Any fancy cake.

Creme brulee or mousse are both make ahead.

Apple tart

I was also going to suggest a trifle. It will only look fancy if you have the correct dish, though.

Tiramisu? Or any cake you can make the night before.

Trifle?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is this at your home (e.g. you don't have to transport it anywhere)?

If so, I've made Raspberry bavarians and then taken large wine glasses, lined the wine glasses with sliced kiwi, banana and strawberries and the put the bavarian in the glass, with a few blueberries dropped in the middle for a "surprise". Everyone loved it and they look very fancy in the wine glasses with the sliced fruit. I made them up the night before, put saran wrap over the tops and then put in the fridge. The afternoon before the meal, I whipped some whipped cream and at the last minute, I added whipped cream to the top and served. Took about 2 minutes.

This sounds good except I don't know what a bavarian is.

And it doesn't have raspberries??

A bavarian is like a light fruit flavored mousse. You make a flavored custard (in this case raspberry) and then add in whipped cream to lighten/fluff it up. There are pureed raspberries in the bavarian and I did add a few more raspberries in with the blueberries for the surprise. I like them because they are flavorful, but light desserts and not too heavy. A lot of the desserts that I like are pretty heavy (surprise, I love chocolate desserts), but this is one that is lighter.

I can't find the exact recipe I used (if I remember, I'll check when I get home tonight), but this is close:
http://www.chefdecuisine.com/all_fruit/raspberry/RASPBERRY_BAVARIAN_CREAM.php

If you don't like raspberries, you can make other flavors.

Caramel custard - not too fancy, but love it. Can be prepared much ahead of time and refrigerated.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is this at your home (e.g. you don't have to transport it anywhere)?

If so, I've made Raspberry bavarians and then taken large wine glasses, lined the wine glasses with sliced kiwi, banana and strawberries and the put the bavarian in the glass, with a few blueberries dropped in the middle for a "surprise". Everyone loved it and they look very fancy in the wine glasses with the sliced fruit. I made them up the night before, put saran wrap over the tops and then put in the fridge. The afternoon before the meal, I whipped some whipped cream and at the last minute, I added whipped cream to the top and served. Took about 2 minutes.

This sounds good except I don't know what a bavarian is.

And it doesn't have raspberries??

Anonymous wrote:Is this at your home (e.g. you don't have to transport it anywhere)?

If so, I've made Raspberry bavarians and then taken large wine glasses, lined the wine glasses with sliced kiwi, banana and strawberries and the put the bavarian in the glass, with a few blueberries dropped in the middle for a "surprise". Everyone loved it and they look very fancy in the wine glasses with the sliced fruit. I made them up the night before, put saran wrap over the tops and then put in the fridge. The afternoon before the meal, I whipped some whipped cream and at the last minute, I added whipped cream to the top and served. Took about 2 minutes.

This sounds good except I don't know what a bavarian is.

Is this at your home (e.g. you don't have to transport it anywhere)?

If so, I've made Raspberry bavarians and then taken large wine glasses, lined the wine glasses with sliced kiwi, banana and strawberries and the put the bavarian in the glass, with a few blueberries dropped in the middle for a "surprise". Everyone loved it and they look very fancy in the wine glasses with the sliced fruit. I made them up the night before, put saran wrap over the tops and then put in the fridge. The afternoon before the meal, I whipped some whipped cream and at the last minute, I added whipped cream to the top and served. Took about 2 minutes.

Profiteroles.

This recipe is very easy and has to be made ahead to freeze properly. I have made it several times and everyone loves it.

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/passion-fruit-ice-cream-pie-with-a-ginger-crust

There was a good-looking recipe in last week's WaPo Food section for strawberry rhubarb sherbet. (Didn't have any dairy, and didn't require an ice cream maker.)

Don't know if that's fancy enough, but I think it would be easy, impressive, and a light clean end to the meal. You can dress it up with some combination of fancy cookies, mint leaves, powdered sugar, or strawberry slices.

I need an impressive/fancy dessert to finish off a gourmet 4 course meal (dinner club with friends). Since the rest of the dinner is labor intensive, would love something that can be made ahead and just finished off or plated before serving. Ideas?