Desserts and Treats For Your Quince Fiesta
by: Michael Kabel

You're getting everything in place for your Quince fiesta, including planning all the details of the feast you'll serve your guests. You probably already know that the basic full-course meal consists of an appetizer, entrée, and dessert courses. But some kinds of desserts go better with certain kinds of meals.

You can serve the right kind of dessert that goes not just with the meal but with the fiesta celebration itself. In many ways, the dessert is sort of like an extra fiesta favor given to your guests. They'll often take theirs home, making the dessert an informal souvenir of your festivities.

The many different kinds of dessert.

Depending on where in the world you are, a dessert can be something as simple as a cookie or an elaborate pastry treat. Everything from milkshakes to sweet fruits are considered desserts.

Desserts also range from culture to cooking style to range of ingredients. In some cooking styles, for example those practiced by Asian chefs, the dessert is a combination of sweet and sour flavors. For many parts of America, the dessert is as sweet and sugary as possible (cherry and blueberry pies.)

In some fine restaurants, the dessert is meant to match the entrée. For example, a heavy meal like red meat should have a light dessert go "on top of it." Fresh fruit or sherbet is a good choice of dessert. Similarly, fried food can often find a great complement in something cool, like ice cream or milkshakes.

Plan your dessert after you plan your meal.

The dessert is the final course of the meal, but it's also the course your guests will eat before they hit the dance floor for several hours of fun. So if you're planning a long celebration after the meal, you should keep the dessert as light as possible. Some kind of light cheese is appropriate for even the most formal celebrations, as is a light pastry.

For smaller meals and meals with a lot of vegetables, almost any dessert will do.

How to present your desserts.

The dessert presentation depends by and large on how and when you serve the last course. The dessert doesn't have to come right after the entrée. In fact, you can choose to serve it later, as a pick-me-up snack after an hour or two of dancing.
It's also not necessary to have the dessert served by the wait staff at you Quince venue. Many fiestas (and even lots of wedding receptions) simply display the desserts on a table immediately outside the main hall, and let guests choose their desserts as they wish. 

There's an old medieval tradition you might also enjoy sharing with your guests. Newlywed couples back then would arrange many small snack cakes and pastries into a high pyramid or pile, and each guest would get to pick what they wanted. Guests would often compete to see who could pick the tastiest slice without toppling the whole tower. 

Finally, provide take-home bags for guests who'd like to enjoy the dessert another time. These are sold very affordably, and some can come personalized with your name and Quinceañera date.