How To Build A Party Dessert Board
A dessert board can be an essential edible decoration for any party! I love a cute dessert board with a fun theme! I get so excited to cheery to create these for my kids birthday parties and dinner parties.
Sometimes the urge kicks in when I am feeling creative and I want to bake something or decorate some treats, Other times I feel it's a fun thing to make as a surprise just because.
The amazing thing about a dessert board is that you can make it how you like it. You can make it healthy or themed or whatever your imagination leads you to creating.
The best thing here is to have fun with it and go all out. If you love dessert boards you gotta check out the valentines day dessert board next!
Let's dive in and start creating!
What is a dessert board?
A dessert board is a tray or platter that is full of treats and desserts which are displayed in an aesthetically pleasing. It is similar in concept to a charcuterie board, except with sweets instead of savory items.
The idea behind a dessert board is to offer an aesthetically pleasing array of desserts in a cute and casual way for your guests to munch on while mingling.
How to plan your dessert board
For sure, you want to start out by choosing a theme for your dessert board. The desserts will vary depending on the occasion. Color schemes and formality will play a role in your theme here.
For example, If you are creating a dessert board for a wedding, you will likely choose more refined or elegant style desserts than one for a slumber party movie night.
Once you have decided on your theme, based on the occassion you can go onto the next step.
Step 2 is taking consideration of your lovely guests dietary preferences and restrictions. It's important to keep this in mind since you want everyone to enjoy themselves and not feel left out at your party.
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Choose a theme: Decide on a theme for your board, such as a specific color scheme, holiday, or dessert type (e.g., chocolate, fruit, or pastries).
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Select a board: Use a large, flat surface like a wooden cutting board, marble slab, or serving tray of your choice.
What to put on a dessert board?
You can arrange your dessert board with a wide array of treats, cookies, fruits and chocolates for example. Depending on your theme and desire you can create a beautiful dessert board with lots of lovely treats.
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Cookies: Offer a selection of cookies like chocolate chip, sugar, oatmeal, or shortbread. You can customize your cookies by decorating them, or baking them your self.
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Brownies or bars: Cut them into bite-sized pieces for easy grabbing.
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Chocolate truffles or candies: Include a variety of chocolate options, such as dark, milk, or white chocolate.
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Fruit: Add fresh berries, sliced apples, pears, or melon for a healthier option.
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Cake or pie slices: Include small portions of classic desserts like cheesecake, carrot cake, or apple pie.
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Pastries: Offer mini pastries like eclairs, cream puffs, or macarons.
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Dips and spreads: Provide bowls of Nutella, peanut butter, fruit compote, or whipped cream for dipping or spreading.
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Nuts and dried fruits: Add bowls of roasted nuts, dried apricots, or figs for a different texture and flavor.
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Pretzels or crackers: Include some salty options to balance out the sweetness.
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Marshmallows: Offer plain or flavored marshmallows for a fluffy treat.
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Chocolate-covered items: Include chocolate-covered strawberries, pretzels, or nuts.
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Waffles or crepes: Cut them into smaller pieces and serve with various toppings or dips.
How to arrange a dessert board?
Start out by pacing the largest items you have on the board first. If you have bowls with dips or larger desserts like a cake, I like top start with these items.
After you find a good spot for your larger items, start placing in the smaller pieces all around to fill in all of the gaps on your tray or board.
You want to make sure that the board looks balanced. Make sure that the pretty colors and fun textures and yummy flavors are all evenly placed across the board.
What are some dessert board theme ideas?
You can get as creative as you like when it comes to themes. There's no right or wring way to go about creating a good themed dessert board, but here are some amazingly yummy ideas to get your started.
- My all time favorite, a chocolate board
- Ice cream Sunday board
- Camping board -s'mores theme board
- Candy board filled with gummies, twirlers and candies
- Macaroon board
- Pink board
- Pastel Board
- Rainbow Board
- Holiday Board
- Healthy treat board
- Vegan dessert board
- Halloween board
- Birthday party theme
- Movie night board
The idea here is to pick a theme and run with it. Have fun creating and decorating!
What are some occassions to make a snack board?
Building a snack board for various occasions can make your event feel extra special and fun! Adding a snack board to any party can make it feel more festive and help you guests to explore all of the yummy dessert options and treats.
You can create a dessert board for the following occasions:
- Weddings
- Birthday parties
- Sleepovers & slumber parties
- Movie nights
- Date nights
- Bridal showers
- Holidays
- Dinner parties
- Summer night in
- Having guests over
- Practicing your craft
- Just because
How to make a dessert board unique?
The best way to make your dessert board unique and memorable is to make the treats yourself or have them custom made based on an aesthetic theme. There's just something extra special about treats that are homemade and aesthetic.
Can a dessert board replace a cake?
Yes, a dessert board can definitely be presented over a cake. You can serve a dessert board as the main treat at an event or if you're feeling both a cake and dessert board, why not serve both!
Cakes are traditional and highly loved throughout the eras, but you can definitely mix it up and offer a more modern food alternative -the dessert board that is.
A dessert board can actually be easier to serve, especially if you have guests with food restrictions, preferences or the like. You can really offer something for everyone on a dessert board.
Be sure to check out these posts next:
Valentine's day dessert board board Idea
How to build a snack board + board ideas