Candy bar for the holiday: do it yourself. Do-it-yourself candy bar: a fashionable sweet table for any occasion

Candy bar is a beautiful foreign tradition of bright and unusual design of a sweet table for a holiday. It should definitely be adopted, because it helps to create the right atmosphere and charge guests with the “right” energy. The idea is good for both children's and adult holidays, especially thematic ones. This is a great birthday present. You can order a ready-made candy bar or make it yourself with a little imagination. Let's talk in more detail about the main rules and methods for its manufacture.

Topic selection

Any candy bar is a set of sweets and fruits, selected and decorated in a pre-selected style. The main theme of the design is chosen based on the wishes of the participants in the celebration and the occasion for the holiday.

Photo source for the article - etsy.com

For the New Year, Valentine's Day, wedding, birthday or Halloween, the table will be decorated in completely different ways. For a children's birthday, you can choose a theme that will become the leitmotif of the holiday, if only it pleases the birthday person. Pirates, cowboys, travel and adventure - for boys, princesses, romance, fairies, shabby chic - for girls. All these themes can be successfully beaten in the design of a sweet bar.

Filling

Candy bar can consist of any sweets and fruits of your choice. In foreign tradition, it is customary to use:
meringue,
cookies (ginger, chocolate, different shapes and always small),
cupcakes in paper tartlets,
keypops - mini cakes on sticks,
cakes (mini format, cut into squares, French macarons are especially popular),
cakes,
cheesecakes,
fruits and nuts in chocolate or yogurt.

All delicacies, as a rule, are small in size, and large ones (cake or pie) are cut into small pieces. All of them are freely available on the principle of a buffet, when each of the guests has the opportunity to come up at any time and choose everything that he likes on his own.

Basic Rules

There are several rules for the classic composition of a do-it-yourself sweet bar.

Sort items by color

Sweets are selected according to the principle of one color, placed side by side or successfully combined in one jar in the form of combinations of two colors - red and white, red and gold, shades of blue or any other.
The color scheme once again emphasizes the main theme of the holiday (blue - in a marine style, shades of cream - vintage, black and red - for Halloween, and so on).

Using dishes of different heights

Multi-level table decoration is welcome. For this purpose, specially selected dishes are used. The following help to effectively arrange sweets at different levels:
- plates,
- glass jars with transparent lids,
- multi-tiered pedestals,
- paper cups.

The choice of dishes is very important, so you need to approach it very carefully! With it, you can transform even the most familiar things. For example, ordinary milk can look completely different if it is poured into small transparent bottles with multi-colored lids, bright striped straws are inserted inside and the composition is decorated with small bows.

Lots of paper details

Everything should be thought out down to the smallest detail:
- finely cut multi-colored paper in a bowl,
- serpentine,
- confetti,
- fabric ribbons
- all kinds, bags and,
- personalized postcards
- paper figures that complement the main style.)

inscriptions

Not a single candy bar is complete without beautiful signs, inscriptions,. They can be made with your own hands, printed on a printer, decorated using scrapbook paper or colored cardboard, buy ready-made foam or wooden inscriptions. How to place in a bar? Very simple:
- wooden put on the table,
- stick paper inscriptions on cups and jars,
- print templates of beautiful paper boxes and envelopes and cut them out of cardboard,
- Hang a candy bar over the table and arrange it in the form of a garland.
The main task is to maintain a single style and skillfully select matching details. Here are some good examples of combining elements in different themes.

Safari Park

Check out this great example of a safari style candy bar!

The main color scheme - a combination of shades of brown and orange - is successfully complemented by pieces of fabric with black and white stripes, like a zebra. A special safari-passport is prepared for each participant of the party. Plates with applied stencils of animals look original and bright.

For each disposable bottle and caps, special stickers printed on a printer on self-adhesive paper are glued with their own hands. The glass jars are wrapped in burlap, striped cloth and tied with twine. Several large orange lilies become a bright accent of the table and successfully set off the “animal” theme, helping to make the decoration more festive.

Romance and vintage

Here are some beautiful ideas for DIY vintage buffet decor.

The simple idea of ​​wrapping small glass jars in lace and tying them with twine is just perfect for creating a romantic mood!
A light plain pedestal for cupcakes in pastel colors, transparent vases with sweets selected in pink tones, a delicate garland of flags over the table and, of course, a vintage inscription with the name - all these details look great in combination with each other.

Candy bar is an occasion for cheerful creativity and implementation of the most daring ideas, an occasion to practice the ability to combine different details and create a unified mood with their help. Don't be afraid to experiment! Making a candy bar for any holiday with your own hands is not at all difficult, but terribly fun!

An excellent article about the design of a candy bar "How to design a candy bar or a game without rules on a sweet table"

Candy bar is another Western tradition that we are happy to transfer to Russian weddings, children's parties and corporate events. From the concept of "sweet table" five years ago, candy bar differs in a large number of decorative elements and ostentatious confectionery chic

We support the topic
The sweet table is designed to support a theme party. There are many examples on the net, you don’t need to fantasize much. Very elegant! An incomparable sweet accent for almost any celebration.

Background, tablecloth and skirt
background is required.
the table can be stepped to make it easier for guests to find holiday decorations
I need a custom tablecloth. Often used buffet skirts and draperies

Dishes for candy bar
There are no rules here either, sometimes it is enough to place sweets on trays, but the use of unusually shaped glassware for dragees, marmalade and lollipops has already become a tradition. I think the most important thing in this case is to ensure tightness, because all these sweets quickly wind out or, on the contrary, gain moisture. However, the most common baby food jars and colored glass bottles are often decorated.

designer stuff
On the sweet table, it is customary to use beautiful items for decor, I will quickly list:
porcelain, plastic, metal figurines and figurines
volumetric letters and words ("LOVE", "Family", names and first letters of initials)
paper decorations
natural and artificial flowers
decorative candles
photo frames with newlyweds and birthdays
satin ribbons
Stuffed Toys
flags, caps, balloons
confetti, serpentine, coins

The sweets themselves, finally
This, of course, is the most important component of the candy bar. Long-term storage products can be delivered in advance, cream cakes are taken out already at the guests.
What can be laid out on a festive sweet table:
cake (one-story or multi-tiered)
cupcakes and cake pops (I apologize for using these names, but many of the pastry shops you will go to call small cakes in an edible cup “one tooth” and fun cakes on a stick.
meringue (a few drops of food coloring and the meringue will turn pink, blue and green)
nuts in multi-colored glaze
marmalade
oriental sweets (baklava, sherbet, Turkish delight)
cookie
dried apricots, prunes, dates, raisins and other dried fruits and berries
candied fruit
marshmallow, pastille
lollipops
chocolate medals
marzipan figurines

We continue the idea of ​​sweets,
10 MOST INEXPENSIVE SWEETS FOR A CANDY BAR

You will be surprised, but quite affordable and familiar sweets can become a spectacular and inexpensive filling for a sweet table.

1. PASTILA, JUMMY OR SHERBET. Such a treat will look great on a square or rectangular plate, folded in a slide.

2. ZEFIR. Covered with chocolate icing, creme brulee, white-pink or just white. Such a treat will look great on round, square or oblong dishes. May be completed with small toppers.

3. M&MS. Do you have a bright party and need red, blue or yellow colors? Separate a bag of sweets by color and pour into any transparent dish. If several of the listed colors suit you, then lay the dragees in layers.

4. CHOCOLATE. White, black, milk. Break into pieces and fold into a pyramid in a square plate.

5. MINI CAKE. Ordinary cupcakes can completely replace expensive cupcakes. Top with whipped cream and berries.

6. COOKIES. Now there are a large number of different cookies in stores. Laid out in a slide on a beautiful plate, it will look great.

7. CAKES: eclairs, bushes, baskets, potatoes. Here the choice is huge, just do not overload the table. Choose one or two types.

8. BEARS BARNEY. They will perfectly complement the party, the main theme of which is teddy bears. It is best to put them on an oblong plate.

9. LOLLIPOPS. Sold in specialized stores in large shopping centers. They can be put in glasses filled with m&ms.

10. CORN STICKS OR POPCORN. It will look good in large voluminous vases or special boxes with a holiday theme.

Do not forget about fruits, berries, nuts.
Source: Masterskaya Lakomka

Fruits and berries

The most suitable option is in the form of canapes, dough baskets or portioned fruit salads. It can be combined with fruit and berry sauces, caramel and cream.

cupcakes

Sponge cakes are small cakes, also known as muffins or mini cupcakes. A cap of cupcakes can be made from cream, icing, mastic or just powder. Inside they can be empty or stuffed. Moreover, I would choose the option based on the age of the birthday man and guests. The younger the audience, the simpler the cupcakes should be.

Cake pops

Biscuit on a stick. At first glance, everything is simple, but they are amazing. It is worth noting that cake pops are not only tasty, but also beautiful. Confectioners in this case are akin to jewelers. Small biscuit cakes in the form of a ball on a stick. The dessert is covered with chocolate, caramel or mastic of any color and decorated.

marshmallow

Airy marshmallows are just as easy to decorate. If you dip it into the icing, and then into a cup with sugar decorative balls, you get an almost professional product.

macaroons or macaroons

French double-layered biscuits with filling. With the help of dyes, the dough and cream are dyed in pleasant pastel colors. Dessert looks and tastes very delicate French dessert made from macaroons and fruit filling. Dyes allow you to make dough of any color: red, blue, green, etc.

A simple recipe for New Year's "Macarons".

Ingredients:

Chopped almonds - 110 g

Powdered sugar - 200 g
- vanilla sugar - 1/2 tsp
- sugar - 50 g
- egg white - 3 pcs
- for filling chocolate paste, jam or cream

Cooking:

1. Add sugar and vanilla sugar to the almonds, mix until smooth in a blender
2. Beat the egg whites until foamy, gradually add the sugar until the mixture reaches the consistency of a meringue (not very dry), add the almond mixture and mix quickly (the dough should become liquid)
3. Cover the baking sheet with parchment paper, use a pastry bag to lay out round cookies 4 cm in diameter 4. Set them aside for 30-40 minutes until they harden
5. Bake for 8-10 minutes in the oven at 150 C
6. Cool and grease with cream.
7. Draw with glaze.

Happy tea!

Eclairs, cream baskets and other pastries

Everything that you can take in your hand and eat without utensils and in almost one bite. The main attention is on appearance

Cookie
It is baked in different forms and decorated according to the theme of the holiday.

Marmalade, marshmallow, marshmallow, candied fruit
Due to the variety of shapes and colors, they fit perfectly into any candy bar composition.

Trifles
- portioned desserts, consisting of biscuits, fruits, berries and cream. Served in transparent bowls. They are prepared simply, they look very beautiful and appetizing, they are eaten with great pleasure.

Sugar crystal on a stick

Bright straw.

You only need to melt the chocolate in a water bath and dip the straw

Beverages

Always in great demand lemonade, fruit drink, compote, juice. Such inexpensive, but tasty drinks for the children's table. The main packaging.

Up to 12-13 years old, jugs have nothing to do on a sweet buffet. All drinks are served in portions in glasses, jars, bottles with personalized labels. Preferably with a tube.

Hot drinks (fruit tea, cocoa) can be offered once at the allotted time. So that there is an adult on the distribution and that the children do not run around with cups at this time.

Milkshakes (milkshakes)

They must also be served at a certain time, since they tend to settle

Recipe:

Dark chocolate and orange panna cotta

Ingredients:

Dark chocolate:

- Dark chocolate - 125 g
- Orange peel

Panna cotta:

Cream (low fat) - 300 ml
- Milk - 125 ml
- Gelatin - 2 teaspoons
- Bitter orange confiture - 2 tablespoons
- Sugar - 1/2 cup

Cooking:

1. Dark Chocolate Cream:

Break up the chocolate and place in a bowl. Boil the cream and pour over the chocolate, add the grated zest and stir until the chocolate is melted. Place the glasses in a saucepan on an incline and pour in the chocolate. Thus, put the pan in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours to set the shape.

2. Orange Panna Cotta:

Pour gelatin into milk (25 ml) and place a bowl of milk in a water bath. The gelatin should dissolve. Bring the cream, sugar and the rest of the milk to a boil over low heat. Remove from heat and pour the gelatin into the cream, add the marmalade. Thoroughly mix the entire mixture so that the gelatin is distributed. Add sugar if necessary. Cool to room temperature and pour over the hardened chocolate. Refrigerate for 4 hours or leave overnight.

Bon appetit!

ZEFIR "HOME-STYLE"

INGREDIENTS:
● 4 cups of sugar;
Show in full…
● 2 tbsp. gelatin (20 g);
● 1 tsp. citric acid;
● 0.5 tsp. soda.

COOKING:
Soak gelatin in advance (2 tbsp. with a top of 100 g of water). Pour sugar into a saucepan, pour a glass of cold water and put on medium heat, not forgetting to stir. From the moment of boiling, we detect 3 minutes and add the prepared gelatin, remove the pan and mix everything thoroughly until the gelatin is completely dissolved. We let the liquid cool down a little, but, only a little, we will beat hot.
Beat with a mixer for 5 minutes at medium speed, take a break for 5 minutes and beat again for exactly 5 minutes.
Add citric acid and soda.

Beat again, but with a hand whisk for about 10 minutes. Let the mass stand for about 20 minutes. The marshmallow mass will double, so there will be a lot of marshmallows. Prepare trays, cutting boards, preferably from plastic. not stuck.
When the tortillas are firm, carefully remove them with a thin knife and glue them together in pairs. Zephyr is ready!

Happy tea!

strawberry fudge

Ingredients:

●340 ml sweetened condensed milk
Show in full…
●600 g powdered sugar
●30 g oil
●275g fresh or frozen strawberries, chopped
●2 tablespoons of lemon juice

Cooking:

1. Grease a baking dish with butter (approximately 23x23 cm).
2. Combine condensed milk, powdered sugar and butter in a large saucepan; bring to a boil over medium heat.
3. Add strawberries and lemon juice. Cook, stirring constantly, until the temperature of the mixture reaches 112-115 degrees or, if you do not have a food thermometer, until the state of "soft ball" (if you drop the mixture into a glass of cold water, it should form a soft ball, not melt).
4. Remove from heat and quickly pour the mass into the mold. When the mixture hardens slightly, you can create patterns with a knife. Let cool completely before cutting.

Have you decided to abandon the banal and boring serving of desserts? The fashion that came from Europe to arrange a candy bar for a wedding will perfectly help in this case. Such a presentation will definitely become the highlight of the holiday, emphasize the style and decorate it, and will also appeal to all guests.

Candy bar - what is it?

Literally translated, candy means candy, and candy bar is filled with all kinds of small sweets, dragees and marmalade, which do not stain or stick to hands. In the interpretation of our holidays, the candy bar almost completely replaces the sweet table. This is a buffet service, in the form of a separate, beautifully decorated table.

Filling it depends on your desires, possibilities and taste preferences.

You can organize a chocolate fondue or order a chocolate fountain. Expensive but very effective. And delicious.

On the same table or nearby, you can organize a tea and coffee table. If this is the spring-summer period, soft drinks are perfect: compote, lemonade, crucson.

How many sweets to serve?

For the assortment, it will be enough to serve 5-6 types of sweets, excluding sweets. Or 3-4 types of various desserts, if the wedding is in an economy version.

Of course, it’s impossible to calculate the serving of desserts, as well as other treats, to the gram. Guests are completely different people, with different tastes and appetites. Some people have a sweet tooth, while others don't eat sweets at all. But there are certain rules that will come to your aid. For example:

• "large" sweets - muffins, cakes, pies are served 1 pc. per person;
• macaroons, cookies, donuts - 2 pcs;
• various small sweets - 100 grams per 1 invited guest;
• wedding cake is ordered at the rate of 150 grams per person;

Do we order in a restaurant, in a pastry shop or bake ourselves?

The question is where to buy sweets will definitely arise. There may be several options. Each has its pros and cons. Consider them:

1. We order in a restaurant.

Every good restaurant has a pastry chef and the opportunity to order desserts for a wedding.

Pros: savings on the delivery of desserts, on renting or buying special coasters, decorations and dishes for the candy bar. Waiters will do everything for you. The price is average.

Cons: don't expect miracles in terms of assortment - you will be offered muffins, muffins, a la carte desserts and fruits. Decorating desserts and a sweet table without much imagination and frills.

2. Confectionery.

Sweets made to order in a confectionery or from a private confectioner are much tastier, more beautiful, and of better quality.

Pros: originality and beauty, taste qualities exceed all expectations. Large selection of desserts on offer. You can do everything exactly the way you need (a themed wedding, a holiday in a certain color)

Cons: price. Such desserts will cost almost twice as much. Not all confectioneries provide delivery. And this means that in addition to transportation costs, you need to figure out how to bring all this beauty to the place and not spoil anything. You may have to pay extra for renting a table, textiles and dishes for "alien" sweets in a restaurant.

3. We bake ourselves.

Do you have a signature recipe for some cakes or cookies, or do you just love to bake. Or maybe you want to save money - make desserts with your own hands.

Pros: You are confident in the quality of all products. Everything will be done with heart. And sweets "from the bride" will be a charming highlight of the holiday.

Cons: very energy intensive. Especially the day before the wedding, when the bride has a huge number of different things to do and worries. Again, it's a matter of transportation.

A "mix" of desserts can be a great idea. Something simple to order at the venue of the banquet. Complex and original desserts can be entrusted to pastry shops, and one dessert can be baked by the caring hands of the bride and groom.

Decorate the sweet table

Decorating a candy bar can be entrusted to professionals, but there is nothing difficult about it, and you can handle it yourself.

Sweets should become the main decoration of the table. It is very important that they are designed in the general style, color and theme of the event. A table with desserts should look harmonious against the general background, and not look superfluous.

Dishes and textiles also need to be carefully selected. If the wedding, for example, is in a marine style, anchors and mastic steering wheels on cakes should become decorations.

Cream on cupcakes and blue macaroons. Modern food colorings are safe for health, but they can make any of your fantasies come true. Sweets look beautiful all in one color, or changing from tone to tone. Decorate the table with fresh flowers and the space around the table with helium balloons. The candy bar area will be a great place for guests to communicate and take photos.

Candy Bar at a wedding is delicious and beautiful. Many do not understand its meaning, but guests at the buffet will be happy to have a bite to eat something sweet, especially if the buffet lasts an hour or two. This is an opportunity to try sweets and have time to get hungry for a banquet dinner. And if you do not have a banquet planned, then such a sweet table is simply necessary at the buffet table!

What such a sweet table can consist of, who makes it, how to choose and order it, where to put it and what not to forget about, I will tell you now using the example of one of our weddings, which took place in mid-September.

Candy bar is a spectacularly designed buffet table with a variety of sweets and sometimes even drinks.

A good effective candy bar is usually the result of teamwork:
the bride dreams
- the organizer listens and suggests
— the decorator develops the design
– accessories, dishes, floristry are selected
- a table is searched, a tablecloth is sewn, a backdrop or top decoration is being prepared
– confectioners, by order of the organizer, make all the necessary goodies

On the wedding day, everything is set up, the dishes are thoroughly washed and rubbed, and lastly, confectioners arrive and lay out the “sweets” on the dishes.

Candy bar can be far from alone, it can be supported by other pleasant entertainment in the composition. In our pictures, in addition to the “kendik”, an apparatus with cotton candy and a cart with a chocolate fountain and “Tutti Frutti” fruit skewers were added. There was a photo zone nearby in style and all this served as a decoration for the ceremony, which will be a separate story.

The decor is not so difficult to choose, but the bride never knows how to fill the sweet table. Most often I hear: "I want it to be beautiful and that's it." And then the organizer begins to think.

The organizer at this place must fish out two factors:
- the budget that the bride is ready to allocate for sweets
- what dishes and decor the decorator has, and of course, what kind of color scheme we have at the wedding
Knowing these factors helps to make the most optimal order without complicating anyone's life.

Of course, especially demanding brides will not mind tasting sweet sets. And they, too, cannot be denied this, think over in advance what you will treat your customers to and order a few things for them a few days before the holiday.

The most standard sweets for "kendik":
- small cakes
- cake pops (cakes on sticks)
- cupcakes (cupcakes with cream)
- baskets with cream and fruits
- macarons (light cookies with cream)
- marshmallow, meringue, marshmallow (little things)
- portioned desserts in cups: tiramisu, panna cotta, etc.

Another sweet table is great with drinks - juices or lemonades in a beautiful design. Here we have dispensers with taps, there is juice.

It is very important that next to the handsome candy bar there is a table with dessert utensils, glasses, patty plates and napkins. On the table itself, this beauty can interfere with the picture, but guests will have a hard time without these important devices.

You can, of course, put a waiter, but you must admit, it is much more exciting to cut the cake yourself, choose from an assortment of sweets and share emotions with guests. Self-service is a pleasant part of the ritual.

If you have a candy bar, this does not mean at all that you need to give up a buffet table, let those who do not like sweets have a shrimp on a skewer or vol-au-vent with caviar before the banquet.

A table with champagne will perfectly complement the exit bar, where bartenders can prepare any cocktail for any guest. And let guests who do not drink low-alcohol drinks drink a glass of vodka or a little whiskey at the buffet table.

To our deep regret, the territory near the restaurant where this wedding took place is rather limited and the “rear” view of our green lawn is not as attractive as we would like, but there was no alternative corner for our sweet fair.

But if you have the choice and opportunity, try to have something uniform as the background for your sweet table. If it is cool and drizzling with rain / heat and the sun is scorching, a tent or room is a great option, the back wall can be separately decorated with ribbons, frames, pompons.

If you think that such a table will be unclaimed, you are deeply mistaken, sometimes the bride did not even manage to see the candy bar, as the guests “swept away” everything before her appearance at the ceremony.

Recently, there has been a tendency to make such decorated buffet tables not only with sweets, we personally have already managed to make at one of the weddings instead of Candy bar Beer bar - a coolly decorated table with a bunch of hearty snacks and delicious foam. In autumn, a wine bar with cheeses and wine is relevant, and for lovers of Japanese or Italian cuisine, this can also be something special.

If you don’t want to make a themed table, then negotiate with the restaurant and effectively arrange a buffet table. For example, we have a service for those who do not like restaurant snacks - we make a decorated full-fledged buffet with homemade delicacies: pastries, snacks, fragrant cookies, pies with cheese caps, etc.

In general, please yourself despite the difficult times. Such a table will definitely become a feature of the event, it will be remembered by the guests on Instagram.

Organization: Alexandra Marchenko and Art de Vivre agency
Photo: Andrey Novozhilov
Decor: Maria Demyanova and Sea Buckthorn Studio
Sweets: Mister Biscuit Company