Okay, seriously, why do most desserts take 3 business days to make? No one has time for a croquembouche.

Here’s the situation - people are coming over later tonight and you spent so much time obsessing over the coq au vin, you totally forgot about making a dessert. Fear not - here are some low effort, no-cook, throw together ideas to get you out of a bind.

Store-Bought Chocolate Mousse

Grab a ready-made good quality chocolate mouse and a tub of creme fraiche. And, if they’re in season, you can pick up a punnet of berries too!

Plate it perfectly, with a sprinkle of sea salt and call it a day. Your guests will never know it came from a tub.

Affogatos

The beauty of an affogato is that it’s a nightcap, digestif and dessert all in one! All you need is vanilla ice-cream, a shot of espresso, and a dram of liqueur if you’re feeling a little ~wild~

It’s also the perfect excuse to break out your cutest servingware and make it feel fancy.

Effortless, a little bit theatrical, and done in under 5 minutes.

Pidapipo Gelato

Your guests will squeal with delight when you bring out a tub of Pidapipo gelato. But for this to REALLY be special, make sure you get a sleeve of waffle cones too.

And with the big tubs, you can choose up to four flavours so that everyone’s happy, even the vegans.

Mendiants

Say hello to Mendiants - a French treat that might be the fanciest pantry clear-out dessert you can whip together in minutes. Little discs of chocolate dotted with dried fruit and nuts - a perfect, petit post-dinner snack. Très chic.

Tarts By The Slice

Tarts are notoriously finicky so let’s leave this one to the experts at Tarts Anon.

You can go for a combination of slices so your guests can try different flavours - they’ve got everything from classic lemon tarts to seasonal editions like ube and passionfruit.

Or pick up a whole tart and pass it off as your own. We won’t tell.