What To Serve For Dessert.

Byline: INTERVIEWS BY DANIELLE PERGAMENT, CARA BIRNBAUM, AND ELIZABETH ANGELL

Expert advice on why we procrastinate and how to get motivated; how to make an easy, irresistible dessert; plus, the weirdest new cocktails.

An Interview With Nigella Lawson

Lawson is the author of seven cookbooks, including Nigella Express: 130 Recipes for Good Food, Fast ( Hyperion ).

When I host a party, I always make dessertthe meal just doesn't feel complete without it. And it's the simplest part of the evening to pull off. You can make something easy ahead of time or even at the last minute.

Go for balance. Think about all the other elements of the mealtexture, color, how heavy the food is, even its temperature. I often think, I can't do chocolate because I've got too much brown going on. If you serve a fresh, light meal, then people will love a hot pie or crumble at the end of it. You wouldn't want to do that if you had just had baked pasta. That's when you'd serve berries.

Prepare ahead. People always confuse the words "requires planning" on a recipe with "difficult." They think, Oh my God, I have to do it early, so it must be hard. No one is ever going to say no to chocolate mousse or cheesecake, and those rich dishes have to be done in advance, but they're not difficult. You stir something and put it in the fridge.