Dinner party pudding. What would you like?

[whimsicalname]

Have 8 people coming for supper on Saturday night, and will be out all day with kids before hand, so want something i can do the day before.

My plan so far is:

Nettle and wild garlic soup
Morrocan chicken stew with green olives and preserved lemon, which will be served with cous cous and a grated carrot salad (thank you Allegra McAvedy)

But what to have for pudding?

Was thinking baked cheese cake or chocolate pots. Any other suggestions?

Black Forest Trifle always goes down well with dinner party guests around here & can be made up in tea cups or fancy glasses for an extra wow, or looking at the rest of your menu, something light & clean tasting, such as chocolate dipped fruit (strawberries & orange segments work well) served with lemon syllabub, make ours with lemon vodka :)

never had nettle soup but your two planned courses sound delicious.

As much as I love chocolate pots, wonder if that be a bit too rich after your main course? Am feeling the need for something fruity - lemon pots, maybe? Or a cheesecake, whether baked or not, with something fruity on the side?

Either:

Flour free almond & orange cake (continuing the main course these) with berry compote and greek yoghurt

or

Pavlova with mixed berries and cream?

How about a pavlova? You can make the meringue the night before, and whip the cream beforehand, and just bung it all together before you serve it.

Chocolate pots sounds nice and yummy

Mmm, could do a pav, but never have before. Perhaps now isn't the time for a first.

If people think choc pots would be too rich, how about lemon pots? Or would that be too much citrus after the preserved lemon chicken. Would it work with blood oranges?

Id go onto mumsnet recipes and do cods frozen chocolate mousse slice

I second rhubarb fool. Light, delicious and elegant.

I love it.

lots of peeps hate rhubarb though ime

Treacle tart

Mango sorbet

vodka
;)

Home made vanilla biscuits (in a fun or themed shape if you like) with a strawberry mousse.

Everyone loves a trifle! You could try this one:
Lemon-Strawberry Trifle

lol at pengy
that is the ONE pudding i loathe.. ew that cold custard and stale sponge

actually tiramisu is a bit like that too

It's very fashionable in France to have "café gourmand" in restaurants. Basically, it means you get several little desserts along with a coffee after your meal. A chance to try various tiny desserts.

Whenever we hqve peopke for dinner, I invariably do my version and it goes down a compkete storm.

Mini chocolate pots (made the day before)
Mini honey madeleines (made the day before)
Mini rhubarb and custard (seved in individual ramekins, make everything separately beforehand, just heat and assemble on the night)
Mini Eton Mess (cheat's Pavlova: crushed meringue, strawberry or raspberry coulis, double cream, few mint leaves, you can always drizzle a tiny bit of melted dark chocolate over if you wish or add two teaspoons of Limoncello to each one)

You do need lots of little ramekins or tiny glass bowls to serve everything in dainty proportions but the wow factor is impressive. Make loads of everything as people tend to have seconds if you make everything very miniature.

Before I read what you'd planned, I was going to suggest fresh fruit salad, as normally after 2 courses, something light is always welcome, but what you've planned looks delicious and not stodgy. What about Clafoutis? With Creme Fraiche?

codandchips - I looove trifle! Actually I looove desserts! Haven't met many I didn't like!

But I like cod and chips too! And roast beef and yorkies, roast chicken and yorkies, spag bol, fish pie ...

Ok, ok I'm coming clean:

My name is pengymum and I am a Food Addict!

am thinking of namechanging to Pengy, Queen of the Dessert hmmm

sorry gone off topic here, I'll get my coat..

Trifle is foul.
Soggy cake. Cold custard. Sloppy bits of fruit.
Arrives in your bowl looking like slop.

Yuck!

i couldtn ve arsed dicking about with tiny this and tiny that

baklava - actually needs to be made the day before and will go nicely with the morrocan main course.

Buy the filo pastry and its quite easy to do.

My favourite is 2/3rds pistachios to 1/3 walnuts.

Nice recipe here

The most recent thing I cooked was brown sugar meringues with vanilla cream and fresh raspberries.

You can prepare in advance, and just put three bowls/platters on the table - one of each - and keep the little meringues small.

Then people can just take them/make them up however they like.