The Dinner Dilemma
When you invite guests to your house for dinner, a series of decisions become part of both your planning. For the latter, it relates more to the impression they want to leave behind in your house. For you, the decisions go from clean-up to a detailed dinner plan, including the all-important menu, which includes deciding on a bunch of light desserts to serve at your dinner party.
Why do we emphasize this so much on light desserts? Because while you more or less always have an idea of your main course, your dessert depends on the kind of food you’ve served. You can arrange lobster crab buffet for your guests in the main course but the desserts should be light only..Going too heavy might not bode well for your guests, who you just served some delicious helpings of fried and cheesy specialties. While you also need a good delicacy to go with the cups of tea or coffee you’re planning to serve last.
Therefore, if you’re in need of some ideas, and don’t want the usual puddings and custard to be part of your menu, read our guide below to help you out.
Light Desserts for a Dinner Party: The Crown Jewel
Many would argue that dessert is the crown atop all cuisines. Its significance is underscored by the fact that it is served toward the end of a course. The balance and ease with which it takes the guest back to their non-eating state is its most admirable trait and a daunting responsibility. Hence, it is prudent to make sure that your deserts are not just a pleasant munch, but an accurate representation of you as the host.
Much like other facets of life, a difference in personality results in different dessert choices. Some people are best represented by a parfait, whilst others believe that a tart provides the right insight into their lives. There is not one correct answer to the desert dilemma, but multiple, wrong or right ones, do exist.
The Cookie Crunch
Many people find cookies to be their go-to option for a light dessert at a dinner party. You could see why they would go down this route. Cookies are a staple of the baking world. Their minimal size with baker-defined fillings and toppings allows them to hold their own individuality whilst also bringing a familiar taste.
The complementary nature of cookies also means that they can be served with other desserts or drinks too. Sometimes a couple of chocolate chip cookies with a warm cup of tea is all you need after a heavy main course to put your stomach at rest.
The Tarts
Unlike cookies, tarts require more finesse, care, and skill to conjure. That does not necessarily constitute a deterrent. Rather, it is an opportunity to let your guests know their importance to you through the effort you put into your tarts. Their flexibility is their most prized asset. To be able to alter the desert to the occasion, people, and the place is what makes it an all-weather option whilst leaving enough room to be funky as well.
So you can easily opt for Lemon Tarts to bring the night to a close, or opt for some Salted Caramel Tarts to promise there’s much more entertainment to be had this night.
Whatever your choice might be, the crispy, creamy, and fruity disposition of tarts provides them with the right blend of crunch and freshness. They intoxicate your guests and give them a reason to come back even if the rest of the dinner party goes wrong.
The Homely Cakes
Cakes are synonymous with home. Whether it is to celebrate a birthday, to commemorate a special occasion, to wish someone a farewell, or just a lazy Friday evening, a cake is the backbone of a special occasion.
Constituting all the maneuverability of the previous two desserts, what cake brings to the table (apart from the cake) is a homely, earthly element. What better way to let your guests know that they belong in your house?
When it comes to flavor, a cake does not lag behind its counterparts. Seeing the creaminess ooze from a Lotus Cake or biting into that crunchy Coffee Cake takes you back to a different, simpler time. It is all up to the aesthetic the host wishes to put forth.
However…
…the above three are just a few of the options that you can opt for when it comes to light desserts for your dinner party. There are plenty of other staple options that you could go for or if you’re daring, you can even opt for some more avant-garde options. A pie, like the cake, possesses a very earthly trait that makes it a viable option.
However, the hesitation lies in the fact that pies, unlike cake, do not have the universal recognizability that cakes do. Though they are popular in the West, their fame dwindles in the East.
Other interesting choices are muffins, donuts, cupcakes, and all their derivatives. Their bite-sized explosiveness makes it an attractive option, especially considering their popularity amongst children. The hesitation for some hosts lies in their minimal structure.
The perfect light dessert should do much with very little. As a heavy course leaves its toll, a desert should complement without adding. Muffins, donuts, and cupcakes are too light to do much and require more consumption than the guest would be willing
In Conclusion
All in all, the choice of light desserts depends upon the nature of the person hosting and being invited. Having said that, serving the right dessert would not only leave the impression the host would want but enhance the perception of their culinary and hosting prowess. Want to order your favorite desserts and savories for a dinner party? Visit Hobnob for a mouthwatering experience.
