Satisfy your wedding day sweet tooth with this A to Z list of all things delicious!
Apples
Turn a traditional Granny Smith into a modern delicacy. Spice up your dessert menu with apple caramel cheesecake, apple almond cake, apple cinnamon squares or apple raisin bread pudding.
Berries
What could be better than fresh berries topped with a dollop of cream or a drizzle of chocolate? Let guests ‘build their own’ tarts with pre-made philo pastry cups or miniature shortcakes.
Cheese
Dessert cheeses and wines are all the rage and have come a long way from cheddar cubes. White Stilton and mascarpone are delicious with added cranberries, lemon or blueberries. Pair panela with mangoes, peaches and Riesling; try Boursin or Wensleydale with pears and Gewürztraminer.
… or, there’s always Chocolate.
Dipping sauces
Let guests have some fun while dipping fresh or dried fruits, marshmallows, nut clusters, macaroons or pound cake into a heavenly stream of milk chocolate. Other sauce suggestions include caramel rum, white chocolate crème brulée, Grand Marnier, butterscotch, mocha orange or chocolate peanut butter.
Easy DIY
Cakes can cost a small fortune, but baking a cake yourself, or asking a skilled friend for help, is a great way to save on funds. Simple pound cake recipes are classically delicious. Add personal pizzazz with coloured icing or edible flower decors.
Frosting
Instead of the usual chocolate and vanilla, try almond, lemon buttercream, maple syrup, coconut, or butterscotch icings and glazes. Opt for a simple cake flavour and let the frosting add the “wow” factor.
Grandma’s recipe box
This is code for the time-tested classics we all know and love–lemon parfait, moist mocha cake, white chocolate mousse or fudgey double-chocolate layer cake.
Honey
For desserts as sweet as your beau, serve guests honey-infused treats like honey walnut cake, a honeyed fruit mixture, or honey peanut butter balls. If you’re planning an outdoor engagement party or shower, grill pineapple slices with honey and lime for a creative and delicious dessert.
Icebox cake
A chilled layer cake with whipped cream frosting is a refreshing summer classic! While numerous variations of icebox cakes exist, they’re best when light and fluffy (use a pudding in the batter), with coconut, pineapple or cherry frosting.
Jam Daps
A platter of cookies is the perfect option for guests not wanting a rich slice of cake. From classic oatmeal or chocolate chip to ginger snaps, coconut drops, shortbread or maple nut, cookies are a creative way to finish a meal with flavour.
Khalua cheesecake
… or any type of cheesecake for that matter! Pick your flavour by season: amaretto peach in spring, banana coconut in summer, pumpkin or cappuccino for fall, chocolate mint or eggnog for winter. If all else fails, you can’t go wrong with classic New York cherry cheesecake!
Liqueurs
Brandy, Amaretto or schnapps are the perfect way to finish a meal. Offer them in an array of soothing flavours like apricot, butterscotch cream, hazelnut, or chocolate mint–or create a signature liqueur to commemorate your special day.
Miniature Cakes
Give guests a selection of “cakelets” or cupcakes to satisfy their personal palettes. Offer fanciful flavours like banana caramel, vanilla raspberry, cappuccino, chocolate espresso, or token chocolate-chocolate.
Nuts
Be it nutty caramel bars, date-nut bars, almond or hazelnut biscotti, or macadamia cheesecake, tasty and tiny nuts are a classic dessert ingredient that will have your guests asking for second servings. But, for those guests with allergies, be sure to clearly label any desserts containing nuts.
Orange
Fresh and summery, sun-kissed citrus fruits like oranges add a refreshing flavour to cakes and treats. Orange layer cake, key lime pie, clementine torte or mango cake with frosting will all have your guests feeling terrifically tropical.
Pound Cake
We bet you don’t know just how many flavours of pound cake there are to satisfy your taste buds. Wow your guests with delicious and dense cake mixed with rum pineapple, black walnut, apricot brandy, sour cream or German lemon.
Quick and Easy
Entertaining a large group for a rehearsal dinner or morning-after brunch? Prepare in advance so you can enjoy your company. Try no-bake cheesecakes, caramel nut bars, nanaimo bars or cookies, all of which can be sealed in an air-tight containers and refrigerated overnight for a seemingly fresh treat when the time is right.
Raspberries
Serve with chocolate dipping sauce, cheesecake, in tartlets, or as a sorbet. Our top pick is Raspberry Romanov–raspberries marinated in liqueur and orange juice, served chilled with fresh cream.
Sachertorte
Created in Austria in the 1800s, Sachertorte might look like a traditional chocolate cake, but its unique flavour is infused with an apricot glaze and a smooth chocolate finish. Treat your guests’ palettes with this European treasure.
Truffles
Tiny bite-size wonders, available in a variety of flavours that are sure to make your mouth water–tiramisu, roasted hazelnut, coconut cream, pistachio, caramel ripple, maple butter, or reliable milk chocolate to name a few.
Upside down cakes
Be it banana butterscotch or glazed pineapple, upside down cakes are quick and easy to prepare, and are the perfect outdoors treat for a summer get-together, be it engagement party, wedding shower, or stag and doe.
Vanilla
This sweet extract of an orchid vine, typically found in tropical climates in Central America, makes for classically delicious desserts. Serve a tropical vanilla flan, vanilla bean tarts, poached pears with vanilla cream, or a vanilla sorbet and let the flavour speak for itself.
White Chocolate
Scrumptious on its own, in cakes, or paired with fruits. Try white chocolate raspberry jam squares or bite-size cheesecakes. Adventurous chefs can swirl white and dark chocolates together in brownies, fudge bars or cakes.
X-tra sweet?
It’s important to consider guests’ special dietary needs when planning your menu. Offer sugar-free desserts for diabetics, or have a small cake available for those preferring low-calorie sweeteners.
Yams
They probably don’t cross your mind as a delicious dessert ingredient, but (trust us!) they are scrumptious and versatile. Use sweet potatoes in flans, squares, pound cakes, streusels, cookies, soufflés and crisps.
Zest
The zing of lemon combined with sugar makes a fab flavour combo. Pound cake, coconut bars, cheesecake and wafers can all be infused with lemon zest to give guests a zing of flavour that will be as memorable as your big day.
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