Desserts for Afternoon Tea Bridal Shower

[achevres]

I’m making desserts for an afternoon tea for 20 (a bridal shower), in mid-June. I’m getting paid for the first time (yikes!). I wanted advice on my menu and also on quantities. I want to have items that are easy to pick up or are pre-cut. I need things that I can make ahead. I can probably make one item that needs to be cold, but no more. And no hazelnut since the mother, my friend, hates them.

I’ve read all related posts in egullet I could find. These 2 were most helpful: First Catering Job and Formal Tea. They are from a couple of years ago and I wonder if anyone has more ideas, or can recommend the already mentioned.

So far I have:

A large tray of assorted cookies including Earl Grey shortbread, a layered shortbread, alfajores (cookies filled with dulce de leche), oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, raspberry shortbread squares (the kind you grate the frozen dough and layer it with raspberry jam). And probably Maida Heatter's Miami Peanut Flats, for something salty. And plain shortbread.

Lemon-cocount tartlettes.

Mini high-hat cupcakes (chocolate cake with Italian meringue, dipped in chocolate)

Chocolate-caramel mini-tarts

Scones (probably plain and strawberry). Served with cream (clotted?) and jam or preserves. The bride loves scones...and lives in London...no pressure

Questions:

1. What else should I make? I would like to make at least one more thing that is not made individually, like a cake, that I could cut. I would rather not make brownies. I like the idea of poundcake finger sandwiches with strawberries but not sure how to make them look nice. Carrot cake? An almond cake?

2. I would like something with almond, but can't decide on what.

3. What flavor am I missing?

4. Is this enough?

5. How many of the small tarts should I make? 20?

6. How about a bowl of strawberries with cream? They are in season now. Other fruit?

7. Can I get away with whipped cream (chantilly)?

8. What to charge? I’m thinking $12-15 per person, but with fruit and clotted cream extra. Too high? Too low? There are no budget constraints but I want to be fair considering it’s my first job but also the amount of work involved.

I welcome any and all advice. Thanks!

[K8memphis]

What about your little sandwiches?

[achevres]

What about your little sandwiches?

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In one of the threads I mention, they served small poundcake sandwiches with cream cheese buttercream and fresh strawberries which sounded good, but I'm not sure how to make them look good.

I am not doing the savory sandwiches, someone else is. I thought it was too much for my first time.

[Megan Blocker]

I know you said you didn't want to make brownies, but I have to tell you that Ina Garten's brownie tart (from her Barefoot in Paris cookbook) was a huge hit at a bridal shower that I threw last summer. I served it cooled with whipped cream and fugde sauce. People loved it. It also went really well with the Champagne.

It's like brownies but just slightly more elegant.

Edited June 3, 2006 by Megan Blocker (log)

[annachan]

To better answer your questions, here are a few things I like to know:

Are you only doing dessert? If you are, is someone else doing other food such as sandwiches or is this a dessert only event?

What time is the event and how long for?

Do you know if the guests will be going out for dinner afterward? Or will they have had lunch before this event?

How much food you make will depend on those factors. I think for 20 people, you are planning more than enough sweets. Looking at your menu, you have 11 items on there, which is a lot, especially almost all of them are sweet and there are more substanial items such as scones and cupcakes. For more tradtional afternoon tea, I would say go with the scones and skip the cupcakes. As for the one larger item you want to make, maybe make a large fruit tart (or 2) instead of the individual tartletts. Or maybe an English trifle.

One thing I would suggest is to take a look at tea menus online and see what other people serve and charge. Here's a link to a local tea room, Lovejoy's. I've seen places that charge from about $20-$50 for scone, tea sandwiches and an assortment of sweets (cookies, tarts, cakes, etc.).

[achevres]

Megan, the brownie tart sounds good. Thank!

As I posted above, I'm only making desserts. I was asked because of items I've made before, such as the lemon-coconut tarts and the high-hat cupcakes. So just scones won't do.

It is a 4pm afternoon tea with tea sandwiches and desserts. Thank goodness I've had afternoon tea in London, Hong Kong and Buenos Aires (more English than you think). Desserts are the point of this tea.

I can't do trifle because of the sherry and also it is more complicated to serve.

I would love to do a fruit tart but all the recipes say to serve quite soon after making it and that won't be possible.

Thanks all.

[sweetfreak]

I made pound cake finger sandwiches for a bridal shower recently and they were a HUGE hit. Here is what I did: I sliced pound cakes about a 1/2 inch thick and then lightly toasted the slices in the oven. Next, I melted chocolate and brushed them on one side of the pound cake slices to "waterproof" them. Added a layer of Nutella and a slice of strawberry or banana. Next time I make them, I will use a very small star-shaped cookie cutter to cut the slices first, hence a prettier presentation.

FYI, I tried to make a strawberry cream as well as a cinnamon cream, but they were too loose, so I just used the Nutella

[CaliPoutine]

"2. I would like something with almond, but can't decide on what."

How about mini bakewell tarts? If I remember correctly, they have almond and rasberry jam in them.

[maggiethecat]

"2. I would like something with almond, but can't decide on what."

How about mini bakewell tarts?  If I remember correctly, they have almond and rasberry jam in them.

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Bakewell tarts! Brilliant.

This isn't specific, it's generic. Little lemon, lime or grapefruit curd tarts can be assembled at the last minute, and you can show off your collection of mini tart-shell molds. The secret is not making a pate sucre, but using a shortbread recipe, which can be pressed into the molds and baked earlier. No worries about sogginess and the premade curds can be spooned in at the last minute.

[CanadianBakin']

I just did a Ladies Tea this wednesday. It was mid-morning and there were no sandwiches. I did 5 different miniature sweets and 2 types of scones and even at that the ladies thought there were too many options since they wanted to try them all so you may want to scale back a bit.

The sweets were...

- Coconut Macaroon Pyramids with the bottoms dipped in dark chocolate (Baking Illustrated)

- Pistachio Petit Fours (Sweet Miniatures by Flo Braker)

- Miniature Lemon Tarts glazed with Apple Jelly & 1 blueberry each (Pierre Herme inspired)

- Brownies but into 1-1/4" squares and individually covered in chocolate glaze and garnished with a tiny bit of edible gold

- Tiny Meringue cups filled with a bit of slightly sweetened whipped cream and each topped with one fresh raspberry. (Gale Gand)

The combination of colours, textures and shapes made for a gorgeous plate. Everyone was WOW'd! I always try to include an item or two that don't contain flour for people with dietary concerns.

The scones were cranberry lemon and pear ginger.

The group was about 30 women aged 22 to 65 or so.

Edited June 4, 2006 by CanadianBakin' (log)

[achevres]

OMG, thanks for all the great ideas.

Calipoutine: I'm researching bakewell tart recipes (any specific recipes?). As it so happens I have a lot of black raspberries in my freezer, so I wouldn't have to buy/make jam. I could do that instead of the raspberry shortbread. Can it be made the day before?

CanadianBakin': thanks so much for your advice. Would you mind sharing how much you charged? I do think I have a lot. Maybe 4 types of cookies, the lemon tarts, bakewell tarts, the cupcakes, the poundcake sandwiches and the scones? The cookies, tarts and cupcakes can all be made ahead. The sandwiches would be that day.

The Sweet Miniatures book looks good. Do you recommend it? I love little pastries because often I just want a small sweet bite or I'd rather have a variety.

[devlin]

Questions:

1. What else should I make?  I would like to make at least one more thing that is not made individually, like a cake, that I could cut. I would rather not make brownies.  I like the idea of poundcake finger sandwiches with strawberries but not sure how to make them look nice. Carrot cake? An almond cake?

2. I would like something with almond, but can't decide on what.

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How about Sarah Phillips' butter cake (post #40) with a variation on Ling's crumble cake topping (post #61), using almonds and either almond extract or amaretto to flavor the topping (including almond extract, in addition to vanilla, in the cake itself).

Because I didn't have whole milk, I used buttermilk instead and the cake is fabulous -- moist, flavorful, gorgeous. If you use buttermilk, be sure to correct for that, modifying both baking powder and soda, which I've noted in post #94 of the thread.

I've a recipe for a gorgeous Martha Stewart Almond tart/cake affair that always gets rave reviews. It's more complex than the butter cake which has the added advantage of yielding two cakes in one fell swoop and is super easy.

If you'd like the Martha Stewart recipe, please feel free to email me. I've already got it copied in a word file with easier directions than hers.

(edited for spelling)

Edited June 4, 2006 by devlin (log)

[JFLinLA]

What about almond macaroons/amaretti? Easy, delicious and would go well with this. My recipe is just blanched almonds, sugar, egg whites & almond extract whirled together in a food processor.

If you want, you can check out my thread from last year when I was planning the dessert bar for my daughter's Bat Mitzvah. You can find it here. Head to the end for the photos of what I actually ended up with, including the amaretti.

[Trishiad]

I think your cookie count is too high. Even the most delish cookie is not as impressive as the most simple tart. Petit fours and tarts will feel more indulgent and special and take up more room on the buffet table. The hostess will feel like she got more bang for her buck. Something garnished with fresh flowers would be especially lovely. How about a frangipan apricot tart? And don't forget something dipped in chocolat, a simple earl grey truffle perhaps.

I would create a couple of menu options for the hostess with different prices.

These 5 items for $12/head

plus these 2 more $15/head

even splurge on 10 items at $20/head

or whatever, you get my drift.

[CanadianBakin']

CanadianBakin':  thanks so much for your advice. Would you mind sharing how much you charged?   I do think I have a lot.  Maybe 4 types of cookies, the lemon tarts, bakewell tarts, the cupcakes, the poundcake sandwiches and the scones?  The cookies, tarts and cupcakes can all be made ahead.  The sandwiches would be that day.

The Sweet Miniatures book looks good.  Do you recommend it? I love little pastries because often I just want a small sweet bite or I'd rather have a variety.

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I actually did this one for free since it was for the Ladies group at my church and I asked if I could do it just so they had something really nice for our last meeting before summer break. For larger desserts, I usually multiply my ingredients by 4. I subtract the cost of ingredients from that total and divide it by the amount of money I want to make per hour and see if I think I can do it in that time. For miniature sweets you may even have to multiply your cost by 5 or more depending on how time consuming they are.

I do like Sweet Miniatures. I think all of the recipes I've tried so far have worked well. Oh, one pecan pastry that I wasn't too happy with but otherwise they're great.

I agree with Trishiad that your cookie count is too high. I'd be inclined to only do one or two or leave them out altogether. Or if you do a shortbread or butter cookie, use it as a base for something. Like pipe a rosette of marshmallow on top (in Sweet Miniatures) or do small sandwich cookies with a heart or flower shape cut out so the jam shows through and dust them with icing sugar.

Each mini dessert should look enticing and want to jump off onto your plate. It's taken me a bit to learn this and figure out how to improve. Something can taste amazing but presentation is what gets it on someone's plate.

edited to say: I was just looking at your list again...a presentation example would be the alfajores. The first time I made those, the recipe said to just dust them with icing sugar, so I did. Now you and I both know they taste great but hardly anyone took one. After a bit of research I decided to dip them in 3 different types of chocolate so a bit of each colour showed. The presentation on these was way better and everyone enjoyed them.

I've done the raspberry squares and same thing, they really didn't move. I haven't yet figured out a way to dress them up enough to make them jump on someone's plate. But the tiny meringue cups filled with cream and one raspberry just fly off the plate. It's really a bit of trial and error.

Edited June 5, 2006 by CanadianBakin' (log)

[achevres]

Thanks all. My head is reeling with the possibilities. They truly all sound so good and I would enjoy making them. That's why I'm here! I'm meeting with the hostess tomorrow and that will help a lot. I will get back to all of you when l have more time in a little bit. For now just getting back to Canadianbakin' :

...For larger desserts, I usually multiply my ingredients by 4. I subtract the cost of ingredients from that total and divide it by the amount of money I want to make per hour and see if I think I can do it in that time. For miniature sweets you may even have to multiply your cost by 5 or more depending on how time consuming they are...

Invaluable advice. Thanks so much.

... I decided to dip [the alfajores] them in 3 different types of chocolate so a bit of each colour showed. The presentation on these was way better and everyone enjoyed them.

I agree with the alfajores. I've had great success when I made them tiny, but less so with medium size. Question: Do you mean to triple dip them (white-milk-dark)? They weren't too thick?

[CanadianBakin']

... I decided to dip [the alfajores] them in 3 different types of chocolate so a bit of each colour showed. The presentation on these was way better and everyone enjoyed them.

I agree with the alfajores. I've had great success when I made them tiny, but less so with medium size. Question: Do you mean to triple dip them (white-milk-dark)? They weren't too thick?

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Yes, milk, white & dark. I dipped the cookie to cover half of the top, then after it's dried rotated a quarter turn and dipped to cover half in the next colour, etc. So when it's done, a quarter looks white, a quarter looks milk, a quarter looks dark and a quarter is just plain. It wasn't too thick.

Edited June 5, 2006 by CanadianBakin' (log)

[shaloop]

If you want, you can check out my thread from last year when I was planning the dessert bar for my daughter's Bat Mitzvah. 

I just checked this out and it looks wonderful. May I ask, how did you make the lemon cake?

It's so impeccably neat! is it frosted on each side or just on the top?

[devlin]

Thanks all.  My head is reeling with the possibilities. They truly all sound so good and I would enjoy making them. That's why I'm here!  I'm meeting with the hostess tomorrow and that will help a lot.  I will get back to all of you when l have more time in a little bit. 

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I've emailed the Martha Stewart recipe. I agree with the suggestion above that your original list is a little cookie-heavy, and I think the Martha Stewart almond tart would be a big hit. Every time I take it somewhere it's literally the one thing everybody raves and raves about. Done in stages (which I recommend), it's not such a big deal.

On the other hand, the butter cake with almond is now one of my husband's favorite things on the planet (and mine). It's killer. And ridiculously simple. I've also rewritten that if you'd like it.

[achevres]

On the other hand, the butter cake with almond is now one of my husband's favorite things on the planet (and mine). It's killer. And ridiculously simple. I've also rewritten that if you'd like it.

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Since you've re-written the instructions (all that's required to comply with copyright laws), why don't you post the recipe on this thread?

[gfron1]

Sugar overload! Sounds like my type of event Here is my favorite afternoon tea snack:

Olive Oil Crisps/Tortas and here's a totally random and untested recipe from the web.

Another thought, however. You mentioned that they asked you to do desserts because of previous experiences with what you have done...might want to not stray from your previous successes too much.

Have fun with it!

[achevres]

I think your cookie count is too high.  Even the most delish cookie is not as impressive as the most simple tart.  Petit fours and tarts will feel more indulgent and special and take up more room on the buffet table.  The hostess will feel like she got more bang for her buck.  Something garnished with fresh flowers would be especially lovely.  How about a frangipan apricot tart?  And don't forget something dipped in chocolat, a simple earl grey truffle perhaps.

I would create a couple of menu options for the hostess with different prices.

These 5 items for $12/head

plus these 2 more $15/head

even splurge on 10 items at $20/head

or whatever, you get my drift.

←

You are absolutely right about the cookies! I think just the alfajores and the raspberry squares.

And thanks for the pricing advice. I'm doing that tonight.

[achevres]

What about almond macaroons/amaretti?  Easy, delicious and would go well with this.  My recipe is just blanched almonds, sugar, egg whites & almond extract whirled together in a food processor. 

If you want, you can check out my thread from last year when I was planning the dessert bar for my daughter's Bat Mitzvah.  You can find it here.  Head to the end for the photos of what I actually ended up with, including the amaretti.

←

Thanks! I saw part of your Bat Mitzvah thread last year, but had not seen the pictures. You did a great job. The pictures help me a lot to see how things similiar to what I'm planning would look. And ideas on transporting the goods.

[achevres]

I met with the hostess today for the final choices. I made up a price list with some extra choices. I ended up using as guideline prices from a nearby OK bakery and priced cookies by the batch and the others by the piece.

The winners are:

Alfajores

Korova cookies

Lemon coconut tarts

Mini high-hat cupcakes

Poundcake strawberry sandwiches

Plain scones

Clotted Cream & Raspberry jam

I've read so much about the Korova cookies on egullet that I showed her a picture and she wanted them too. I need to practice those, the sandwiches and the scones. For the sandwiches I'm following advice from this thread. For the scones I'm trying first the recipe from Baking With Passion -- an English book. They look like glorified biscuits (which I make all the time from scratch).

I'm taking the goods the morning of the shower. I figure I'll be making the sandwiches that morning. Can I make the scones the night before?

The bride-to-be is bringing her favorite tea from London.

I will probably make the raspberry jam.

Any extra advice is very welcome.

I also want to add that it is because of egullet that I'm doing this at all. After a couple of years of reading of so many egulleteers cooking & baking just for the fun of it I decided I would also bake for any occassion, or no occassion, because I love it (and the compliments ). And the hostess is one of my friends who often got samples. Thanks again!

[CanadianBakin']

I'm glad you got the list finalized! It looks like a good variety. Scones are really not as good baked the day before. However, you can make them a few days before, form them and freeze them on parchment in an airtight container. Then bake them right out of the freezer the morning of. It will probably take a couple minutes longer. Best wishes!