Special/festive dessert which won't stress me out?

[notamumyetbutoneday]

We have friends coming over on Christmas eve for dinner and I would like to do a special dessert. However the catch is this lengthy list of requirements:

1. It must be able to be made the day before as Im at work until 5pm on Christmas Eve (bah humbug)

2. It can't have mincemeat/sultanas etc in as the guests dont like that, so that rules out mince pie/Christmas pud type desserts

3. I would rather it didnt cost a blinking fortune to make as everyhting else I seem to make does. [Does anyone else get disheartened that it costs an arm and a leg to cook from scratch but I could buy a cheesecake from asda for £1. I digress.]

4. Nigellas anglo-italian trifle, bannoffee pie, various cheesecakes, chocolate mousse and chocolate fondue are all out as I have made these previously for them.

5. I would like it to look like Ive gone to loads of trouble but it to be actually very easy.

Not difficult then.

I was considering perhaps

a) Meringues with cream, fruit etc or
b) Roulade of some descriotion

But as ive never made either of these before, is that asking for trouble? Would they be really difficult and if not which is easiest?

Thank you if you've managed to read to the end of this!

Hmm - I didn't like the forgotten pudding ala Nigella - seemed lacking in crunch.

I just do a bog standard pavlova recipe - any of Delia/Nigella/Jamie's will do. I think the key is to whisk the eggs until you think they are done, then a bit more. Also, I add the sugar really slowly ie 1 teaspoon at a time. Seems boring but worth it as I have never had a failure this way and it doesn't need any stabilisers eg vinegar or cornflour. I think I remember Jamie Oliver saying you should continue to whisk after the sugar is added until it is dissolved and you cannot feel any grittiness between your fingers.

chewy have you ever tried slightly heating the sugar a la ottolenghi?

No 120cm I haven't. Does it end up drier in texture like a cooked meringue? or is it just to encourage the sugar to dissolve faster?

How aboout lemon posset? One of the easiest and most delicious desserts

Oh Sanat you beat me to it. I was going to suggest the lemon posset. It is so easy and looks so impressive.

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And you can dress it up in any manner of ways:

grated dark chocolate on the top
red currants
shortbread, etc

i thought the heating was meant to give you ultra-glossy, chewy and perfect ones. didn't know about the sweetness... maybe use the good amounts, then heat before you beat? I still urge you all to try the lemon curd yoghurt pudding. sounds weird but tastes and looks far more sophisticated than lemon posset. honest

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