What dessert would you do for THIRTY people??

[ianshe]

Xmas eve bash, MiL is doing dinner for us all and somehow I've been roped into bringing the dessert. Argh!
14 adults, 16 kids ranging from 6months - 15yrs

Can I have some ideas?

I'm leaning towards two (or three??) big pavlovas. One mixed berry and one mango/pineapple ?

Maybe a big chocolate tiffin no bake tray bake also.

Doesn't have to be particularly christmassy, but I'd make the pavlovas into wreaths and throw some edible glitter on it. And maybe some holly sprigs stuck in the tiffin 😆

Not sure that trifle is popular with the French….

@Unexpectedlysinglemum I'm with you on Cakes, especially with some berries, coulis, and cream on the side.

You could do a grazing dessert board platter - I done this at my daughters party and went down a treat. Along with mini cheese cakes and mini chocolate/vanilla cakes

I'm guessing that if they're French, they may be having cheese after the sweet course? How about an apple Charlotte, a chocolate trifle, oranges and grapes?

Yummy small things so you can eat a couple. Most of the desserts mentioned here sound lovely but would be tricky with so many people. As it's a buffet, you'll be going up in stages or eating at different times. Some people will graze etc.

Iceland do a really nice mini puds selection - it has mini eclairs, mini brownies and something else I think, you get 60 for £6 so you could do a couple of boxes of those and then they also have mini apple pies, mini doughnuts and mini cheesecakes! For about £25 you could have so many little nibbly desserts! On a nice platter, job done! If you want, add some mince pies?

Individual meringues rather than pavlovas.

they can be made days in advance, easily transported in tins/bowls at assembled prior to dinner by sandwiching together with cream/lemon curd/Nutella etc.

and choc brownies also best made in advance

My first thought was trifle too

Great thread! I’m voting for the rice pudding mentioned upthread with some winter stewed fruits on the side because that is super delicious. A pumpkin pie and cream. Treacle tart and clotted cream is very British if you want an easy British thing to serve. Home made tiramisu is gorgeous. Brown bread ice cream with warm mince pies. Apple snow or apple fluff is the food of the gods and very simple to make. It looks snowy and xmassy looking. You just need enough space to chill them in tumblers

Do you have any allergies or intolerances to cater for? In a group that large there is usually one or two.

I usually do a ‘make your own adventure’ for big groups like this as especially when there are dc, there are often a large variety of tastes.

I would set out a build your own sundae bar.
brownie bites
cans squirty cream
raspberries or cut up strawberries
chocolate sauce
choc chips
chopped nuts
you could have icecream but that is a faff with freezer space and melting time

then some people can just have fruit, some can have a bite of brownie, some can go the full monty and those that need to avoid dairy or nuts or gluten can steer around them.

If anyone has a nut allergy, please don't serve nuts at all 💀

One of our family favourites - preferably serve warm with cream - this serves 12. It's quick to make and it freezes well. nb. I always make this is one of those doughnut shaped cake tins, which probably affects the cooking time a bit.

Apple Dapple Cake

(These are American measures so 1 cup=8 fluid oz (a British cup is 10 fluid oz))

Ingredients - Cake

2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups corn oil
3 eggs
3 cups plain flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups finely diced apples
2 cups chopped pecans or walnuts
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Ingredients - Glaze

1 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 lb butter
1/2 cup double cream

Method

(The recipe didn't give a temperature for the oven and as I cook it in the Aga I do it by guesswork. I reckon it needs to be about gas 5, 190C - slightly hotter than a medium temperature because it's a very wet cake mixture - but you'll have to use your own judgement!)

Combine sugar and oil and beat well.
Add eggs one at a time.
Sift dry ingredients and stir into egg mixture.
Beat in apples, nuts and vanilla.
Pour into a buttered pan and bake for one hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Combine glaze ingredients and boil for 3 minutes.
Reserving 1/3 cup, pour glaze over hot cake.
Cool cake and remove from pan.
Just before serving pour remaining glaze over.

@ianshe what is your partner’s role?

One of the best buffet desserts I ever had was a DIY ice-cream buffet

• tubs of ice cream
• mini meringues
• sprinkles
• grated chocolate
• little squares of brownie
• bowls of sweets - smarties, jellies, pieces of fudge
• whipped cream
• fruits - strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, sliced banana
• sauces - there were several - one was melted mars-bars

Everyone made up their own sundae with what they wanted

Trifle is messy though and doesn't portion very well either, it's usually made in a deep bowl, so it gets sloppy and unappetising the more portions are served. I do love trifle but see it as a "sit down" pudding rather than an "on the move" one, as it's just so... wet.

I think Pavlova and chocolate tray bakes are perfect personally. You'd still need to accommodate for lots of spoons & bowls for the pavlova though. Same for any hot dish like crumble. At least pavlova, being chilled and more dry on the bottom, can be served in (decorative) card or recyclable plastic bowls.

Lunde- sounds great, but you'd need a lot of freezer space for a good while for the ice cream.

OP - what about chocolate dipped strawberries? Can be made in advance and they look good.

I would go for some lovely simple ice cream ( vanilla probably)- to top it up you can have selection of gingerbread, fruit etc and some homemade fruit sauce on the top.

Or you can go with gingerbread ice cream all together:
burrataandbubbles.com/gingerbread-ice-cream/

And as a second choice I would do Eton mess- easy and pleasant to the eye.

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/eton-mess

You can also make a cupcake Xmas wreath, again simple but eye catching:

www.bettycrocker.co.uk/recipe/christmas-cupcake-wreath/

For the children probably something easy I guess cookies or cupcakes.





Big chocolate tray bake cake for the kids

Pavlova or tiramisu for adults

Some ideas for kids:

One more

Vegan cheesecake.
Biscuit base = few packs of biscuits bashed up and mixed in with some oil/butter
Cheesebit = either silken tofu mixed with icing sugar and lemon OR soaked cashew nuts blended with lemon and icing sugar.
Bonus = use arrowroot to make a jelly like topping with some fruit boiled in a pan (passionfruut is amazing but anything tangy would work)

Bosh have recipes, the Internet has recipes.
Its cheap, fast, no bake, tastes great.

Has 3-4 steps

• line a few cake tins/brownie dishes
• make the base mix
• make the 'cheese' mix
• put in fridge. Voila

You can add fruit when you serve.
You can add chocolate or other flavour to the cheesemix.
You can add a thin layer of jelly to the top.

The ingredients are all cupboard friendly so you can stock up in advance.

Bonus is it can be gluten free and vegan friendly so anyone with allergies should be fine.
Even nut free if you use tofu. 👍