Impressive Fundraiser Desserts
I'm looking for a couple of impressive dessert recipes for a fundraiser to be held later this week--here are the necessary specifications:
1.) Must be safe and maintain its presentation at room temperature. The various desserts are presented at a silent auction during dinner hour. The auctions winners typically share their winnings with their tablemates.
2.) Cannot require fancy frosting/icing techniques. This is only a personal requirement. Pastry tips and I do not currently have a positive relationship--I would like to improve, but this is not the week to do it.
In past years, I've concocted a couple of nice cheesecakes, but would like to try something new. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
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18 Comments:
How about tarts--they look fancy, don't require a lot of frosting, and there is something very elegant about little tarts!
For more downscale, fancy Rice Krispie treats, dipped shortbread cookies, bundt cakes, 'roll' cakes (like fancy jelly roll cakes) or cupcakes topped with homemade candies like truffles rather than icing all fit the pill.
HeartofGlass at 12:32PM on 02/18/09
How about a crostata? I've done them before many hours before serving and they are somewhat rustic, but easy, and elegant. Almond paste crumbles on the bottom, beautiful pears, glaze on top with a melted jelly. Just dust with XXX sugar and you're good to go. I've made them with golden delicious apples, red raspberries, peaches... they've all turned out well.
Another suggestion would definitely be a tart - do one with an all nut or nut/chocolate filling and it wouldn't require refrigeration. I've also done them far ahead of serving.
frederika at 12:43PM on 02/18/09
bee sting cakes always look really pretty. here is one recipe - http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Bee-Sting-Cake-Bienenstich-II/Detail.aspx . I don't know how good it is, because I have only ever used my grandma's recipe. Instead of vanilla inside, she made lemon curd. You could also probably do it with cranberry curd or maybe even pomegranate curd, which would give it a great color.
rainbow cookies also look nice, cut and arranged prettily on a plate
if I think of more, I will let you know...
NYCEater at 1:05PM on 02/18/09
How about a plateful of beautiful truffles? Really easy, can be done in advance, will hold up well, easily shared by a table.
CookiePie at 1:24PM on 02/18/09
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Dark-Chocolate-Caramel-Cake-with-Gold-Dusted-Chestnuts-233419
This cake is super impressive, yet requires very little skill to make. All you need to be able to do is put lots of different components together, and you'll end up with stellar results.
ChristineB at 1:55PM on 02/18/09
Anne Burrell and Ina Garten both have great recipes for Lemon Curd Tart. Easy, elegant and delicious. Here is Anne's recipe:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/anne-burrell/meyer-lemon-curd-tart-recipe/index.html
PerkyMac at 2:27PM on 02/18/09
This is an old Girl Scout spin - crescent rolls with mini Milky Way bars wrapped inside. I plate them on raspberry syrup (or even squeezeable jam if I'm in a pinch), and spiral some more on top. Dust with powdered sugar, and it looks great! One of my hubby's favorite!
dharmon at 3:04PM on 02/18/09
how about brownies with dried cherries..... nobody can resist a brownie!
pooch at 3:08PM on 02/18/09
I just made some really nice little individual tart tatins which came out very nice. I just made a little caramel with 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup cream, then I dropped a little in each of 12 muffin tins, topped with slightly cooked apples, then more caramel, then a pastry top. I was very happy with how they came out. I'll blog about them when I have time!
[img]http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3410/3284155433_e3b72dc9cf.jpg[/img]
jennywenny at 6:22PM on 02/18/09
Sorry, that didnt work:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jennywenny/3284155433/
jennywenny at 6:22PM on 02/18/09
Everyone loves brownies. You can leave them plain, dust with powdered sugar, or make a ganache frosting. If you want to go more upscale, use unexpected and expensive nuts, like macadamias or marcona almonds.
dbcurrie at 7:09PM on 02/18/09
Years ago, my brother asked me to make his wedding cake and I knew I could not learn to pipe decorations in time, so I molded white chocolate shells (beach themed wedding) and decorated the cake with those. The molds are inexpensive, and you could make them ahead and use them to decorate a cake or cupcakes. Maybe you can find molds related to the theme of the event.
Sounds like fun, let us know what you end up doing!
SSMom at 7:56PM on 02/18/09
Again. dbcurrie and I are on the same page. Brownies are a desert I serve
at every party, and every time the kids or hubby come home with an unexpected guest.
Adult brownies: add red wine, coffee, and blackberries to the recipe you use, adjust the coffee for the oil, and the wine for the water.
Another go to we like is a trifle. Paula Dean has a recipe for one we NEED
at big affairs. It consists of a homemade fudge sauce, homemade brownies, whipped cream. Check out her website. This is beautiful in a trifle bowl and is delicious
donnie at 8:33PM on 02/18/09
If you will allow alchol in your dessert this is great:
Easy Peachy Rum Cake
Cake;
1cup chopped pecans or walnuts
1 Pkg. Yellow cake mix
3 eggs
1/4 cup water
1/3 cup oil
½ cup Bacardi Peach Rum
½ cup chopped fresh Peaches
Glaze;
1 stick butter
¼ cup water
1 cup granulated sugar
½ cup Bacardi Peach Rum
Preheat oven to 325. Grease & Flour 10” tube or 12 cup Bundt pan. Sprinkle nuts into bottom of pan. Mix all cake ingredients and pour over chopped nuts. Bake 1 hour. Cool in pan and invert onto serving plate. Prick top of cake with fork. Make glaze and spoon over top.
Glaze; Melt butter in small saucepan stir in water and sugar. Boil 5 min. stirring constantly. Stir in rum.
WSLunch at 9:38PM on 02/18/09
How about a individual ginger-almond pumpkin tiramisu sandwiches? This super-decadent dish has the benefit of being both able to survive on a catering tray, and be pretty healthful at the same time.
Servings-18
36 ladyfingers
1/2 cup rum or coffee, sweetened with 2 tablespoons brown sugar, in a spray bottle
1 1/2 cups nonfat Greek yoghurt
1 1/2 cups Mascarpone cheese
3/4 cup honey
1/2 cup almond butter
1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon freshly ground ginger
pinch of salt
~Whipped cream and minced, candied ginger to garnish
-Lightly spray the ladyfingers with rum/coffee and set aside.
-In a large bowl, mix yoghurt, cheese, honey, almond butter, pumpkin, ginger and salt and whisk to combine.
-To assemble, spread pumpkin mixture atop half the ladyfingers, top with the rest of the cookies, and garnish with whipped cream and candied ginger (for a harder texture, chill pumpkin mixture for 8 hours before assembling).
I hope this helps. Enjoy!
gouchermaxms at 10:09PM on 02/18/09
Another idea would be stuffed scones, with fillings like pb&j, nuts and chocolate, jam, chutney, dulce de leche, etc. To make, just layer 1/2 a scoop of scone batter, followed by the filling (Just a little will do just fine), then topped with the rest of the scoop. The scone will bake around the filling, and give a wonderful surprise to the consumer.
gouchermaxms at 10:15PM on 02/18/09
How about cake lollipops. Here's a link with some decorating options.
http://dozenflours.com/2008/04/i-heart-bakerellas-cupcake-lollipops.html
zucchini at 12:45AM on 02/19/09
Ina Garten's White Chocolate Chunk Cookies - I also add about a pound of semisweet chocolate chunks or chips - they are excellent:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_26051,00.html
A pecan, or other, pie is always a good bet that will keep for a few hours on a table. You can tart it up by doing something fancy with the crust.
MMinNYC at 4:23PM on 02/19/09