Freeze ahead desserts please!!

Fruit crumbles can be prepared ahead and just reheated, ditto fruit pies, treacle tarts and a lot of hot desserts.

Pavlovas freeze well and can soon be tarted up decorated with cream and fresh fruit. Sticky toffee puds also freeze well and panna cotta can be made a couple of days ahead. Sounds as if you will be very busy GrandmaH!

As FlicketyB says, hot desserts can be prepared ahead and frozen.
In the winter I make chocolate volcano pudding - sauce included. I make a big amount, bake them in foil loaf containers, and freeze them.
Defrost and re-warm, they turn out fine. Sometimes you might need to add a little water when re-warming.

Not really a frozen recipe but its one I use in similar circumstances. I make a batch of high quality chocolate brownie with booze soaked prunes in it 4 - 5 days ahead. Then I gently heat up a mixed berry compote (made from one of those berry mixes in supermarket freezers sweetened a little) whilst we eat the main course and serve a portion of brownie with the compote and a scoop of good quality ice-cream.

Another variation on theme is something that was called 'Chocolate Georges' in a posh restaurant we went to many years ago. Make a batch of good quality meringues and store in air tight tin (3- 4 days). Serve with a scoop of best quality Italian style ice-cream (I find creamy vanilla a bit heavy) and then drizzle a warm chocolate sauce on top at the last minute.

Very rich, but delicious, Delia's Chocolate Truffle Torte recipe! You can freeze it, but it does keep very well without.

here it is!

www.deliaonline.com/recipes/main-ingredient/chocolate/truffle-torte.html

Lemon or chocolate roulade are my christmas frozen dessert standbys and are relatively easy to do!

There is a fabulous pud in Nigellissimo (sp??) which you can do at the last minute and is quite impressive with frozen fruit, melted chocolate and limoncello (sp?? again)

I remember well suppliers selling out of liquid glucose when DS first did this recipe on tv.

French apple tart (a sort of easy version of Tarte Tatin)

Butter a cake tin, sprinkle in brown sugar and cinnamon, cover with (lots) of nice tart apple slices, the first layer in a nice concentric circle, then covered with a layer of buttery pastry.

Freeze it in the tin, well covered, then bake a bit longer than normal in the oven. Turn out of the tin with the apple on top. Serve with cream, creme fraiche or good Cornish custard.

Or freeze lots of crumble topping in bags, keep fruit frozen separately. A good standby.

You're right annsixty the only place I could get the stuff last time I made it was from the chemist!

There's always that 1970's favourite, Ginger Nut Log. The first stage can be frozen.

Sandwich together a pack of ginger biscuits with whipped double cream (with a little brandy added)
Cover the whole thing with the rest of the whipped cream.
Wrap lightly in tin foil and freeze.

When it has defrosted you cover the whole thing again with brandy cream because the first lot of cream will have soaked into the biscuits softening them.
Rough it up a bit to form some peaks then decorate with thin slices of preserved ginger (the syrupy kind) and toasted almond flakes. This can be done a few hours before you need it.

Cut the slices diagonally when you serve it because then you get a stripey effect.

I remember that pud, merlot. Yum!

Another easy one is to bake a sponge in a ring tin, you can then freeze it. Defrost when needed, drizzle over a mixture of coffee and coffee liqueur (quite a lot to soak through but not drench), then cover in whipped cream. You can sprinkle with flaked almonds (or not if someone is allergic).

merlotgran That was one of my "dinner party" desserts when I was student. I think my sister gave me the recipe. I haven't made it since the early 1970s; I must do it again for old time's sake if nothing else.

I did it fairly recently with gf ginger biscuits - it wasn't quite the same!!

Aldi has some very good frozen desserts. or would you consider that as cheating.

Chocolate Mint Bundt Cake 1974 - One of my bake-ahead standards and guest favorite is my rich chocolate mint bundt cake made with chocolate fudge cake mix, sour cream, oil, extra eggs, and chocolate chips. Then turn it out from a beautiful decorative pan (mine is deep hearts) onto your best cake stand. Freeze the whole cake, serve in slices topped with fresh whipped cream and almond slivers.

Chart House Mud Pie, Corona del Mar,CA 1980s - possibly best freeze ahead and friends favorite. Pretty basic, even works for non-baking types. Make chocolate pie crust by crushing chocolate refrigerator cookies and butter. Cook in a deep pie tin, thicker is better. Layer softened mocha or coffee ice cream with almonds. Top the cake with thick and rich hot fudge sauce (cooled way down to scoop and swirl on the top). Freeze cake, defrost, cut slices and garnish them with fresh whipped cream and chocolate chunks, or fresh strawberries. Simple and everyone things it is rich and delicious.

Good luck, and lt us know what you baked!

It's not freeze ahead but all the parts can be made before time. It hasn't got a name!

Tin apricots drained. Chop fruit into small bits and put in bowl with spirit of choice. Soak

Coat inside of meringue nest with chocolate. Allow to set.

Whisk some cream as stiff as you like.

When ready to serve add apricot and booze to cream am fold in, add flaked almonds if you like.

Spoon into meringue nests. Decorate with whatever you want.

Eat. I usually have these ingredients in so can make it quickly.

I would be at M&S or Aldi as nelliem has suggested.The roast dinner is hard enough work.

I would cheat with the pud too. For a minute annsixty I thought you meant that your son (DS) had his own tv cookery show.

Maybe the Air Vice-Marshall's chef's dessert, as brought by Marmight to our Burns lunch? Very, very easy, and needs 24 hours in the fridge so could be made in five minutes and then stored until needed? Classy-looking and abso-blooming-lutely delicious.

Large carton cream, whipped stiffish
Large carton yoghurt (fold into whipped cream. It softens the texture)
Blueberries and strawberries (fold in)

Put into glass bowl and cover with cling-film. Refrigerate for 24 hours.

If you made that before going out to your course, it could just be taken out of the fridge at the last minute.

I've made Eton Mess and frozen it in a basin (lined with cling film,) so it comes out as a'bombe' a couple of times. I served it semi frozen and it went down well. Whipped cream, broken up meringues and red fruits. It took hardly any time to make.

I love Eton Mess. The family like it too, I didn't realise it could be frozen.