The totally foolproof, quick to make dessert...

[FireandBrimstone]

... please tell me it does exist.

My track record for any kind of cooking is honestly the pits. I've committed to bringing something for dessert for an upcoming, small dinner with friends and would welcome suggestions please?

Either something super super simple but elegant, or even something I can shop-buy and then spruce up a bit for serving.

Complicated by the fact that at least two of the other guests are extremely competent, confident cooks (but they rarely think about dessert and I'm the one with the sweet tooth hence the offer to contribute!)

TIA!

Lemon posset.

600ml double cream
125g caster sugar
juice of 2 lemons

Put the cream and sugar into a pan over a medium heat, stirring all the time so that the sugar dissolves, then allow to boil for 3 minutes. Take off the heat and stir in the lemon juice. Straight away, pour into 6 serving bowls/glasses, and put into the fridge.

Absolutely foolproof, and totally delicious. I usually serve with some shortbread biscuits.

Tiramisu - using quality shop bought mascarpone and fresh custard - quick, easy.

If it was me, I would go for Angel Delight with whipped cream on top and pass it off with a fancy name and say its the latest craze in Europe.

No bake cheesecake - Philadelphia cheese, whipped cream , digestive biscuits and a fruit topping. Delicious and dead easy , but very calorific!

M&S do a delicious lemon tart that you could easily spruce up with some raspberries and icing sugar. Key Lime pie is fairly easy, ginger nut base. Or you could experiment with no-bake cheesecakes, maybe in little ramekins or glasses. Ditto chocolate mousse.

Or Viennetta topped with jam forest fruits and call it something fusion / exotic like Black Forest Straciatella.

This - but done the day before as sets nicely. 👌

TBF you only need a couple of hours for it to set

Seasonal fruit and chocolate! Best combo is fresh cherries and dark chocolate!

Or, shrikand, which is basically sweetened strained yoghurt with flavoring, traditionally cardamom and/or saffron.

I did lemon posset in the summer and it didn’t look to be setting at all. We ate it still as it’s still nice, but one was left and it was absolutely spot on the next day when I snaffled it for my lunch 😇

Greek yogurt, frozen berries - whiz up, instant berry ice cream! Add honey or maple syrup or golden syrup if you want it sweeter.

Eton Mess. Layer in cocktail glasses with dried rasberry dust rims. Use tiny meringues rather than breaking larger ones. Pipe the cream with a small round nozzle, use both strawberries and raspberries. Serve raspberry coulis with it in a shot glass to pour over.

Another vote for lemon posset

I love anything which can be made a day ahead, and even better when quick and simple! Buy a pre-made, sweet pastry base. It can be used for a wealth of recipes, including:

Salted caramel tart
-Buy a can of caramel and spread into the tart. Sprinkle lightly with salt. Cover in a thin layer of melted chocolate. Serve with berries.

Chocolate tart
https://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/chocolate/simple-chocolate-tart/ Also great served with berries/cream

Passionfruit tart
Mix a tin of condensed milk, with the pulp of 3 passionfruits (or use a tin of passionfruit pulp, a squeeze or lemon or lime juice. Mix. Pour into the pastry case and bake till just starting to brown. At 180' it usually only takes 15mins or so.

I'm loving all these! Almost feeling confident.

That said, I'm also very much enjoying the ideas for 'hacks'.

Tempted to turn up with a dish of Nordic Vanilla Strawberry Roulade... they'll never know it's Arctic Roll, will they

Spiced, poached pears. You can sometimes buy a cheap, large bag of "wonky pears" in some supermarkets.
I allow 2 small pears or 1.5 large ones per person. Peel, core and quarter. Put them in a large, shallow pan. Cover with a light, fruity red wine. Chuck in 6 cloves, a stick of cinnamon, a nutmeg and a few drops of vanilla essence.
Bring everything to a gentle simmer for ten minutes/ till the pears are soft and the liquid is reduced down to a syrupy consistency.
Serve warm with a dollop of mascarpone.

I have to try these!

Now winter’s approaching I’ve got a hankering for cantuccini and vin santo ice cream. The biscuits are spicy and aniseed flavour and the liqueur isn’t too strong.
In individual dishes make a base of 4 or 5 unbroken cantuccini biscuits, add a scoop of good vanilla or rum and raisin ice cream, top with the same biscuits crushed and douse with vin santo or orange juice if your guests don’t drink.

This ^ would be really nice.
I would go for conference pears with light yellow tint but not yellow ones as they would be too soft.
I think it needs sugar as well.

How many people are you providing pudding for?

If it's about six, buy a Marks & Spencer Tarte au Citron, also buy some fresh fruits, get a colourful mix, eg mango, figs, pineapple, black grapes, also get a couple of passion fruits or a carton of passion fruit seeds.
Slice up the fruit into bite sized pieces, put in a plastic bowl (one with a lid for easy transport). Sprinkle well with sugar and add a splash of fruit liqueur, limoncello would be excellent. Stir the fruit occasionally over the next couple of hours.
To serve: The tarte should do six slices, add spoons of fruit salad along side the tarte, and drizzle the passion fruit seeds artistically on each plate.
If you've got enough limoncello left, give everyone a small glass of it.

Affagato

Tiramisu

Pot of Greek yoghurt mixed with a pot of whipped double cream over soft fruit of your choice. Top with dark brown sugar. Delish and sooo easy!

Banoffi is simple. You can buy the caramel in a tin it's beside the condensed milk. Digestives bashed up with some melted butter. Let cool. Spread caramel on top. Sliced banana layer. Whipped cream and crumble a flake over the top.

The poached pears are delicious and you can do similar with peaches. They both go well with shop bought vanilla custard, like Tesco Finest.

Strawberries and raspberries, shop bought meringues and double cream, all roughly smashed together and served with shop bought shortbread or all-butter biscuits. Easy and yummy.

Shop bought baklava and ice-cream or full-fat creme faiche always goes down a treat too.

(Sorry for all the "shop boughts" but thank goodness for their availability too!)