Mardi Gras Sweet Table, please help this Northerner

[W.DeBord]

We're particapating in a benifit (for a Hospital in a WEALTHY part of town)with this theme (Mardi Gras) and it's really important to have a memorable buffet (visually and taste). But this is a hard theme for us (northerners).....their aren't any baking books that I know of on this theme.

It's only 400 guests and about 30 restaurants/ caterers and 1 other bakery besides us. So we know that it's not going to take alot of sweets, but we want a full table with lots of items anyway. So I'm planning on doing some dummy cakes decorated in theme. But we need some KNOCK-OUT mini pastries.

So far my buffet list has:

Pralines
banana foster cheese cake
Bourban pecan tarts
Robert E Lee cake (coconut cake with 7 min. frosting)
King Cake (although I'm not sure about it for night buffet)
"the kings cake" (Elvis, banana cake, peanut butter and chocolate)



Then I draw a blank.........HELP, PLEASE??????? Also any REALLY good sites that show Mardi Gras would be nice too?

Thank-you In Advance!

[angrychef]

What about beignets, rice pudding, bread pudding with whiskey sauce, chocolate bourbon becan pie, sweet potato tartlets?

[dessert]

Thanks Dana.


We can't do anything hot/warm and I'm not sure how to do mini puddings...now if we had tons oc cool spoons we could....hum any ideas about this? Are enough people aware of the new trend of h.d.'s and desserts on spoons? THat could be cool..........!

How to dress them up though? Brulee them or add fruit?


I'd love to do our cheesecakes on sticks.........but I'm nervous getting things too complicated so future help would struggle.

In away it's a bit mis-leading....because it's not as though we will stock these (pralaines and such) items at bakery. Probably need to verbalize that....but how tackfully?

Oh, p.s. It's Wendy (da) but I'm at Cindy's using her computor

[panini]

Ms. Dessert,
Are you doing this for exposure?
I'm not sure about the Elvis Kings cake thing.
It's definately not to casual to have king cake, they add some nice color. A lot of the desserts in Norlans are semi French based.
I'm thinking, maybe decorate as you say with dummies and centerpiece and try to incorperate some of the things that you will be offering in the bakery with a Mardi Gras garnish.
When I go down for Mardi Gras I usually have the the items you already mentioned, Bread puddings, Bourbon soaked cakes, bananas foster.
Pralines are a good give-away. Can you contact a local praline vendor to see if they want to contribute.
Good luck!

[W.DeBord]

I have to admit, I really don't "get" the kings cake.........it's a coffee cake? At night....seems weird to me.

I'm definately going to make my own pralines....got the recipe from my old manager (who's from N. O.). LOVE them! Putting them in a package with our name on them.....is a GREAT idea!

Yes, this is for exposure. The only other bakery there has listed pralines on their menu ahead of us, so although we'll have them we don't want them featured on the mini menu. A caterer is offering mini French pastries. So we don't want any repeats on the printed menu.

We are offering our reg. mini's with stylish garnishes for the event. But I was hoping to find some more ideas that lean toward Orleans.

Is it cool to do any Southern style desserts? Like key lime, coconut cream, sweet potato, mississippi mud......???? Or is there any "insult" to other Southerns States desserts?

[shroomgirl]

The south is not generic....southern Louisiana has it's own desserts....King cakes are a classic between 12th night and Mardi Gras....rich sour cream and egg ladened coffee cake with yellow, purple and green sugars topping a white icing....
plastic babies are a must!!!

bananas foster cheese cake, sweet potato bourbon tarts, pecan tarts, there is a praline liquor we used years ago to make ice cream....could be used in desserts....bread pudding with hard sauce. There should be Meyer lemons in the CBD market about this time of year. There are all kinds of flaming coffee drinks you can take the components and make mini custards....

Bayona's has a decent site and really great menus.

[W.DeBord]

I'm wondering if anyone might have a TRUED AND TRUE kings cake recipe I could use for this night? I've never even eaten one so I'm not sure what I'm looking for....? Or maybe the name of a cookbook that you REALLY TRUST on this topic?

I'd be very grateful for the help!