Skift Take
Miniature desserts are a cute trend that look great displayed on a food station or passed on serving trays. In an increasingly health conscious environment, bite-sized delights are a great way for attendees to have a little taste of one or several different dessert options whilst controlling their own calorific intake. Large, lavish desserts can be over-facing to some attendees so creating a much smaller version can tantalise taste buds without causing too much guilt and can also be easier to consume in a networking environment. Here are some examples to excite your guests – they may be small but that doesn’t mean any compromise on the taste or presentation!
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Red Velvet Cake Pops
An elegant cake pop idea inspired by a Magnum ice cream but without the short life span and completely diverse. This red velvet option is complimented nicely with toppings and dipped in chocolate but you can opt for any flavour combination you choose.
Credit: The White Boutique – Catering
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Dessert Dogs
These amazing dessert dogs take things one step further by imitating miniature main courses except with the sweet surprise that they are a combination of cookies, cake and peanut butter frosting!
Credit: Sweet Levine
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White Chocolate Lemon Cheesecake
Perfect for summer themes and garden parties, these light cheesecake squares are indulgent and finger food size for easy eating without plates, making them an excellent canape dessert option. Plus, as an added bonus they are organic too
Credit: Bread & Honey Events
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Chocolate Square Tarts
A simple solution that ooze sophistication and decadence – miniature square tarts that are filled with salted chocolate. You could opt to add a glaze on them or fill them with different chocolate fillings to make them more diverse and colorful. A party favourite.
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Injected Cronuts
A pastry cross between a doughnut and croissant can make for a filling dessert option in a small package! These also come with their own syringe filled with syrup of your choice to compliment the pastry (as well as a large amount of toppings too) to make it completely indulgent!
Credit: Bruce The Food Truck
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Brownie, Mousse & Spicy Coffee Cremeux Verrines
Combo cups like this are always a favourite and these house a surprise in the spicy coffee combination in them. The brownies at the bottom add substance and the thick chocolate mousse creates a multi-layer that your guests will be dying to get their hands on!
Credit: Australian Patisserie Academy
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Nutella Ferrero Cups
Nutella cups with chocolate crumble, cream and topped with a Ferrero Rocher adds a favourite sweet to the top of these dessert cups! You could always mix things up and change the sweet and instead top with M&M’s, Hershey’s chocolate or simply keep with the Nutella topping! The options for these are endless.
Credit: Little Dessert Co.
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Smoothie Pops
Something light and easy for summer events are these sophisticated smoothie pops that are also a healthier option – a useful alternative to offer attendees. Plus, because they are smaller they don’t take a lot of time and effort to eat as usual ice lollies or pops.
Credit: Les Bons Plats
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Mini Salted Caramel Pancakes
Thought you had to rule out pancakes for your event? Think again. With these miniatures served on cocktail sticks and with their own salted caramel sauce you get all the flavour of a stack without the mess or planning for a pancake feast! Plus you can mix up the flavours and like this example add some fruit too!
Credit: The White Boutique – Catering
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Cookie Crust Pear Tarts
Pear tarts can be a seasonal delicacy but these would be available year round because they are caramelized, which also means they have a sweeter taste making them perfect for desserts. Add the short cookie crust and you are onto a mini tart winner for a sweet/savoury mix.
Credit: He Bakes Sometimes
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Mini Doughnuts
Go smaller than a normal doughnut and make them easier to serve without plates at your event. You could add them to a quirky food station or make them artistic with this glitter glazing that is bound to make an impression!
Credit: Minnie’s Sweet Creations
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Fruit Bowl Tarts
For a big impact in a small package these tarts are packed with a variety of fruit to give lots of color and a mini fruit bowl effect. These sweet delights are bursting with flavour and gone in only a couple of bites, no sit-down meal required.
Credit: Gracie Luxe Desserts
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Mini Meyer Lemon Pies
These little bites are a fantastic idea with minimal pastry that will go down a treat with attendees. They are particularly small and provide a sweet, tangy flavor that can get a little moreish! Plus they look cute and tiny on a plate so would be a great aesthetic on a dessert buffet table.
Credit: A Fare Extraordinaire
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Naked Cupcake
Simplify a traditional cupcake and remove the casings to make it easier to eat and serve, like this example. You can opt to make them two layers with filling or a traditional sponge and small buttercream icing on the top and then shave them down to smaller, bites to serve to guests! Don’t throw away the leftovers though, you can crumble the cake and make cake pops or add to dessert cups to make things go further still!
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Oreo Pops
This easy, but delicious idea can turn into a budget friendly sponsorship or branding idea as you can incorporate logos, themes or brand colors to suit your event. Turning Oreos into pops can make them less messy as well as spruce them up for more sophisticated events!
Credit: Mizz Desserts
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Artisan Chocolate
These stunning chocolate cake examples look like jewels or rocks which and are bound to amaze attendees. For evening and exclusive events, miniature desserts such as these can be a great talking point or ice breaker, as well as being incredibly artistic.
Credit: Alfred
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Brownie Bites
Serve party favourites such as these brownies in a new way to make them more interesting and appealing. These brownie bites are in miniature and can make traditional recipes go further as a budget friendly entertaining option, plus these are no-bake too!
Credit: Chelsey Amer
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Caged Chocolate Mousse
This mousse is served without a cup or container and comes in its own chocolate cage, which makes it feel more classy and elegant. The topping is a fruit gelatine and adds an extra sweetness to it that you could top with anything that suits. These would probably best be served with spoons however!
In Conclusion
Miniature desserts are definitely the way forward if you are looking for budget friendly sophistication and smaller, lighter bites. Tiny, well presented treats can look elegant and please all of your guests. These examples are a fantastic starting point to discuss with your caterer as well as giving you an idea on the mass of possibilities that are out there!