Wedding Dessert Buffet

This past Saturday was showtime for a wedding dessert buffet I have been planning for quite some time.

It was way back in February that I promised to make the desserts for the wedding of my daughter Eleanor's beloved middle-school math teacher, Ms. Bennett. Throughout the school year we tested and tasted recipes with Eleanor acting as my dessert delivery girl.

Desserts that made the final menu were sugar cookies, Oreo truffles, tirimisu, coconut and dark chocolate French macarons, berry bars and three kinds of mini cheese cake. All of the desserts except for the berry bars needed to be kept chilled, especially in the summer heat.

Fortunately for me, my friend Cindy and my sister Ursula came to the rescue by letting me keep treats in their refrigerators until the event. During transport in the hot car, I had the air conditioner on high and basically just prayed that things wouldn't melt.

Once at the venue, I had a small kitchen to work in and a fridge in which I just kept alternating keeping the desserts cold until it was time to present them. My daughter Eleanor was such a big help to me.  

When a dessert disappeared from the buffet, Eleanor quickly replaced it so that throughout the event the display was always full and beautiful.

I am so pleased with how things turned out and it was wonderful to be a part of Ms. Bennett's special day. It was hard work but also exciting and something Eleanor and I will always remember tackling together.

Three bowls of macarons.

Macaron close-up.

The sugar cookies packed and ready for transport.

There was a cute little spoon in each cup of tirimisu. Of all the desserts, this was the easiest to make and serve.

I wrapped each berry bar with a strip of natural parchment and baker's twine.

Making the Oreo truffles. This was the dessert that was the most difficult to deal with in the heat. Chocolate doesn't like to be above 70 degrees. When it's hot, it's essential to get them straight into the fridge to set up after a quick dip in melted chocolate.

The three cheesecake flavors were chocolate/peanut butter cup, lemon curd/raspberry and strawberry.