I’m going to a friend’s house for dinner on Saturday night (it’s a small dinner party - 5 people). My friend, Paul, is a fabulous cook and always puts on a great spread (multiple courses, matching wines). Last time, I brought molten lava cake with raspberry sauce (brought the batter in ramekins and baked it when I got there). That dessert was really good, but I’ve set the bar high!
I am looking for something relatively easy to make (I don’t think I’m up for rolling out dough) and I should be able to carry it 30 minutes in the car. Reheating is fine! Oh, I hate figs and not wild about pears! I like chocolate, peanut butter, caramel, cheesecake and most desserts. I was contemplating a bread pudding, maybe? I’ve never made one!
I’m kind of embarrassed to suggest this, but it really is ludicrously good, and simple. I had it (again) recently, and man, it’s good.
Caramel pie - boil two cans of sweetened, condensed milk in a pot of water for 2.5 - 3 hours. This caramelizes the milk. Pour into a graham cracker crust (made or bought). Chill, then top with homemade raspberry coulis (or whatever tickles your fancy).
Such a low-rent recipe, so you may not want it for your gourmet event, but I dunno. It’s really rather spectacular.
Ooh, I’m intrigued! I actually had a fabulous caramel meringue pie at Salty’s restaurant in Seattle. It was a caramel pie topped with some gorgeous meringue peaks - how hard is meringue to pull off?
Meringue can be tough, but not necessarily. The trick, I’ve found, is to sift the sugar, and be patient when adding it. Thinking about having a baked meringue on top? Mmmmmmmmmm…
I don’t know if it’s impressive enough, but I always get a lot of requests for my Banana Split Cake.
Make a banana cake batter and pour in pan. Lay a few tidbits of pineapple and some strawberry pieces on top of batter, they’ll slide down during cooking. About a half cup of fruit total, chopped small.
Bake as directed, plus five minutes since the fruit adds wet. Test for doneness with a knife or toothpick, you might have to add another ten minutes or so.
Let cool completely.
For the topping, you want a whipping cream like effect, but of course real whipped cream would fizzle itself out too soon. So you’ve got options, a very light buttercream frosting can do, or fold 1 part sour cream into 4 parts whipped topping. The s.cream gives it body, it’s less sickeningly sweet and will hold up very well. Pipe it on in swirls and blobs and peaks, I use a ziploc and cut a corner out, not a uniform frosting look but something fun and whipped creamy looking.
Top with drizzled chocolate, butterscotch, cherries and nut toppings.
If traveling, I grab a throwaway tinfoil pan with the raised clear plastic top, the whipped topping should be kinda tall and you don’t want to squish anything.
I was going to suggest bread pudding as well. It meets all of your criteria and it is outstanding when made well. I am not sure why you don’t see it around more often. A lot of recipes call for either rum or whiskey so you have to pick one or none at all. It isn’t hard to make and there are good recipes all over the web. It can be served with vanilla ice cream if you want but you don’t have to.
Blitz 16 Oreo cookies in a blender, and press half into a dish (we like to use a cake tin with removable sides) to use as a base.
Soften 1 litre vanilla icecream, mix in most of the rest of the Oreo crumbs, and flavour with Baileys to taste (you can also add some Creme de Menthe). Put icecream on the base, and sprinkle with some shaved chocolate and the remaining Oreos.
Hey This thread is GREAT! I expect this dinner party will happen on a regular basis, so I love having all these ideas. I have a gorgeous Bundt pan shaped like a rose that I’ve never used, so the current plan is to do a Mexican Chocolate cake with a Kaluha glaze. I had thought about a red velvet (due to the rose shape) but a friend said red velvet probably wouldn’t do well in a bundt pan. My backup is the caramel pie and it will definitely be my choice for the next dinner. I also love the idea of the banana cake and Oreo/baileys pie! And eventually down the line, I will make some kind of bread pudding. I’m actually looking forward to making everything! (and eating it)
That’s awesome, I don’t know much about bread pudding, does it travel well? Can I whip it all up and stick it in the oven when I get there or would the bread get too smushy?
The bread would probably get too soggy if you did that, but you can reheat it at your friend’s house- I’ve done that and it just makes it better. If you eat it right out of the oven after the first baking, it’s light and cubey, and if you reheat it then eat it, it smashes down on itself and is really yummy, too. So either way is good.
As far as portability, you could just bake it at your house, put it in a larger container with ice under it, then reheat it at your friend’s house. I forgot to address that earlier. It takes an hour to cook, and if your friend’s a cook, he probably doesn’t want you hogging his oven for a whole hour.
A blast from the past. In the 1960’s this desert was all the rage. Fruit cocktail desert (cake)
Skip the topping they list, and use whip cream.
This is dead nuts easy to make, transports well, and is addictive tasting.
That recipe calls for cinnamon yogurt because it’s a low-cal version, but it’s the first one I found. I think a high-end cinnamon ice cream would be better. I actually prefer this dessert made with pears simmered in a reisling sauce and a little ginger or vanilla ice cream, but I see you don’t love pears. Gads!
