Collection
Make-ahead dessert recipes
Browse our best make-ahead dessert recipes – all can be made in advance, with the finishing touches added on the day. Perfect to take some stress out of throwing a dinner party.
Choose from crowdpleasing classics such as eton mess and Michel Roux Jr’s chocolate mousse or lemon tart, or new favourites including Japanese soufflé cheesecake and a mango twist on tiramisu.
In the mood for chocolate? We love these molten middle chocolate fondants and our chocolate tart inspired by After Eights. If fruit’s your thing, we have plenty of make-ahead dessert recipes in that vein, too. For summer, opt for a strawberry daiquiri tart; for winter, try our pear and butterscotch cheesecake. And if you’re a pavlova fan, you’ll be spoilt for choice with our topping ideas, from caramelised walnut and coffee to peach bellini and pink praline.
Need starter ideas for your soirée? Check out our recipes, including smoky garlic prawn cocktail and a halloumi and clementine salad.
Showing 12 of 208
Sour cherry, pistachio and cardamom bakewell tart
This delicious twist on a bakewell tart is flavoured with sour cherry, pistachio and cardamom. It’s…
Vegetarian
🍽 Serves 10⏱ : hands-on · 1 hour 30 min oven◆ Easy
Lemon meringue pie sorbet
Comforting lemon meringue pie meets refreshing sorbet in this fabulous summer dessert recipe. Enriching and softening…
🍽 Makes about 1 litre (enough to serve 8)⏱ 20 min hands-on · 15 min oven◆ Easy
Coconut and blueberry granita
Looking for an easy no-churn iced dessert? Try our refreshing coconut and blueberry granita. All you…
Dairy-freeFreezable
🍽 Makes about 500g of each granita (enough to serve 8)⏱ 10 min hands-on◆ Easy
Aztec chocolate sorbet
Chocolate sorbet is a refreshing alternative to chocolate ice cream. Our easy Aztec chocolate sorbet is…
🍽 Makes about 1 litre (enough to serve 8)⏱ 5 min hands-on◆ Easy
Caramelised pineapple and basil sorbet
Sweet caramelised pineapple and fragrant basil make a winning team in this simple sorbet. This easy…
🍽 Makes about 1 litre (enough to serve 8)⏱ 10 min hands-on · 5 min oven◆ Easy
Pineapple mousse
Rosie Mackean’s retro pineapple mousse is perfect for summer entertaining. “It’s light, creamy and tropical –…
Gluten-free
🍽 Serves 6⏱ 25 min hands-on · 10 min oven◆ Easy
Strawberry bakewell tart with thyme
FreezableVegetarian
Strawberry daiquiri tart
Debora Robertson’s rum-infused strawberry daiquiri tart is the essence of summer. The mousse-like strawberry filling is…
🍽 Serves 6-8⏱ 40 min hands-on · 24 min oven◆ Easy
Îles flottantes au cidre (cider floating islands)
Îles flottantes is a classic French dessert of meringue islands floating on vanilla custard. Here’s why…
Gluten-freeVegetarian
🍽 Serves 4⏱ 20 min hands-on · 35 min oven◆ Easy
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