Delicious Details... Dessert Tables

Goodness me, how much do I love cake? Making them, eating them, reading about them, looking at them, thinking about them - if it's vaguely cake-related, count me in. I bake for me, for my son, for my family and friends but most of all, I bake because I adore cake.

And I know I'm not alone here - we've all gone a little cake crazy recently. So, when you combine our cravings for cake and our love of fabulous details, it's obvious that dessert tables are definitely the way forward. I know that I couldn't choose just one cake to feature on my big day and I also know that the host in me loves spoiling guests with lots of choice and abundance.

Dessert tables are such a feature - you can decorate them so beautifully to fit a theme and with all the baked goodness arrange on them, they look stunning. You can use a dessert table after dinner in lieu of a traditional dessert course or serve up the sweetest evening buffet ever. Either way, your guests will love you and you could get your parents and other important people to choose a cake or treat to feature on the table. Alternatively, ask friends to bake the best recipe and bring it along - a lot less pressure than making a 'proper' wedding cake but they'll still be involved. See, I told you dessert tables are just perfect...

 Above - love this table - the cakes and bakes on the pretty stands (complete with mini chalkboard signs) are sweet enough but I think the backlit backdrop is almost a work of genius. It's so simple but it highlights the cakes wonderfully without overpowering. All you need to do is stretch a relatively thin fabric over a wooden frame, stand it behind the cakes and light it from the behind. The glow here will draw guests to this table like moths to a light! Image - Alice Hu

 Above - I love the colour combination in this image. The pink cakes and the yellow decorations are just brilliant. Add in the white of the vases and the plates and you've got a really great look. Probably not for you if you're going for something more mismatched but if total co-ordination is your thing, this is the pic to keep in mind. I like here how the floral decorations give lots of variation in height - without those, the table would look a little flat and visually uninteresting. Image - Alicia Rico

 Above - such an adorable dessert table. I love the coloured backdrop and the colours of the cakes and treats on the table are just gorgeous too (and very chocolatey by the look of things which is always good!) I think my favourite part of this set up though are the stands - they add height and interest and the metal stops this sweet look becoming sickly. Image - Brandon Kidd

 Above - another great look and the actual table itself here is a bit of a star. I really like the differing heights on that table with the platters, bowls, cake stands and cloches. It looks so gorgeous, I'd like to dive right in! The window behind the table is fabulous - the view is the perfect backdrop and the trailing ribbons on either side frame both the window and the table. Excellent. Image - My Sweet & Saucy

 Above - now this is a very elegant dessert table and really on trend with the lacy look and white/nude colour combination. The cupcake tower is definitely the centrepiece and the symmetrical set-up is definitely more for a formal event than something very laid back. Loving the doily detail on the banner and that fabric backdrop livens up a dull wall (easy to copy!) Image - Sandra Downie

Above - oooh, the bunting, the colours, the patterned table cloth! This is a pretty pastel dessert table if every I saw one. Again, the variation in height is wonderful and the stands and platters all add visual interest. I love those little flower arrangements too, they made that table just right for a garden style event and this table would brighten up a corner of a marquee really wonderfully. Image - The White Library

I Love... Mini Cakes

Last week, I was talking to the lovely Ruth Clemens from The Pink Whisk (who you may recognise from BBC2's Great British Bake-Off) about baked goodies for weddings. Obviously, this set me thinking and looking through the hundreds of recipes that I have bookmarked and now, I have to say, I am now totally in love with Mini Cakes.

Aside from the obvious cuteness of them, I just think they're perfect for weddings in so many ways - ideal bitesize bursts of yumminess perfect for afternoon tea style canapés or sweet treats to serve alongside post-dinner coffee. And if you can't choose, how about a tasty display, dessert table style?

Now, which one of these little baked beauties would you like to try first?

Above - these are the cutest little rounds of vanilla or chocolate sponge stacked and sprinkled with hundreds and thousands. And yes, the little doilies are working a treat here as well. Image - Martha Stewart

Above - little rounds of cake finished with a white frosting and a rosebud. How sweet are these? I love the little detailing on the bottom tier - so elegant. Image - Martha Stewart

Above - I know, these are strictly cookies but I couldn't resist. Vanilla cookies rounds, sandwiched with white icing and finished with a little edible decoration. These boxed delights were intended as favours but of course, they'd look great at any point. Image - Martha Stewart

Above - can you think if a more perfect summertime afternoon tea treat than this? I love the strawberries and the flowers - both are making me think of an outdoorsy event (possibly with scones and strawberry jam too) The polka dot ribbon is a great touch too and really bring this mini cake to life. Image - The Cake Parlour

Above - hmmm, chocolate cake heaven. These chocolate coated delights have been decorated beautifully - the delicate detailing would make these cakes perfect for a wedding with lots of lace or a sophisticated soiree  and certainly would be substantial enough to serve as dessert. Image - Martha Stewart

Above - pretty mini cakes in an array of pastel tones look fabulous at an informal wedding. Love the decorations, the 'mix and match' ribbon around the cake and yes, that bunting edged gingham cake board is calling to my country girl heart in ways you can't imagine! Image - The Knot

Above - mini bundt cake heaven! Loving this dessert display with little bundt cakes in different flavours, all drizzled with icing and finished with a fab floral flourish. How great would this look during a drinks reception instead of served canapés? Also, the ring shaped cakes are making me think of wedding rings... Image - Martha Stewart

Above - Oooh, so pretty! Ridiculously girlie I know, possibly even a little too cutsie but I thought I'd finish with a perfect mini cake. Am thinking of a standard sized wedding cake decorated to match and surrounded by these little treasures (and how sweet are those mini stands?). The tiny flowers decorating the cakes are so delicate, you'd almost feel bad about eating them. Please note - I said 'almost'! Image - The Knot

I Heart Cake Pops...

I have fallen in love. With cake pops...

These cakey, yummy balls of decorated goodness are my new favourite thing.

The cake pops book by the totally fabulous Bakerella (www.bakerella.com) is inspiring and every page has something oh-so pretty on it. You'll be in the kitchen before you know it! And, best of all, Bakerella (aka Angie Dudley) positively encourages to start your cake pop making by using cake packet mixes. Excellent! Check out these red velvet cake balls - http://www.bakerella.com/red-velvet-cake-balls/

But, my thoughts are these are great for weddings. Instead of big chunks of cake, how about delicate little cake pops? I can imagine beautifully coloured pops on sticks poking up from a flower covered square of oasis or chocolate covered cake balls (without the sticks!) served with coffee after the wedding breakfast. You can design any pop to go with your theme and pops wrapped in cellophane would be great wedding favours too. Oooh, can't you just feel your imagination running riot?

And isn't that what weddings should be all about?!