Desserts for a large party - planning ahead

Pawan_2

I've done friend's weddings before, for between 50 and 150.

If Bookers is an option (do you have a friend with a card? free to get, but you have to qualify as a club, charity, business or similar) then you can bulk buy profiterole cases, and then fill these on the day with cream and ice with your own chocolate sauce (or coffee sauce). They also have the large frozen gateaux type cakes and cheesecakes if you want that kind of dessert.

For a summer event, strawberries / raspberries and cream always go down well (how about serving them in wine glasses?) and it's always good to have fruit available for people who don't want / can't have regular dessert - a fruit platter looks good and is easy to prepare, especially if you include lots of individual fruits like grapes, blueberries, melon slices, pineapple slices.

We did fruit kebabs on straws recently for a children's event, and that went down well - thread small cubes of melon, strawberries and other soft fruits onto either straws (for kids) or wooden skewers (for adults).

I also do mini cheesecakes in individual glass dishes (the kind you get Gu puddings in when they are on offer) - I do a basic biscuit layer, topped with a cream cheese/double cream layer (not cooked) then fresh fruit on top. Chocolate mousse / lemon posset / gooseberry/rhubarb fool also looks good presented like this. Very easy to prepare in advance (but you'd need fridge space rather than freezer space).

I've also done large and individual tiramisus - if you are doing a large one, you really need someone to serve it, to keep it looking nice (and control portion size!) - so I tend to do individual ones in said glass ramekins as above. You could always do them in wine glasses -they'll look great in those, and you can easily hire lots of wine glasses (free from most supermarkets if you buy their wine).

Chris25

Mado wrote: »

I'm always after a source of cheap frozen raspberry for jam making.

don't know if these from Tesco are any good - 300g for £1.49

Mado

Chris25 wrote: »

don't know if these from Tesco are any good - 300g for £1.49

My local Tesco doesn't stock them at the moment (used to).
To be fair, I'd rather larger packs, possibly broken ones too for jam making.

I've received my order of nuts (my kids thought I was nuts...:D). Will report after making the walnut moelleux if any good.

poet123

http://www.lakeland.co.uk/43188/LSA-Trifle-Bowl

Make a huge trifle in one of these large fluted bowls as a centrepiece. Lorraine Pascale does a stunning one:

jollymummy

I'd do a huge fruit plate,bread and butter pudding & fruit crumbles -always taste better next day, individual trifles, individual cheese cakes,scones to serve with jam and whipped cream. Rocky road, biscuits, I'm hungry

ooo and lovely Summer puddings - I use the frozen forest or summer fruit mixes!!

Mado

Reporting on the walnut moelleux...
Nice!
No objections from anyone (although the ones that weren't frozen dried out a bit fater 2 days).
I used the walnut meals from hbs food, which at £4.50 a kilo is excellent value.