“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
Make sticky toffee pudding even better, add caramel apples
Two-booze tiramisu recipe by Letitia Clark
Two types of alcohol, lots of layers, happy guests
Nigel Slater’s recipe for spiced pears with red wine and dark chocolate
Pears are capricious, tame them with wine and spice
Sally Clarke’s recipe for creme brulee
Silky cream underneath, cracking toffee on top
Jeremy Lee’s recipe for chocolate profiteroles
Choux, custard, ice-cream, chocolate sauce … what’s not to like?
Georgina Hayden’s recipe for galaktoboureko
Custard baked in filo pastry – a Greek classic
Nigel Slater’s recipe for pink grapefruit jelly and clotted cream ice-cream
A grown-up take on a childhood favourite
St John’s blackberry pavlova recipe by Fergus Henderson and Trevor Gulliver
This showpiece dessert deserves its place at the centre of any table
Blueberry lattice pie recipe by Claire Ptak
An American classic that’s brimming with fruit
Baked apple and pine nut crumble recipe by Flora Shedden
Cooked in a parcel for extra sweetness
Cake or Death’s peanut and chocolate skillet cookie recipe by Katie Cross
Warm, gooey, crowd-pleasing flavours – enough biscuit for everyone
Steamed lemon pudding recipe by Florence Knight
Warm and comforting with a citrus lift
Puff puff Nigerian doughnuts recipe by Jess and Jo Edun
Crunchy outside, fluffy inside – the perfect treat
Ravneet Gill’s recipe for Basque cheesecake
When burnt is better – minimum fuss, maximum deliciousness
Chocolate pots recipe by Terri Mercieca
Smooth, rich and intense, these are the ultimate treat for chocolate lovers
Indian saffron rice pudding recipe by Tarunima Sinha
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
How do you improve on a classic? Top it with a miso-sesame crunch
Just the crumble recipe by Benjamina Ebuehi
When all you want is the crunch
The River Cafe’s recipe for lemon tart by Ruth Rogers and Rose Gray
There are lemon tarts, and then there is the ultimate lemon tart from the River Cafe
