Help: Best desserts to buy

BrianMc7

Hi, I need some help. I have a pretty important dinner party to cook for on Saturday. There are a few people coming over that are into their food and that I want to impress.
I’m cooking the starter and the main but I don’t have the time to cook the dessert. I really want a high quality, tasty dessert that I can buy. I checked in the supermarkets and to me they all lack quality and are pretty boring? The desserts ‘GU’ are about the closest to what I want. Is there generally a poor selection of desserts in the supermarkets? Does anybody have any suggestions on where I can buy a great dessert?
And if there’s no good dessert to buy in the supermarkets, Can anyone suggest their top three desserts I should look into. Thanks.

BrianMc7

Hi, I need some help. I have a pretty important dinner party to cook for on Saturday. There are a few people coming over that are into their food and that I want to impress.

I’m cooking the starter and the main but I don’t have the time to cook the dessert. I really want a high quality, tasty dessert that I can buy. I checked in the supermarkets and to me they all lack quality and are pretty boring? The desserts ‘GU’ are about the closest to what I want. Is there generally a poor selection of desserts in the supermarkets? Does anybody have any suggestions on where I can buy a great dessert?

And if there’s no good dessert to buy in the supermarkets, Can anyone suggest their top three desserts I should look into. Thanks.

SBWife

Is there a good bakery near you? Places like the French Bakery on Moore Street have lovely pastries that'd be perfect for dessert.

Cheshire Cat

How about making a Panna Cotta? You can make that a day in advance, so shouldn't add to the stress. Or get meringue nests and make a kind of pavlova. You can get pre-cut fruit and whipped cream in the supermarket, so would be quick to put together.

Also have a look in M&S, I think they had nice looking desserts the last time I was there.

john kinsella

You can make a load of lovely desserts the day before the big party. Dont wimp out and buy something. Your foodie friends would be much more impressed with a bit of effort.

You could make a lovely cheesecake (Baileys, chocolate, summer fruit etc)

I'd do a Key Lime Pie though. Bloody easy to make and is lovely after a big dinner!

Cerulean Chicken

Yeah make cheesecake, or tiramisu, brownies, pannacotta, chocolate mousse, etc beforehand, much better than anything bought.

sillysocks

The baileys cheesecake from Superquinn is gorgeous!

RosyLily

+1 for cheesecake. Really easy to make and loads of varieties.
I usually make chocolate mousse. Nigella's recipe is my favourite; mini marshmallows are used instead of gelatin and there's no raw eggs. Make it the night before and leave in the fridge til you're ready to eat. I serve it in wine glasses or ramekins with a sprinkling of icing sugar or white chocolate shavings.

tfak85

I agree with the above, make something that can be prepared in advance.

You can get the Carnation condensed milk ready cooked now, so to make a bannoffi all you have to do is the biscuit base and then the bananas and cream shortly before eating, could even be done in the afternoon, before your guests arrive.

Dizzyblonde

My daughter makes a version of banoffi with a chocolate biscuit base and strawberries instead of banana, and it always goes down very well. I know strawberries aren't in season at the minute but you can get some decent ones in the supermarkets.

DoozerT6

If you're still stuck and don't have time to make anything, the Tiramisu from Dunnes (their own brand) is really, really nice, and on special for €3 at the moment. Otherwise I guess Eton Mess is a quick alternative?

flossie

Kiwi Cheesecake - best made a day in advance. Or a banoffi, just whip the cream (or buy pre-whipped).

I saw a recipe for an ice cream pie in Easy Food magazine this month - melt chocolate and rice crispies together, press into a loose base tin and leave to set. The scoop slightly softened ice cream into it (you could buy a luxury type ice cream) and pop in teh freezer for a few hours or overnight. I made a really syruppy lemon poppyseed drizzle cake over the weekend which was lovely, and served with a dollop of vanilla ice cream!