JUST DESSERTS : Striving for a simple dessert after a holiday meal? Think fruit, bakery cake and ice cream and you’ve got it made.

The impromptu dessert, the kind that requires no cooking, no fuss, no muss, especially during the busy holiday season when every minute counts, is truly a godsend.

We’ve selected several simple, no-cook desserts you can either prepare ahead or at the last moment.

One of the easiest and probably the most effective of all no-cook, spur-of-the-moment desserts is a fruit plate. But not just any fruit plate. Prepared with artistry by Katsu Michite of Katsu restaurant in Los Angeles, the fruit plate becomes a still life portrait that will have guests oohing and aahing. You can use Michite’s formula of standing the fruit on a marble slab or any glass surface for artistic effect, or use your own artifacts to mount and design the fruit.

Michite used whatever fruit he had on hand: pineapple, papaya, kiwi, melons and grapes, to create an impromptu still life in yellow, green and orange on a small slab of black granite. You can mix and match colors or use a single color scheme to carry out your theme. Arch-cut fruit were placed upright to give height and importance to the design.

Another fruit dessert idea is based on old-fashioned ambrosia, a dessert that often doubles as a salad. We have layered red and green fruit in a crystal bowl, in keeping with the season’s colors.

Fruited Kir Royale is a simple Champagne-dessert that’s quick, easy and glamorous. You can use several finely cut fruits or whole berries or a single fruit.

Ice cream, we found, is another ingredient you can dress up for a party dessert. Many gourmet food stores supply sherbet in fruit shells, which are a festive, colorful, simple and inexpensive answer to a holiday dessert. You can buy them if you are pressed for time, but you will save a few dollars by making them yourself. They are easy enough to do.

Tartufo requires a little planning, but once the ice cream balls are made and frozen, you will have an elegant last-minute dessert. You can prepare the dessert up to three months in advance or even several hours before serving.

We found a similar version served at Curry Club cafe on Melrose Avenue. The ice cream balls are served on a paper holder for convenience, but you can use stemware or other favorite dishes.

Bakery cakes can easily be jazzed up with fruit or ice cream for impromptu desserts that can look like a million dollars but cost pennies.

I have fond memories of the old-time coffee shop dessert of pound cake topped with ice cream and hot fudge. Why not try the same idea using one of the many glamorous ice creams offered today along with a fine Swiss bittersweet chocolate to which you can add liqueur? We used pistachio ice cream with pistachio-flavored liqueur. Also, try raspberry ice cream or sherbet with framboise , the raspberry-flavored liqueur, or mocha ice cream with creme de cacao. Scan the liqueur sections of the market for a flavor that captures your imagination.

An angel fruit cake makes use of bakery cake and whole or half-cut canned and fresh fruit for a fruit-in-the-basket effect. Tie a colorful ribbon around the cake to act as both anchor for the heavy filling and as a decoration.

You might also consider doctoring up store-bought cakes to suit your needs. One hostess uses a supermarket frosted cake and adds a sprinkling of nuts or colored or chocolate sprinkles.

You can decorate tops of plain frosted cakes with messages. A white frosted cake might be a candidate for a holiday scene with snowmen, skiers and miniature trees mounted on raised frosting. A jellyroll can be the basis for a chocolate log, garnished with meringue mushrooms you can buy at most markets during the holiday season. You can try poundcake and lady fingers to create other ice cream cakes, or cakes covered with whipped cream and decorated with fruit. Here are a few recipes to start you off.

KATSU’S STILL LIFE FRUIT PLATE

1/2 cantaloupe

1/2 honeydew melon

1/2 papaya

1 kiwi

1 orange

1 large cluster green grapes

1/2 lime

Mint sprig

Peel cantaloupe, honeydew and papaya. Seed and slice to form arches. Cut thin layer of flesh from rounded side in strip short of cutting through other side. Tuck loose strip underneath to form loop.

Peel and slice kiwi. Peel and slice orange, then cut in halves. Wash grapes. Slice lime. Cut peel in strip short of cutting through other side. Tuck in loose strip underneath to form loop.

Keeping fruit groups together, arrange on any desired surface, standing fruit upright, rounded side up. Arrange grapes stem up. Garnish with mint. Makes 6 servings.

CURRY CLUB TARTUFO

4 strawberries or 4 maraschino cherries

1 pint mocha or chocolate ice cream

Chocolate sprinkles, miniature chocolate chips or 8 ounces chocolate, melted

Whipped cream, optional

Cookie wafer rolls, optional

For each ice cream ball, insert strawberry or cherry in center of level, slightly softened scoop of ice cream. Mound more ice cream on top of scoop to form ball. Place ice cream ball on plate and freeze to harden. Repeat with remaining ingredients to make 4 balls.

Roll each frozen ball in chocolate sprinkles or chips, or dip in melted chocolate. Serve in shallow dessert bowls and garnish with whipped cream and wafer cookies. Makes 4 servings.

SHERBET IN A SHELL

4 oranges

1 quart orange sherbet

4 mint sprigs

4 maraschino cherries

Cut off top 1- to 1 1/2-inches of each orange and reserve tops. Scoop out pulp from oranges. Discard membrane. Reserve fruit for other use. Place orange shells in freezer.

Fill orange shells with sherbet. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze until needed. Allow 10 minutes for orange sherbet to thaw slightly before serving. Garnish each with mint sprig and maraschino cherry for holiday effect, or other fruit blossoms. Makes 4 servings.

HOT FUDGE POUNDCAKE

1 poundcake loaf

6 scoops pistachio ice cream

8 ounces good bittersweet chocolate

1 tablespoon pistachio flavored liqueur

Whipped cream

Slice pound cake into 1-inch layers horizontally. Cut each layer in halves or into 2 circles. Toast poundcakes on one side.

When ready to serve, place scoop of ice cream in center of cake square or circle and place in freezer. Melt chocolate with liqueur and pour over ice cream. Garnish with whipped cream. Makes 6 servings.

LAYERED AMBROSIA

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1 1/2 cups shredded coconut

2 cups sliced strawberries

2 cups peeled and sliced kiwi

Honey Cream

Combine sugar and coconut. Alternate layers of strawberry and kiwi slices and coconut mixture in large crystal serving bowl. Serve with Honey Cream. Makes 8 servings.

Note: Citrus may be used in place of kiwi.

Honey Cream

1 cup sour cream

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Whisk together sour cream, honey and lemon juice. Chill.

FRUITED KIR ROYALE

2 large tangerines

1 cup raspberries or small strawberries

Framboise

1 (12.8-ounce) bottle Champagne, chilled

Separate tangerine into segments and remove seeds, catching juices in bowl. Add raspberries to tangerine segments in juices. Sprinkle with Framboise. Ladle into 6 Champagne glasses. Pour chilled Champagne over fruit. Makes 6 servings.

ANGEL FRUIT CAKE

1 (9- or 10-inch) angel food cake loaf or ring

Kirsch

1 (6-ounce) can whole peaches

1 (6-ounce) can whole apricots

1 (6-ounce) can whole plums

1 large banana cut in 1/4-inch slices

1/2 cup flaked coconut

Whipped cream

If using loaf cake, cut cavity in center. Break up removed cake pieces and sprinkle with kirsch. Return to cavity. If using ring, sprinkle lightly with kirsch. Do not drench.

Drain peaches, apricots and plums, reserving some juice in small bowl. Pat fruit dry with paper towels. Toss banana slices in juices reserved from fruit. Drain.

Pile fruit in cavity or center of cake, arranging in attractive color composition. Sprinkle with flaked coconut. Serve cake slices with fruit and whipped cream. Makes 6 servings.