Portable dessert buffet
In this article I explain how I created this dessert buffet for my partner’s birthday. I tell you which Club recipes I used, how I managed the timings, what I was able to prepare in advance and how I organized everything also thinking about transport. This buffet, in fact, is very easy to transport. In my case it was transported by car for about one hour, so I chose desserts that would hold up well even during the car journey, with turns, bumps and movement. Obviously they must always be stored properly, especially if there are creams or more delicate preparations. First of all, I want to say that inside the Club there are hundreds of recipes, so you can really have fun and create the buffet you prefer based on the seasonality, your tastes and also your guests’ tastes. You don’t necessarily have to use only the finished dessert recipes that you find in the Club, but you can also take different preparations, combine them together and create new desserts. I prepared this buffet thinking especially about the fact that it had to be transported by car, so I chose desserts that were resistant to the journey. I also thought about the flavours and textures, trying to vary the preparations a little: something more crunchy, something more creamy, something with chocolate and something with fruit. In addition, I also thought about it in terms of practicality, so I chose desserts that could be eaten easily with your hands, without getting too messy and without necessarily having to use cutlery.
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The desserts I prepared
For this buffet I prepared: The whipped shortcrust tart with strawberry jam, which I also chose because it allowed me to write the number on top with a piping bag. Since chocolate had been requested, I decided to prepare both the Sacher, obviously in single-portion version, and the chocolate salami. Then I prepared mini raspberry cupcakes, puff pastry cannoncini with Biscoff cream and finally the blondies with Oreos. Below I leave you all the links to the different recipes that you can find in the Club. For almost all the recipes I followed the same quantities indicated. The only thing I changed was the Sacher: instead of making it in a round mould, I prepared it in a square mould, so then I could cut it into small squares.
What can be prepared in advance
There are different things that can be prepared in advance, and this is exactly what makes the buffet much easier to organize. WHIPPED SHORTCRUST TART The whipped shortcrust tart can be prepared in advance and frozen raw. You prepare the shortcrust, form the tart inside the ring on baking paper, add the jam and then make the decorations with the piping bag. At this point it can be frozen even up to one month. To avoid frost, once the tart is well frozen, it is always better to wrap it with cling film or place it inside a well-closed container. The day before the delivery I baked the tart directly from frozen. It may need a few more minutes of baking compared to the time indicated in the recipe, but the result remains perfect. Once baked and cooled, I decorated it with moisture-resistant powdered sugar (which does not melt immediately in contact with humidity, creams, fruit etc.), and I stored it in the refrigerator until the following day, so until the day of the delivery. SACHER SINGLE PORTION As for the Sacher, we can prepare the cocoa sponge base in advance. Once the base has cooled, we can cut it, fill it with apricot jam both inside and on top, and then freeze it like this. When we need to finish it, we can pour the glaze directly onto the frozen cake. In this case, I did not pour the glaze also on the edges, but only on the surface, because then I would have trimmed the edges and cut the cake into slices. I glazed it inside the square mould, then I put it in the refrigerator to defrost and finally I cut it into cubes. It was ready for the buffet, both for the same day and for the following day. This was the only slightly creamier preparation of the buffet, so I placed each slice inside a paper cup, so it was easier to take and eat. CHOCOLATE SALAMI The chocolate salami can also be prepared in advance and frozen already made. You prepare the whole roll, wrap it well in cling film and freeze it. When we need to serve it, we can take it while it is still frozen, cover it with a little powdered sugar and also cut it directly from frozen, so the slices come out cleaner. Then you leave it to defrost in the refrigerator and it is ready. BLONDIES WITH OREOS The blondies can also be prepared in advance. They can be baked, left to cool well and then frozen. Once defrosted, we cut them into slices or cubes and they are ready to be included in the buffet. Even though these are better fresh, from the fridge, and not frozen.
What I preferred to prepare at the last minute
There are instead some preparations that I preferred to make more at the last minute, let’s say the day before, to keep them fresher. PUFF PASTRY CANNONCINI WITH BISCOFF CREAM I prepared the puff pastry cannoncini with Biscoff cream the day before, because I wanted the puff pastry to stay crunchy. I would not freeze them already filled, because the puff pastry would risk becoming too moist and soft, and the cream is not ideal for freezing. MINI RASPBERRY CUPCAKES I also prepared the mini raspberry cupcakes the day before. I baked them, let them cool, filled them straight away with the cream and raspberries, then I stored them in the refrigerator and delivered them the following day.
Conclusion
This is an example of a buffet that you can try to make or take inspiration from to create a similar buffet. The nice thing is that you can really personalize it a lot: you can change the flavours, choose more summery or more wintery recipes, make more single portions, more sliced desserts, more chocolate preparations or more fruit preparations. The important thing, especially if you need to transport it, is to think carefully about which desserts to choose, how to store them and which preparations you can make in advance, so that you arrive on the day of the delivery with everything already well organized.
