Easy pudding for 18 people

[Orangedoll]

I was lying awake last night wondering what on earth I was thinking inviting my entire extended family for a reunion next weekend. But it’s done now and so to cope with my anxiety I am going to plan the whole thing as carefully as possible.

This is where mumsnet comes in. I need inspiration for an easy pudding that can serve 18 people for a multi generational family gathering (age range 2-95, 3 young kids, some fussy adults) ideally suitable to be prepared in advance and with minimal last minute faffing.

I was considering crumble, but the vegetarian main is a crumble so that feels a bit much.

I’m also considering buying something ready made, but for some reason feel like I should be making something homemade for my family.

So what would you do, if you wanted to delight and impress, but were also hoping to make things easy for yourself?

Traybake? Like a carrot cake or lemon drizzle

Otherwise a big old fashioned trifle :)

Eton mess?

Tiramisu?

Oh, and get some ice cream in as well.

Two of these. Always looks super impressive stupid easy to make.
https://sheffieldpamperedchef.wordpress.com/2011/10/13/the-pampered-chef-%C2%AE-caramel-pecan-pastry-ring-recipe/

more than one i would say
trifle
summer pudding
eton mess
large cake

Summer fruit pudding. Make it in advance and it just gets better.

Cake (maybe two cakes) with fruit and cream / yoghurt / crème fraiche / ice-cream. Use fresh fruit if you can be bothered, otherwise get a few bags of frozen cherries & berries.

Eton mess. I did a big one for 15 people. Keep some meringue and strawberries separate to have too.

I would keep it simple and buy a couple of catering size cakes like Carrot Cake and Victoria Sponge, ordered from M&S or Waitrose. Then serve with ice cream and fresh fruit platters.

Your family reunion sounds lovely.

I would do a couple of bowls of fruit...berries, peaches etc and then make a pile of meringues and let people help themselves with a bowl of whipped cream. You can make meringues night before.

Roulade, Eton mess, strawberries with ice-cream ,chocolate, cream choices.

Not my picture unfortunately as I haven't had to cook for a crowd in years. But it looked something like this when cooked
www.google.com/search?q=caramel+pecan+crown+pampered+chef&oq=caramel+pecan+crown+pampered+chef&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOdIBCTEyMzk0ajBqNKgCAbACAQ&client=ms-android-samsung-ss&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8&chrome_dse_attribution=1#vhid=kTtrVcDKiwOwpM&vssid=l

If you can find plenty of ramekins (or other small dishes) lemon posset is super easy and always goes down well (at least with citrus lovers).

Make no churn ice cream using a tin of condensed milk and 600ml double cream. Makes a large amount. Add vanilla essence. Serve with summer fruits. Or make peach Melba.

I always make this for big occasions and it never fails to impress but is super easy.

www.nigella.com/recipes/chocolate-raspberry-pavlova

I would say that it easily serves 12, although it says 8-10. If you made two, you would have leftovers.

I guess it is quite expensive - 6 eggs, a bucket of cream and at least two punnets of fruit per pav, but absolutely worth it for the adoration you get. Obviously it doesn't work if you have non-dairy people. For my family I make one with real cream and one with vegan elmlea and alter the fruit to tell them apart. I only tell the people who are dairy free which is which and most of the others can't tell.

This goes down well whenever I make it for guests and it’s few ingredients and takes less than 30 mins to put together.
Lemon Posset Tart (I don’t bother with the cream on top) https://www.janespatisserie.com/2015/06/27/lemon-posset-tart/

and there’s lots of different variants

White choc raspberry

https://www.janespatisserie.com/2020/08/15/white-chocolate-raspberry-tart/
Biscoff tart

https://www.janespatisserie.com/2016/05/16/no-bake-biscoff-tart/

I find Jane’s Patisserie a good place to start for simple desserts.

Cheesecake

I'm also going to suggest this.

No cooking/baking involved. It’s literally thrown together.

I'd do three different things.

One lemon, one chocolate, one berry type thing.

Probably a choc mousse cake/tart, a lemon trifle and an Eton mess or pavlova.

I was going to suggest crumble when I read the title but definitely wouldn't serve crumble in both courses.

Sticky toffee pudding
Trifle is often over looked
Eve's pudding
Cheesecakes this is a really easy recipe, I prefer to serve with bowls of mixed soft fruits rather than the spread she suggests

Or just make a variety of cakes: lemon drizzle/brownies/blondies/rocky road and a bowls of fruit

A tray of brownies, some meringues, a bowl of berries and a tub of vanilla ice cream...

Gosh thank you all so much for such speedy responses!

I’m not going to do a trifle, even though it’s perfect for meeting the brief, but I’ve never personally liked it.

Traybakes are a good idea, but I should have said, this is for lunch, and I’m also doing tea and cake in the late afternoon,

I’m going to read all your ideas and ponder.

Thanks a million.

@Trebol my vegetarian siblings have already given me the thumbs up for my spinach and goat’s cheese crumble thankfully.
And I’m definitely not doing crumble for pudding.