Dessert Recipes For New Year’s Eve Parties

Planning for a New Year’s Eve party almost always includes elaborate and delectable desserts. Since so many New Year’s Eve parties generally start later in the evening for after dinner plans, desserts can be the highlight of the night. Creating and serving desserts to pair with cocktails, champagne or other alternative drinks will add to an already charged evening. For a sit-down dinner serving one dessert to all guests is a sophisticated meal ending. If dinner is a buffet, a dessert table offers several scrumptious choices and, hopefully, something for everyone’s tastes.

Ideas for a sit down dinner include slices of Bourbon chocolate cake, which is a dinner party favorite. In addition, fruit tarts are a perfect pair for champagne or sparkling cider. Another delicious sit down dessert, which can dazzle guests, if created tableside, is serving Bananas Foster. For a dessert table or after dinner cocktail party, chocolate dipped strawberries are an excellent match for champagne toasts as well as truffles. Chocolate strawberries and truffles are easy dessert table items for all guests who just want to pick and taste.

Bourbon Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup bourbon
• 1 1/3 cups sugar
• 12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 1 cup butter, cut into pieces
• 5 large eggs
• 1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 tablespoons cocoa powder, divided
• Hot water
• Coffee-bourbon Syrup
• Hazelnuts

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 9x2-inch cake pan, line the bottom with parchment paper and set aside. Combine bourbon and sugar in a large saucepan and bring mixture to a boil. Remove from heat, and add chocolate and butter, stirring until smooth. Set aside, and let cool to room temperature. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until very well blended. Fold in flour and 1 1/2 tablespoons cocoa powder. Pour batter into prepared cake pan. Set pan in a large roasting pan filled to a depth of 1 inch with hot water. Bake at 375 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes, basting with coffee-bourbon syrup every 15 minutes after a crust has developed on the cake's surface. Cool cake, cover and refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight. Transfer cake onto a serving plate, and dust with remaining 1 tablespoon cocoa powder. Top with hazelnuts.

Fruit Tart

Tart Shell Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cup and 1 tablespoon flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1/4 tablespoon vanilla
• 2 tablespoons apple or raspberry jelly

Tart Filling Ingredients

• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 1/2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Fresh Fruits

Use any combinations of blueberries, raspberries and peaches
Directions

Tart Shell

Mix flour and sugar in small bowl. Cut in butter with pastry blender until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Stir in water and vanilla until evenly distributed, gather into flattened ball and press evenly over bottom and sides of 9” or 10” tart pan with removable bottom, extending pastry ½” above sides. Prick all over with a fork. Chill for 1 hour. Bake in preheated 375 degree oven, on lowest rack, for 25 to 30 minutes. Cool in pan.

Filling

Remove rim of tart pan and place on serving plate. Mix sour cream, confectioners’ sugar and vanilla in small bowl until blended. Spread over bottom of tart shell. Arrange choice of fruit over sour cream mixture, slicing or cutting fruit if necessary and overlapping slices. Melt jelly and brush over fruit. Refrigerate 30 minutes to set glaze.

Bananas Foster

Ingredients

• 4 medium bananas
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup crème de banane or banana liqueur
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup dark rum
• 2 cups vanilla low-fat ice cream

Directions

Peel bananas and cut each banana in half, lengthwise. Cut each half into 2 pieces. Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Stir in brown sugar, liqueur and cinnamon. Bring to a simmer and cook for 2 minutes. Add bananas and cook for 4 minutes or until tender. Remove from heat. Add rum to pan, and ignite rum with a long match. Stir bananas gently until flame dies down. Serve over ice cream.

Dipped Strawberries

Ingredients

• 16 ounces milk chocolate chips
• 2 tablespoons shortening
• 1 pound fresh strawberries with leaves

Directions

Insert toothpicks into the tops of the strawberries. In a double boiler, melt the chocolate and shortening, stirring occasionally until smooth. Holding them by the toothpicks, dip the strawberries into the chocolate mixture. Turn the strawberries upside down and insert the toothpick into Styrofoam for the chocolate to cool.

Truffles

Ingredients

• 8 ounces good-quality semi or bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk

Flavors

• Orange: 6 tablespoons orange-flavored liqueur, such as Grand Marnier, and 1/2 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
• Coffee: 6 tablespoons coffee-flavored liqueur, such as Kahluah and 1 teaspoon instant coffee
• Raspberry: 6 tablespoons raspberry liqueur, such as Chambord

Coating Options

• 1 cup of minced sweetened, flaked coconut
• 1 cup of minced roasted pistachios
• 1 cup of minced toasted walnuts
• 1 cup of sifted unsweetened cocoa
• 1 cup of sprinkles

Directions

Heat chocolates, butter and milk in a pan until chocolates and butter are partially melted. Remove from heat and stir until completely melted. Whisk in desired flavoring until creamy-smooth. Transfer to a bowl and let stand until firm enough to hold its shape, which should be about 2 hours. Using a tablespoon, mold chocolate into balls, 1 level tablespoon at a time, and place on a cookie sheet lined with greased parchment paper. Place desired coating in a small bowl. Working one at a time, drop truffles into the bowl with greased fingertips. Shake bowl back and forth so truffles are completely coated. If necessary, roll truffles by hand to make round. Return to parchment. Truffles can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 5 days or frozen up to 1 month. Before serving, let stand at room temperature to soften slightly.