Earlier this year, I shared the first publication of our Wit & Delight Entertaining series, “how to organize an informal dinner.” This series is a collaboration between my Lisa friend. Both eager hosts, we wanted to share ideas for entertainment that are accessible and special at the same time. I am very excited about our second entertainment delivery: the dessert party!
Life is full in the week before the end of the year. Finding time to connect with friends and family can fall on the side, especially for those in a season in which young children are part of their daily routine.
Since I worked on this series, I learned the joys of planning in advance. Thinking about ways to reduce labor and make things special is much easier when it is not running in makeshift plans. Lisa and I wanted to build a menu that would work for a meeting in the afternoon, think about the afternoon tea time, but with desserts. The concept makes you delegate recipes and responsibilities to friends, which is collaborative and fun!
What is a dessert party?
The idea of a dessert party is to enjoy desserts and snacks with friends or family. The menu can be informal and the workload can be divided among the guests so that everyone does something to share. This entertaining idea is perfect for the holiday season, but it can be executed at any time of the year.
The beauty of this type of party is that it is completely flexible. It can be in an afternoon or weekend event. The guest list can be intimate or large. You can sit around a dining table or as we did, simply gather around a coffee table in the living room. This is what our dessert party implied.
Come for … a dessert party
Guest list
There were six people on our guest list to the dessert party, including myself. I invited some friends who love baking and some friends who would bring tasty snacks. I think six is the perfect number, but a party like this works well to climb the guest list up or down.
Menu
Because the dessert is so indulgent, we design the menu to include sweet and salty treats. Lisa developed each of the dessert recipes. Some menu elements require more time and skill; Others only require a trip to the store. Three people baked desserts, three people collaborated on the charcerías board, and tried bubbles as the host.
For drinks, I recommend going with something special like Billecart Brut Rose or something to drink every day as I show frizzante bianco. For those who are not taking, try the dry white Pippi.
This is how our menu looked:
- Ricotta olive oil cake with cardamom butter, orange and pistachio
- Stepped pears with glie de brie beateed and oat canyon of cinnamon crumble
- Orange and chocolate mortar cookies spicy
- Charcutería Board
- Bubbles
Plinth
Almost everything can be done in advance, so the final touches bind quite easily the day of the party. For this type of party, you can include your friends in each of the preparation tasks, such as:
- Assemble the Charcutía Board
- Panar the pears
- Table settings
- Build a fire
- Candle lighting
- Pouring drinks
- Putting a playlist, they are leg lovers
With casual parties like this, a sense of reference makes everyone relax and feel comfortable in their home. Plan to sit between 30 and 45 minutes after everyone arrives.
If a collaboration preparation process is not your child of things, place your table (or coffee table in front of the fireplace if you have one), build a fire, light candle and put on a playlist in advance. Take the drinks of friends once they arrive and invite them to place their contribution on the table. Once everything has a plated leg, make each person share a small note what he brought, such as the delicious new cheese found in the market, the process of making the glaze in the cake, etc. I have found friends who speak.
The dessert parties are short: this is two hours with my friends (from 2 to 4 pm). We enjoyed a warm fire in my house at the golden hour and we were at home one or two hours before dinner. Ways of separation, each of us continued with our busy days, with a person who went to work, another going to the grocery store and another who went home to start dinner.
I love when sharing food with friends fits daily life easily.
There is more to come! This entertaining series will continue in 2025. We want to share how to organize an unbound lunch, an outdoor meal and an accessible feast, among other ideas. Stay tuned!
Kate is the founder of White & Delight. He is currently learning to play tennis and is forever Try the limits of your creative muscle. Follow her on Instagram on @witanddeelight_.