Party Prep...Baking & Cleaning!

I started seriously planning about a week before the party. I finalized the menu and then started making shopping lists. I bought all of the non-perishable items the weekend before and the perishable items on Thursday after work. I took Friday off and started baking as soon as I got home from the store. I even created a list of all the things I would need to get done from Thursday evening until the party.

As you can see, the list is very detailed. I felt like I was overdoing it a bit, but now that the party is over, I'm so glad I created the list. It was so satisfying crossing things off the list and I didn't have to worry that I would forget something. I will use a list again in the future. I am also happy to report that I was able to get to everything on the list except for the windows. (My solution was to just cover the bird poop with the curtains.)

As you can see from the list, my prep mostly consisted of baking and cleaning. Fortunately, I love to bake and I don't mind cleaning. I started with the things that could be baked and cleaned a few days ahead. I had tested the lemon and chocolate mousses and they could be made a day or two early. 

I am happy to report that I was putting the scones into the oven as the first guests arrived, as planned. 

The Menu

Baking the Sweets

I got most of my ideas from Pinterest. I wanted to try new things and this was my opportunity. I had so much fun trying out new recipes or ideas. As I mentioned earlier, I tried most of the recipes on my friends before the party.

This is my attempt at the Teabag cookies. I used my own sugar cookie recipe, but the idea definitely came from someone else. I found the teapot graphic and shrunk it down. The only thing I would do differently would be to use a heavier string (I meant to use embroidery floss, but I couldn't find my stash). I put them next to the teacups and everyone loved them. 

Every tea party has to have petites fours (I discovered this is the plural of a petit four). Personally, I don't think they are very good, but I couldn't not have them. To make things easier, I bought a pound cake from the store. I cut it up into 1/2 inch pieces, spread buttercream frosting on one side and jam on the other, put the two pieces together and then put them into the freezer until they were hard. I then cut off the edges, spread buttercream on all sides, froze it again and then cut them up into small pieces. The hard part was then spreading buttercream on the remaining small sides. (Traditional petites fours do not have buttercream on all of the sides, but I thought it would make them taste better.) Once they were frozen again, I poured fondant on the sides. It was a bit challenging to get the fondant to stick to all of the sides, but well worth the effort. The final step was to add the decorations on the top. Unfortunately, I forgot this step and I had to do them all in about 3 minutes as the guests were arriving. I wasn't happy with the results, but my friends thought they looked beautiful. Note: the buttercream was a hit. Everyone loved them and one friend even said they were better than the ones at the best bakery in town!

I have been admiring these Fairy Bites for some time and I thought this would be a great time to make them. My kid loved them and I had to ration them out to her, so that there would be some left for the party. They looked very bright and cheerful on the tray and I will make them again soon.

Orange Creamsicle Truffles. These are my go-to sweets. Everyone loves them. I should have dusted them again with powdered sugar before putting them out, but it didn't hurt the taste at all. And they really do taste like creamsicles. Note: I use the zest of 1-2 oranges, instead of only 1/2.

This was my one partial flop. The meringues turned out great, but there was supposed to be a little cookie with it. The cookies were like rocks when I took them out of the oven and the meringues just popped off. Since the meringues were great, I just threw away the cookies and served the meringues.

My friend gave me this really easy Dark Chocolate Mousse recipe. It's a really easy recipe, but very tasty. Since I wanted everything in small bite-size portions, I piped the mousse into little chocolate cups. Yum!

Okay, if you only make one thing from this post and you love lemon, you MUST make this recipe. It is that good. It is called Lemon Cheesecake Mousse and if you make it, please, please, please, use this recipe for the Lemon Curd. It is without a doubt the best lemon curd recipe ever and is so easy. You will not want to stop eating this stuff. Note: make sure that the cream cheese and the lemon curd are at room temperature before you mix them together. If you end up with little bits of cream cheese, I recommend running it through a sieve before you mix it with the whipped cream.

Well, I guess that's all for now. Stay tuned for more tea party prep...