Cheap dessert for around 300 people?

[bry's-gal]

I need to make a cheap, simple dessert to feed around 300 people. Suggestions?

[missmoe]

Brownies, jello, even a simple white cake with frosting. Rice Krispies are pretty easy also. Use some sheet pans to make several batches at one time.

[AK_Mom4]

Cookies are easy. Brownies are good, but required more effort. Sheet cake would be easiest, I am thinking.

[ChristusG]

Make your own ice cream sundaes?

[Kebo]

Hmmm....maybe apple crisps (if you have a crank apple peeler :001_smile:), or cobblers that can be made with frozen fruit.

 

Or assemble-your-own strawberry shortcakes.

 

Cheesecakes are really pretty easy to make, and each one can serve quite a few people. ETA: But, you wouldn't likely have enough pans or fridge space, so probably not very practical after all.

 

Or provide supplies for ice cream sundaes (hot fudge, nuts, whipped cream, etc).

Edited April 18, 2011 by Kebo

[kitten18]

Are you doing it in your own kitchen? Do you have the pans to make a lot?

 

I think the easiest and cheapest thing would be sheet cake.

[Brindee]

Maybe pretzels dipped in chocolate? You can get both for fairly cheap and could do white and milk chocolate.

[kalanamak]

Can you get a huge thingy of canned or frozen fruit at Costco and do some kind of cobbler?

[Chris in VA]

Are you doing it in your own kitchen? Do you have the pans to make a lot?

 

I think the easiest and cheapest thing would be sheet cake.

 

This. A large sheet cake can serve about 35 people. Texas Sheet cake is so yummy!

[prairiewindmomma]

How "cheap" is cheap? How fancy do you need to be?

 

My first thought was to buy plain full sheet cakes (the BIG ones) from a grocery store that has a bakery section (much easier than making a bazillion cakes yourself). On each serving of cake (easiest to do after you cut), put a quick spray of whipping cream and a T. or so of quarted strawberries (3 or 4 tiny slices).

 

Icecream sundae bars are nice and easy to serve buffet style, but it can be difficult to control costs because of the toppings. It's actually cheaper to do rootbeer floats, and you can serve them in plastic cups. Each box of icecream will create about 16 servings if you cut the box apart. Usually good icecream sales are starting around this time of year. This is still more expensive than doing a sheet cake.

 

Cookies for that many (about 600 cookies) gets to be crazy unless you can assign it out or you have two ovens. You can make the cookies in advance and freeze some of them, but it's a lot of oven time.

 

HTH!

[Julie in CA]

For a group that size, I'd do one of these:

 

Root beer floats

 

Ice cream sundae bar (as already mentioned)

 

Bundt cakes-I can get about 20 servings out of a regular bundt cake, and they're easy to make, and don't require any fussy frostings, just a quick glaze and maybe some sprinkles.

 

Plain, unfrosted white or chocolate cakes, with various toppings to serve yourself: Hershey's syrup or hot fudge, whipped cream, chopped nuts, caramel syrup, fruit (if you have the budget for it). Definitely buy the toppings from a restaurant supply in large cans, and if you don't feel like making the cakes yourself, talk to your local Costco or grocery bakery about selling you plain, undecorated cakes. I've never had them say no to that request.

[RoundAbout]

This. A large sheet cake can serve about 35 people. Texas Sheet cake is so yummy!

 

:iagree:

 

If you have a stand mixer it goes fast - you just dump in ingredients, pour into pan and then bake. Cookies would be more time consuming because of you have to form/drop each one individually.

 

300 people is a lot though! Unless I was on an exceptionally tight budget I would call up someplace like Costco and see what they can do.

[Julie in CA]

How "cheap" is cheap? How fancy do you need to be?

 

My first thought was to buy plain full sheet cakes (the BIG ones) from a grocery store that has a bakery section (much easier than making a bazillion cakes yourself). On each serving of cake (easiest to do after you cut), put a quick spray of whipping cream and a T. or so of quarted strawberries (3 or 4 tiny slices).

 

Icecream sundae bars are nice and easy to serve buffet style, but it can be difficult to control costs because of the toppings. It's actually cheaper to do rootbeer floats, and you can serve them in plastic cups. Each box of icecream will create about 16 servings if you cut the box apart. Usually good icecream sales are starting around this time of year. This is still more expensive than doing a sheet cake.

 

Cookies for that many (about 600 cookies) gets to be crazy unless you can assign it out or you have two ovens. You can make the cookies in advance and freeze some of them, but it's a lot of oven time.

 

HTH!

Hey, we think alike! Sorry, I didn't mean to duplicate your ideas. I started to respond, then walked away for a little while before I finished and hit "submit".

[Dobela]

Will you have refrigeration or not? You can make big pans full of banana pudding, especially if you buy the big cans of prepared pudding, easily.

 

How about Pumpkin Rolls? This recipe has amounts listed for up to 72 servings.

 

Lots of ideas at Cooking For a Crowd.

[Dawn in Ohio]

My mom made Italian ice for my brother's rehearsal dinner. It was cheap and yummy.

[Audrey]

I vote for a simple cake.

[Tap]

Rice crispy treats are what I would do.

 

You can make them in the microwave, form them in a pan, let sit for a bit of time to set, flip and repeat.

 

 

Several advantages:

They stay fresh a while so you can make them a few days ahead of time. You can cut, wrap and stack them which makes them easier to transport.

You only need a napkin (not a plate and fork), which helps to keep the cost down.

You can make them in a regular 9x12 pan (borrow a few to make it go faster).

They only take 5 minutes or so for a batch. You can do it in between other things. (unlike cakes that ground you to the house)

You can buy a few sheet cake boxes from a deli to transport them in.

They really do turn out fine made in the microwave so the energy costs of baking them are low. If you can get a large plastic bowl, you can make a couple batches at once.

[hsbaby]

Dump cake....sooooo easy, soooo good. I use cherry pie filling, dump a box of vanilla cake mix on top (dry), top with slices of butter and bake. Don't have the exact recipe on hand, but you can google it. Most recipes call for canned pineapple as well, but I leave that out.