Hosting a dinner party is no easy task.
It is not just a question of a highly curated guest list. Ensuring the success of an evening filled with food, friends and merriment requires meticulous planning – from the menu and place settings down to the tablescaping theme.
In TV shows and films, it appears as if the hosts are able to whip up a festive spread and create an inherently cosy atmosphere with the click of their fingers. But that's far from the case. We've all learnt the hard way that the fictional and decidedly unrealistic realm of Gossip Girl’s Upper East Side is not a true reflection of the time, energy and patience that goes into celebrating with your nearest and dearest. It’s time to bring your expectations back down to earth.
Not only will you need to make an exorbitant number of trips to and from the shops to pick up ingredients that you’ve forgotten or simply can’t carry, but you’ll also need to manage your expectations of just what you can handle. Even with work-from-home days, if you plan on hosting a mid-week gathering – you simply won’t have the time to do the necessary prep for more than one course.
Just like the Waldorf’s and Van Der Woodsen’s wouldn’t dream of cooking their own dinner party meals, we’re offering you a luxurious yet accessible cheat code for your highly anticipated dinner party: pre-made desserts.
We’ve curated a selection of the most scrumptious desserts available to shop at supermarkets and department stores. Keeps scrolling for all the sweetness.
Shop now
Picard Chocolate Frozen Log
One of the best-kept secrets to that je ne sais quoi French style of hosting is Picard frozen meals. We know that pre-made, frozen food doesn’t exactly sound glamorous, but that’s because you haven’t seen the way they do it across the pond.
This frozen chocolate log is made using three different types of chocolate and has been designed to look as though it belongs in a pâtisserie window. It’s sure to impress and delight as part of any festive dessert spread.
Buy now £12.40, Ocado
Fortnum’s Pandoro Cake, 750g
Indulge in Fortnum's delightfully spongy Pandoro cake this season, which has been baked without any artificial colourings, flavourings, vegetable fats or preservatives. Simply whip up a quick homemade custard or serve it with delicious ice cream, depending on the preferences of your guests.
Buy now £44.95, F&M
Belgian Chocolate Profiterole Stack (30 pieces)
Whether served with a hot chocolate sauce or as they come, profiteroles are a fan-favourite snackable dessert to be enjoyed over the holiday season and beyond. Sainsbury’s is offering a whopping 30 perfectly puffy profiteroles filled with sweetened cream and topped with Belgian chocolate sauce for just £9 this winter.
Buy now £9.00, Sainsbury’s
Crosta & Mollica Tiramisu Twin Pack
You needn't slave away in the kitchen, nor spend a fortune on made-to-order desserts in order to impress your dinner party guests. Instead, lean on Crosta & Mollica and this tasty tiramisu.
Buy now £4.50, Ocado
Bettys
Gu pots are a dinner party classic. Available in an array of scrumptious flavours, you can purchase a selection for your guests to choose from at the end of the evening. Some are simply served cold, while others require heating up in the oven - either way, you'll be left with a couple of spanking-new glass ramikens for all your culinary needs. Everyone's a winner.
Buy now £4.55, Bettys
Chocolate Torte
Nothing beats a chocolate hit. This vegan chocolate torte is the ultimate palette cleanser after a deliciously salty roast. The dessert combines a crunchy biscuit base with a rich, silky-smooth dark Belgian chocolate ganache and is hand-decorated with shards of dark chocolate. Sugar rush pending.
Buy now £15.00, M&S
Booja Booja
No dairy? No problem. Indulge in delicious handmade Fine de Champagne chocolate truffles from boutique confectioner Booja Booja. This box holds 16 richly flavoured vegan sweets in a charmingly patterned box that’s just made for celebrations.
Buy now £13.01, Amazon
Ladurée Pink Intemporel raspberry and rose macarons box
Though you might not have thought it, macarons are actually considered to be a type of biscuit. Two fluffy, crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside meringue biscuits are sandwiched together with a creamy ganache filling to form everyone’s favourite sweet French treat.
What could be more luxurious than that? For a set of 12 delicious macarons housed in a beautiful box fit for royalty, we couldn’t recommend Ladurée more. This set features just the household favourite raspberry and rose flavours, but you can pick up an assorted box as pictured for the same price.
Buy now £36.00, Selfridges
Gu Pots
Gu pots are a post-dinner party classic. Available in an array of scrumptious flavours, you can purchase a selection for your guests to choose from at the end of the evening. Some are simply served cold, while others require heating up in the oven - either way, you'll be left with a couple of spanking-new glass ramekins for all your culinary needs. Everyone's a winner.
Buy now £3.75, Tesco
