How to avoid fireworks in the kitchen

New Year is one of the few times a year that friends and family all come together to celebrate and indulge. However, as it is so close to the festivities of Christmas and the fact that there is a need for precise planning to coincide with Big Ben striking midnight, it can make timing and planning an appropriate style of menu challenging. 

The great news is that New Year’s Eve allows you to be way more flexible and creative than the restrictions generally experienced with the traditional foods and desserts associated with Christmas Day. When planning your menu, the major considerations will be based on how much time you want to spend in the kitchen, the style of your event and the number of guests you will be catering for.

If you are ‘burnt out’ having catered for everyone over Christmas (!) and are struggling to gather the enthusiasm or find inspiration for delicious, crowd pleasing desserts for your New Year’s Eve party then worry no more as we have selected a range of delicious dessert recipes that are perfect for buffet style events and intimate dinner parties alike. All of these desserts can be prepared in advance so that there are no fireworks in the kitchen and enable you to join in the fun too. What’s more they are guaranteed to leave a smile on your guests faces as they enjoy their last dessert of the decade in style!

Plan ahead

A key ingredient for any successful party is preparation. Give yourself an ample amount of time to figure out what you want to cook (choosing recipes with make-ahead elements will definitely help) and also gather dietary restrictions/preferences from your guests well before the scheduled date. Write out a list of all the ingredients that you need and take inventory of what you already have. About 2 to 3 days before the big night, go ahead and confirm your guest list and shop for all of your necessary groceries. Go a step further and pull out all of the serving platters, serving utensils, and decorative elements the day before so you won’t be scrambling to look for them at the last minute.

Showstopper dessert recipes for your NYE party

We  have selected a range of desserts that are perfect for New Year’s Eve catering and can either be used as part of a buffet table spread or smaller, more intimate dinner party. All our chocolate showstopper desserts are a little bit different and VERY stylish.   

Especially created by Great British Chefs with Food Thoughts cacao powder in mind, our elegant Raspberry and Rose Chocolate Cake, combines a scrumptious moist chocolate cake that is filled with raspberry compote and decorated with rose Swiss meringue buttercream and rose petals. Imagine the reactions as you carry this elegant cake to the table!

This is an incredibly easy to make Chocolate Meringue Wreath in the lead up to Christmas which can easily be adapted to New Year’s Eve by omitting the cacao chocolate holly leaves and replacing them with another design. It’s ideal to make well in advance, is gluten free and guaranteed to get a WOW!

There’s nothing quite like seeing out the year with family, friends, and a fun, fabulous bash. So we hope these fabulous New Year’s Eve dessert ideas and treats will help you pull together a stylish countdown celebration!