“For god’s sake, someone make me a proper dessert and quick,” Jay Rayner wrote in his paean to puddings in OFM, bemoaning the lack of care restaurants often give this essential course. There’s no question for us: the best, most comforting desserts, the ones that really hit that sweet spot, are made at home. Here you’ll find some of our favourites. Classics such as steamed pudding, creme brulee and profiteroles. Custard pie takes Greek form as galaktoboureko, rice pudding meets Indian spices, and Nigerian puff-puffs are the only kind of doughnut we want. We have the River Cafe’s famed lemon tart and Saltine’s should-be-famous sticky apple cake. Nigel Slater infuses jelly and ice-cream with grown-up flavours. These may not all be quick to make, but they are all proper. Grab a spoon.
Ravneet Gill’s rhubarb galette recipe
Abundance of seasonal fruit? Put it on some pastry, scrunch up the edges, you’re good to go (pictured above)
Saltine’s sticky toffee apple cake recipe by Phil Wood
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Make sticky toffee pudding even better, add caramel apples
Two-booze tiramisu recipe by Letitia Clark
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Two types of alcohol, lots of layers, happy guests
Nigel Slater’s recipe for spiced pears with red wine and dark chocolate
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Pears are capricious, tame them with wine and spice
Sally Clarke’s recipe for creme brulee
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Silky cream underneath, cracking toffee on top
Jeremy Lee’s recipe for chocolate profiteroles
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Choux, custard, ice-cream, chocolate sauce … what’s not to like?
Georgina Hayden’s recipe for galaktoboureko
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Custard baked in filo pastry – a Greek classic
Nigel Slater’s recipe for pink grapefruit jelly and clotted cream ice-cream
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A grown-up take on a childhood favourite
St John’s blackberry pavlova recipe by Fergus Henderson and Trevor Gulliver
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This showpiece dessert deserves its place at the centre of any table
Blueberry lattice pie recipe by Claire Ptak
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An American classic that’s brimming with fruit
Baked apple and pine nut crumble recipe by Flora Shedden
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Cooked in a parcel for extra sweetness
Cake or Death’s peanut and chocolate skillet cookie recipe by Katie Cross
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Warm, gooey, crowd-pleasing flavours – enough biscuit for everyone
Steamed lemon pudding recipe by Florence Knight
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Warm and comforting with a citrus lift
Puff puff Nigerian doughnuts recipe by Jess and Jo Edun
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Crunchy outside, fluffy inside – the perfect treat
Ravneet Gill’s recipe for Basque cheesecake
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When burnt is better – minimum fuss, maximum deliciousness
Chocolate pots recipe by Terri Mercieca
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Smooth, rich and intense, these are the ultimate treat for chocolate lovers
Indian saffron rice pudding recipe by Tarunima Sinha
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The secret to success is in the milk-sugar-rice ratio, the magic in the spices
Barbecue banana split with miso-sesame crunch recipe by Helen Graves
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How do you improve on a classic? Top it with a miso-sesame crunch
Just the crumble recipe by Benjamina Ebuehi
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When all you want is the crunch
The River Cafe’s recipe for lemon tart by Ruth Rogers and Rose Gray
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There are lemon tarts, and then there is the ultimate lemon tart from the River Cafe