe for an Almond Praline cake which involves 10 eggs and making your own praline. Not very complex, but more time consuming than most.

Rhubarb Meringue Pie?
Rum Babas?
Home made ice cream with homemade ickle biscuits?

I have all tthe recipes from the GBBO final if you're interested in any of those - eg the banana mouuse tarts

mousse even

Hassled, yes, all those things ARE meant to be eaten, just not every day!

You can go the whole hog and make the choux buns, the creme patissiere etc, but actually you can buy frozen profiterolles and just make your own caramel. It will still taste great. The point of it is really the "Croquembouche" or, in English, "The Crunch in the Mouth". In otherwords, the contrast between the soft choux pastry (with creme patissiere) and the crunchy caramel. You don't have to do the spun sugar, but you could always stick a few toasted almonds around. That is how we did it in the office the other month!

If you want truly delicious and also extraordinarily faffy, I can highly recommend the star anise + toffee apple dessert from the same book.

It has three separate components:

• a charlotte mixture of diced home-made toffee apple and diced pineapple cooked with calvados and star anise, cooled and put into charlotte moulds lined with thinly sliced toffee apple. The moulds are refrigerated to set, then steamed for five mins to serve
• a star anise-infused custard on which the charlottes are upended
• a pineapple wafer that sits on top of the charlottes

It's astoundingly complicated and fiddly and I remain stunned that I ever tried to do it. Was jolly tasty, though, and it did look very pretty. While technically demanding, it wasn't absurd, just took a loooong time and used obscure ingredients (liquid glucose, etc).

A proper old fashioned sherry/some other sort of trifle with home made sponge and custard is a little bit faffy but absolutely delicious IMO. Delia's madeira and butterscotch trifle is good.

Baked Alaska? Saw gino decampio (spell??) do it on his show. Twas amazing and not as complicated as I tought

You're all stars, thank you.

I am leaning towards the croquembouche option, I think. I should probably factor in the need to carry it down the road to the friends' house, possible rain and wind etc but DH we will cope. I will report back.

Chocolate roulade filled with loads of cream and fruit, raspberrys or black cherries mmmmmm.....

I have to say as far as choux buns go I prefer mine covered in chocolate sauce profiterole stylee!

Jo that won GBBO has a blog with her recipes on... hang on...

josblueaga.blogspot.com

Hmm, my mum made a croquembouche for dd's christening. It took her two days. Don't do it!

Baked alaska is pretty spectacular (ice cream you bake??? WTF??) and is actually quite simple to do.

planetpotty x post :o

I think a pavlova always looks like a lot of bother but is actually v easy. Also I like Delia's Creme Caramal - very easy but people always seem almost freakishly impressed.....

A no bake cheese cake covered in berrie all glazed with hot jam. I did baked alaska. Recently and no. Way would it last a walk anywhere. Needs to be sliced up quickly.