EASY DESSERTS

These recipes leave a great impression after a meal

For better or worse, dessert is a dish that leaves a lasting impression. If it’s phenomenal, you leave the table feeling happy and satisfied. If it’s terrible, it can ruin what until then was a pleasant evening.

The pressure is really on when you’re throwing a party for family and friends. As the host or hostess, you want to end the gathering in style with a dessert that’s as greattasting as it is appealing. But let’s be honest: The twin endeavors of cooking for a crowd while also making sure everyone in attendance is having fun is hard work. So the last dish (or dishes) of the day needs to be all about ease, convenience and simplicity.

How do you accomplish that goal? Desserts that can be made a day or so in advance, using everyday ingredients, are always a stellar idea — think a single-layer cake with yummy, fingerlicking icing or a simple, seasonal fruit tart. It’s also to your advantage if the dishes serve more than just a handful of people.

The wrinkle to this wellformed plan is that different people often like different things. The chocoholics among us, for example, hope for something full of rich, cocoa goodness, while others prefer tangy desserts or one built around fruit. So it’s good to have a range of colors, tastes and textures for guests to choose from.

As a kitchen overachiever, I usually tackle that problem with at least two desserts. In the case of a recent paella party for around 15 friends and colleagues, I made three desserts: a tangy lemon tea cake infused with a sweet lemon syrup, an incredibly

decadent chocolate zucchini cake glazed with more gooey chocolate, and the New York Times’ iconic, no-fail Italian plum torte.

Believe it or not, it wasn’t a ton of work.

All were easy to make the night before the party while watching “Billions” on TV. Even better, the end results looked gorgeous on my picnic table the following evening.

The only stressor was wondering if my mother’s banged-up metal Bundt pan from the 1960s would cooperate and release the lemon cake in one pretty, fell swoop — and whether I could snag a piece or two for breakfast the following morning.