very sophisticated yet extremely easy dessert ideas needed please

[eddielizzard]

in my insanity i asked loads of friends over for dinner and i have absolutely no time to make dessert beforehand as i'll be slaving over the main course.

i need a dessert that i can whip up just before serving that's easy, because i'll be sloshed yet sophisticated that my friends will be very impressed with

i'd rather not resort to the good old pavlova / eton mess again...

tia

Eton neat!

Buy meringue nests, pipe whipped cream into a pile on top, place cut fruit artistically on creation and drizzle with coulis before serving.

Or a lemon posset?

Brownies with vanilla cream and. Raspberry garnish.

Tiramisu

www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/chocolate-recipes/best-tiramis/#8OggWpG3tUXpvXGr.97

Bailrys children mousse- just whisk together double cream, melted chocolate and baileys. Can be eaten straight away but can also me made earlier and chuckle in the fridge. Top with whipped cream and some of those chocolate stars or hearts you can buy in the baking section. Looks good and tastes yummy!
You can also make it without the baileys as well

Just buy something like a chocolate torte or a tart or pie or something!

I'd second lemon posset. Must be the easiest thing in the world to make!

Boil cream with sugar for 3 minutes, stir in lemon juice, pour into individual serving dishes and chill.

That's it! But a glorious taste and lovely, silky texture.

If you want to go a bit posher, there was a recipe yesterday in the Guardian for kaffir lime posset. I'll see if I can find the recipe ...

Baileys ( or any other sweetish booze) milk shake. Vanilla ice cream. Baileys. Liquidise for about 15 seconds. Pour into glasses. Provide spoons.

Splodge. Unsophisticated name but yummy. 1 tub natural yoghurt, 1 tub double or whipping cream, 1 tin apricots, brown sugar. You can do nearly all of this in advance.

Whip cream, liquidise apricots ( don't include juice), fold together with yoghurt, put in heat proof dish to chill in fridge. Just before serving put layer of brown sugar on top, dump under grill until bubbling, remove. Serve.

Or cheese and grapes.

Pavlova

Nigella does a super quick lemon pud - double cream (whipped), lemon curd, crushed meringue and limoncello. It's ready in minutes and looks presentable with a sprinkling of lemon zest on the top. I find it's a lovely zesty end to a meal - with a wee boozy kick!

ice cream with crushed maltesers on top

Affogato is ridiculously easy. Scoop of good quality vanilla ice cream in a glass. Pour over a shot of something like amaretto or frangelico then pour over a shot of espresso. Serve.

Agree with Helen always a lovely way to finish a meal

thanks very much for all the suggestions.

i think an affogato sounds good but i only have a cafetiere. how can i get round that? make a strong coffee?

I would make strong coffee in the cafetiere with the most intense variety you can find.

ok thanks very much

Pears baked in cream - perl, quarter and core one pear per person, lay in ovenproof dish and sprinkle over one tsp of golden caster sugar per pear then pour ovev double cream mixed with a few drops of vanilla. Bake uncovered at 200C for 30 mins or until going golden and the pears are cooked. The cream caramelises, delicious.

Eton mess is v v v trendy right now. On the menu in loads of smart restaurants. Soak strawberries in Pimms beforehand to make it nicer.