Afternoon tea party: An elegant dining solution for casual get-togethers

Mini Banana Peanut Butter Whoopie Pies

This past weekend was hectic, but it should have been much more hectic, given that my mom and I were hosting a family bridal shower at her house. In the past we've held showers at various dining establishments, but the expenses often ended up exceeding the budget, adding unnecessary stress to what's supposed to be a carefree celebration.

So this time we decided to throw the party at my mom's lovely home, and with all of the talented cooks in our family, it made sense to cater the party ourselves. Instead of assigning salads, entrees and desserts, however, each family was asked to bring finger foods, savory or sweet. No chafing dishes, no sit-down dinner--it was going to be a tea party, for 30 guests.

We borrowed a zillion tiered trays, decked them out in doilies and loaded them up with tea sandwiches (chicken salad, egg salad, cucumber, pear/gorgonzola/walnut, crab salad), tiny chived potatoes, currant scones with clotted cream and fresh preserves, puff pastry filled with pesto, goat cheese and tomato, pastry shells topped with brie and apricot preserves, cream puffs, cannolis, ganache-wrapped chocolate mousse, pizzelles, brownie bites with fresh-picked raspberries, and mini banana-peanut butter whoopie pies (recipe below). With eight people contributing to the feast, it was a ton of food, yet it looked positively elegant.

Sitting on a credenza next to the wine and champagne, the tea itself might have gone fairly unnoticed, but the bride loved the party and that meant we had done our job well.

Mini Banana-Peanut Butter Whoopie Pies*

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup mashed ripe banana
1/2 cup plain fat free yogurt
1 stick unsalted butter (8 tbsp)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, mix together banana and yogurt. In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to combine butter and both sugars completely, then add egg and beat until just combined. Add vanilla.

Alternately mix flour and banana mixture into creamed butter until just combined, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Scoop mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4" tip.

Line baking sheets with parchment paper and pipe batter into 1 1/4" rounds. Bake in oven just until the edges are slightly golden brown--you want the resulting cake to be soft and moist, not crispy--about 10-12 minutes. Transfer parchment to a wire rack and let cool.

For the filling:

16 oz cream cheese (2 packages)
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup all natural creamy peanut butter

In a medium mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to beat cream cheese until fluffy. Add sugar, vanilla and peanut butter and mix until combined. Spoon mixture into a pastry bag with a medium or large size star tube. For easier piping, soften the mixture by briefly running warm water over the outside of the bag.

To assemble, pipe filling onto the flat side of half the cakes and then top with the other half of the cakes.

To finish, either dust with confectioners' sugar or drizzle dark chocolate ganache over the top. To make ganache, heat 1 cup heavy cream in a saucepan just until boiling and then pour over 1 cup dark chocolate chips and mix to melt the chocolate. Use a wire whisk to mix until smooth. Let cool slightly to thicken, then drizzle over cakes.

Makes approximately 28 cakes.

*Recipe adapted from Culinary in the Desert

Photo by Emily Szopa