Amazing Bridal Showers

A festively delicious shower, themed around desserts - more specifically, CHOCOLATE - is what’s on the table for this event! We all know how girls love to nibble and nosh their way through an evening - what better way to do it than to host a decadent Chocolate Bar? The key here is to provide variety, and small portions. This will encourage guests to try everything at least once and indulge in an assortment of pretty sweets.

Nobody Turns Down A Chocolate Party!

When considering invitations, you’ll want to convey that it’s a dessert shower featuring chocolate. As obvious as that may sound, you don’t want to give off the impression that you are providing lunch or dinner if that’s not in the cards. This shower would be ideal for an evening time slot, maybe 7:00 until 8:30pm, if not later.

Under the “dessert” category, Evite.com has a few really cute electronic invitation designs. I especially liked the Chocolate Sprinkles and Dessert Table designs. Although not bridal-shower specific, you can personalize the text to make them your own!

For a more understated, modern look, you could simply go with the chocolate brown color for the actual invitation. I loved the “mochatini” colored paper found at weddingpaperdivas.com. Another contemporary choice, brown with baby blue accents, can be found at tinyprints.com.


With invitations in the mail, it’s time to consider the showstopper, the CHOCOLATE BAR MENU!

Piece De Resistance

For this type of menu - long on selections - you’ll probably want to “outsource” some of the cooking. What I mean is this: head over to your local bakery or specialty cooking store, check out their selection and place an order to complement your favorite homemade items. Some items to think about purchasing: chocolate petit fours and truffles. If these aren’t readily available nearby…try Dean and Deluca or Harry and David online. Although on the pricey side, Dean and Deluca has some fabulous “centerpiece” desserts like the Chocolate Fudge Cake from Dean and Deluca or their amazing Red Wine Truffles, and you might want to consider purchasing just one for a decadent touch at your special occasion. Harry and David’s cheesecake petit fours are delicious!

As you think about your menu, think about how you will display and serve each item. A dessert bar looks best along a countertop or on the dining room table - all together. And a lesson in aesthetics from the catering experts - your table display will look better when presented at different heights. Look for some serving dishes of various heights. Flat plates, tall cake stands, three-tiered dessert servers all work great. If the pickings are slim on your selection of “tall” pieces, use this trick: build height with small boxes, and place a tablecloth over the “stage”. Then, place your serving pieces on top. I would suggest putting all of your serving pieces out, then place a piece of paper on each containing the name of the dessert that will occupy the spot later on. This step will really help you visualize how your buffet will look and plan what you want to serve.

Some suggestions: petit fours, chocolate truffles, bite-size chocolate and raspberry cookies, and even fresh fruit served alongside a fondue pot. You can also have other interesting items available to dip into the fondue, like small pieces of pound cake, marshmallows, angel food cake pieces. Try this recipe for an amazing, easy-to-make Chocolate Hazelnut Torte, courtesy of Heather Carlucci. Delicious!

Chocolate Hazelnut Torte
1 cup hazelnuts
4 ounces semisweet chocolate (we recommend Cluizel Brand)
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
5 eggs
½ cup flour

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Butter and parchment a 9-inch cake pan In the bowl of a food processor, grind chocolate and hazelnuts down to a fine paste. Add soft butter and sugar and pulse until thoroughly incorporated. Add eggs one at a time. Scrape down bowl carefully, then add the flour. Fill prepared cake pan with torte batter. Spread carefully to level and bake for 20 to 25 minutes until cake tester comes out clean.

Don’t Forget The Beverages!

Even a professed chocoholic like myself has to break down and say that serving hot cocoa is probably going overboard. For this evening, you’ll absolutely want to serve champagne and also some nice, fresh-ground coffee. Incorporate the “chocolate bar” concept into your coffee service, and offer up a rich variety of condiments for guests to add to their coffee. Consider cocoa powder, whipped cream, cinnamon powder, white and brown sugar, half and half, cinnamon sticks and orange zest. Flavored syrups, like the Torani or DaVinci syrups, are a perfect compliment to your coffee or cocktail bar for whipping up delicious chocolate flavored drinks. Some of our favorite chocolate cocktails and espresso drinks are the Cherry Kiss Mocha, Rocky Road Mocha and Mounds Bar Martini.

Cherry Kiss Mocha Recipe
3/4 oz of chocolate syrup
1/4 oz of cherry syrup
1 shot of expresso
Steamed milk

Combine all ingredients in a 12 oz. cup and mix well.

Rocky Road Mocha
1/3 oz toasted marshmallow syrup
1/3 oz macadamia nut syrup
1/3 oz chocolate syrup
1 shot of espresso
Steamed milk

Combine all ingredients in a 12 oz. cup and mix well.

Mounds Bar Martini
6 Tbsp vodka (80 proof)
1 packet Diet Swiss Miss Hot Cocoa Mix
4 Tbsp Torani Sugar Free Coconut syrup
2 Tbsp whipped cream (in dispenser)
Crushed ice
Hot water

Fill a martini shaker halfway with crushed ice. Combine cocoa mix with 2 oz of hot water and mix well. Add 2 oz of cold water and pour the mixsture into the martini shaker. Add the vodka, syrup and whipped cream and cover the top of the shaker. Shake for about a minute or until the liquid is thoroughly chilled. Strain into 2 martini glasses and enjoy! This recipe was featured on the Torani website, which has many more flavored coffee and cocktail recipes for you to consider!

And For Party Favors!

You will enjoy planning your party favors almost as much as the menu itself! Many bridal sites advertise cute tins of mints or chocolates (or chocolate mints!) that can be personalized for your event. These can be a unique, affordable option. You could also look at buying regular old Hershey Bars and having the label custom-printed with the bride’s name…or wedding date…or the shower date. You could have a basket of these setting near the door to hand out as your guests leave for the night. These monogrammed gourmet chocolates make a wonderful favor, too—there are so many different ways you could go with this theme!