Food & Cooking Recipes Dessert & Treats Recipes 17 Make-Ahead Desserts for Entertaining (or Just Because) From fudgy brownies to pudding pie, these impressive desserts can be prepped in advance to save time. By Rebecca Morris Rebecca Morris Rebecca is a freelance writer for MarthaStewart.com. Editorial Guidelines and Victoria Spencer Victoria Spencer Victoria Spencer is an experienced food editor, writer, and recipe developer. She manages the Martha Stewart recipe archive and is always curious about new ingredients and the best techniques. She has been working in food media for over 20 years. Editorial Guidelines Updated on November 9, 2023 Close Photo: Dana Gallagher There are many reasons you might need a make-ahead dessert: You’re going to a potluck right after work, you’re hosting dinner and need to get something done in advance, or (our favorite) you like to have a treat on hand to serve family and friends just because. Luckily, many desserts are make-ahead, like pretty much any cookie, or cheesecake and flan, which need enough time to set. Let this tempting selection of make-ahead desserts inspire you the next time you need to prepare something sweet. 43 Potluck Desserts That Travel Well and Feed a Crowd 01 of 17 Raspberry and Chocolate-Hazelnut Crepe Cake Ryan Liebe This showstopping dessert takes a while to put together, but you need to do it in advance, then let it chill. In fact, you can make the crepes up to a day ahead of putting the dessert together, then make the raspberry and chocolate-hazelnut fillings and assemble the cake at least eight hours ahead of serving, or as much as two days ahead. View Recipe 02 of 17 Crème Caramel Bryan Gardner These individual crème caramels can be made as far as three days ahead. The classic French dessert holds up wonderfully, as does its cousin, flan. View Recipe 03 of 17 Cranberry Trifle Trifle is a busy host's best friend. It looks fancy but is simple to prepare. All you need to do is layer cake (store-bought is fine) with fruit, whipped cream, and other surprises to create a showstopping treat. And it needs to be made ahead to allow the flavors to mingle. Just be sure you have enough room in your refrigerator for the dish. View Recipe 04 of 17 Traditional Tres Leches Cake Yossy Arefi It's rare to meet a cake that actually gets better a day later, so let's take a moment to appreciate the fact that the ultra-moist tres leche cake is a make-ahead miracle. View Recipe 05 of 17 Apple Pie Bread Pudding Bryan Gardner There isn't a stale piece of bread out there that has ever suffered from spending too much time soaking up the sweet, eggy custard that comprises a good bread pudding. Assemble this apple-y dessert casserole the day before and put it in the fridge so that the next day's task will be reduced to just preheating the oven. View Recipe 06 of 17 Chewy Brownies Bake a batch of these perfectly chewy brownies to share with friends or enjoy throughout the week. They're a treat that tastes as good several days later as when they were first made. View Recipe 07 of 17 Marbled Soufflés If you're thinking that there's no way a soufflé can be made ahead of time, then you're half right. With this recipe, you'll get a head start on the airy dessert and be saying, "voilà!" in no time by making the base of thickened milk and egg yolks ahead, then baking them right before serving. View Recipe 08 of 17 Butter Pecan Blondies Ren Fuller These favorite bar cookies are always met with great acclaim and made with (mostly) pantry staples. You can bake them a couple of days ahead. Another option is to freeze them. View Recipe 09 of 17 Chocolate Peanut-Butter Icebox Cake Another make-ahead treat that only gets better as it sits, icebox cakes couldn't be easier to assemble thanks to a short ingredient lists and reliance on store-bought cookies. The longer you give the whipped cream filling to soak into the chocolate wafers, the more cake-like the texture will be. View Recipe 10 of 17 Chocolate Pumpkin Cheesecake Dana Gallagher Make this spectacular cheesecake the night before you want to serve it. The chocolate-caramel glaze is a last-minute addition before serving. (You can skip it but we think it's worth the effort.) View Recipe 11 of 17 Red Velvet Pound Cake Bryan Gardner You'll be happy to know that this all-occasions pound cake will stay moist for a few days at room temp. View Recipe 12 of 17 Martha's Warm Chocolate Pudding Cakes Stephen Kent Johnson Whip up the batter for these warm little cakes the day before, then pop them in the oven about an hour before it is officially dessert o'clock. View Recipe 13 of 17 Peach Cobblers These individual cobblers are a different type of make-ahead dessert. Prepare and bake them, then freeze them in their ramekins. Then, when you want to cozy up to this classic dessert, pop one or two in the toaster oven before sitting down for dinner, and it'll be ready come dessert time. View Recipe 14 of 17 Easiest Rice Pudding Rice pudding wins for nostalgia and the fact that it's easier to make than pie and can be kept on hand for days is all the more reason to put this recipe on your radar. View Recipe 15 of 17 Cranberry-Swirl Cheesecake Justin Walker Pretty much all cheesecakes are make-ahead, but this one stands out for its top-notch contrast of tart cranberry sauce swirled into the rich cream cheese custard. View Recipe 16 of 17 Vanilla Pudding Pie Kate Mathis The cookie crust will stay crunchy—and the custard filling smooth—for days in the fridge, so you make this treat well in advance. View Recipe 17 of 17 Triple-Chocolate Brownie Cups Lennart Weibull Ready for travel and sure to delight, these elevated brownies have all the gooey chocolate brownie flavor you love times three. And, they're already portioned out in cupcake papers, so they are easy to share. View Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit