Have you heard of Amy Atlas?  If you haven't you are bound to do soon she is responsible for a new craze sweeping the US, Dessert Tables.

Mainly seen in the wedding industry but beginning to gain popularity for birthday parties, baby showers and the like, her creative spreads present a variety of desserts beautifully displayed on a theme.  They create a real wow factor and are a practical way of catering to a range of tastes.


It is no surprise therefore that Dessert Tables are also beginning to gain interest in the UK too, thanks to the likes of amazing creative bakers The Hazelnut Bakery you can experience them for yourself.  If you can think of it, they can make it, from a spooky Halloween table to a trip with Charlie to the The Chocolate Factory.

For those of you who are not within reach of a creative baker, or sweet stylist as they are known, a great new book has just been published.  The Cake Parlour Sweet Tables by Zoe Clarke (David and Charles) shows you six beautiful Dessert Tables you can try for yourself.  Her tables combine a coordinating range of cakes, cookies, cupcakes which can be put together to create a gorgeous display.  You can recreate each theme in full or just pick out the elements you like to make a table just right for you.

There are six table themes in total; Candy Shop, Fantasy Frills, A Feast of Roses, A Festival of White, A Lullaby of Sweet Loves and At The Cake Parlour.  Each one is creative and visually stunning and features a show stopping centerpiece cas with an accompanying range of confections including cupcakes, cookies, macarons, and minicakes.  We were particularly enamoured of the incredible Passion Pink Macaron Tower (A Feast of Roses) which would be a fantastic wedding cake substitute, Dare I say it if you are not up to making macrons yourself (detailed instructions are given) you could always buy them in.

The key to creating a sweet table is creating a harmonious display of colour and pattern.  You could easily carry designs and colours from your event stationery through to tie to bring your whole event together.  Zoe advises to give your table interest by using interesting textures and contrasting shapes creating drama and spectacle,

We really liked this book but thought it was better aimed at a professional baker or a very experienced cook as some of the techniques were quiet difficult, but don't worry if you are neither however there is plenty to you can make if you pick and mix from the recipes given.

The Cake Parlour Sweet Tables by Zoe Clarke published by David And Charles is RRP £14.99 but can be purchased here for just £11.24.

We received a copy of this book free of charge for review.