Desserts

[Doone22]

What's your go to never fail easy dessert for an evening meal you are hosting? Its got to be made not bought.

Mary Berry’s recipe for chocolate brownies. Can be made in advance and frozen.
Decorate with drizzled white chocolate and freeze dried raspberries.
Serve with fresh raspberries and cream or ice cream.

Tarte tatin for Autumn/winter, or Nigella Rasperries in chardonnay jelly for summer

Have recently made Eve's pudding, layer of apples on the base with Victoria sponge mix over the top, served with creme fraiche. The main course was light, so an autumnal substantial pudding was fine. The apples were from a friends tree and very tasty!

Clafoutis.

Yum with lovely cherries.

Nigella's honey and pine nut semi fredo if weather is ok. Something with custard if not, crumble, apple pie etc. I do buy the custard though, Waitrose fresh stuff with vanilla is gorgeous.

Mine is jam and cream swiss roll. So easy to make and very comforting.😋

Banoffee pie

Blackberry and apple crumble, always goes down well!

Raspberry Streusel - ground almond pastry base, raspberries, frozen pastry mixture grated over the top. Looks very snazzy in a long rectangular tin.

Yes to clafoutis. I'd been intrigued by them for years and thought they were exotic or complicated or something, then I made one and realised they're really simple and easy and delicious, serve with ice cream or cream.
I think it's the name, they just sound a bit posh and mysterious! 😂

I think you have to go a long way to beat a pile of choux buns filled with cream and with chocolate sauce poured over. Plus choux pastry is dead easy and quick to make.

In summer I do a thing where you layer posh biscuits (or sponge fingers) with chopped strawberries and then add a layer of cream and mascarpone whipped together. It's a bit like Tiramasu (which I don't like), but without the alcohol and coffee, and, again, dead easy to make.

Chopped dates, chopped bananas, cover with single cream, put in fridge overnight.

Some sort of cheesecake! Always goes down well and you can make it the day before as it improves overnight.

This key lime pie recipe:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/key_lime_and_elderflower_59661

I always use ginger biscuits (and sometimes add some chopped stem ginger to the base) and I use the zest of all 3 limes, not just one.

Eton mess in summer, apple tart otherwise.
I found a very easy recipe for upside down tarte tatin. You pile sugar, apples and butter on a sheet of baking paper. Cover with ready made puff pastry (nobody i know makes that themselves) and bake. Then turn over, and serve.

At this time of year, it’s got to be a fruit crumble and custard.

Mary Berry's lemon possets. Very, very easy and made the night before. I put them in glass dishes or in pretty tea cups. Everyone likes them and people think I have been much cleverer than I actually have been.

Lime chiffon pie because I have the tree. And I make it gluten free and dairy free. https://www.womensweeklyfood.com.au/recipe/dessert/lime-chiffon-pie-28826/. Yes, yes to putting ginger in the base.

Or, poached plums (cos they’re gorgeous and pink) in a dish with meringue ove and into the oven. Put your spoon in and pink syrup spills everywhere. So pretty.

For those who have made clafoutis would frozen fruit be ok do you think? I have a load that needs using.

A choice of:

1. strawberries, blueberries and blackberries mixed (covers people on a diet / diabetics / non drinkers / vegan / dairy / gluten intolerant) OR
2. tiramisu OR
3. both

It takes 30 mins. So easy, Bit retro. People tend to like it.
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/best-ever-tiramisu

Frozen fruit will be wetter, so make your batter thicker. I've definitely done clafoutis with frozen fruit and it was fine. I may have cooked it longer but I tend to cook things longer than recipes say anyway.

Pavlova

Raspberry cinnamon torte is fabulous and easy. You can swap the raspberries for sliced poached and drained cooking apples to make it seasonal. A good Christmss pud too using mincemeat instead of raspberries. Soooo simple and quick

No egg Tiramisu. So easy and I make it the day or night before always.