how to assemble a sweet dessert board

A dessert grazing board is a great way to feed a crowd after dinner. A dessert hoard offers a wide variety of choices satisfying an endless amount of sweet tooth cravings. The variety of offerings is totally up to you, and the size of the platter is also easily adjustable to your guest count. Regardless of the size of the board or the mixture of items the steps to assemble your dessert board are the same.

I created this board for a dinner party of eight, but you can scale up or down, to be as grand or as intimate as you require. The main trick is to have the right combination of choices based on a mixture of taste, texture and visuals. Here I break down the process so you can assemble your own dessert board easily and with confidence, pleasing all your guests.

A dessert board like this is a perfect Valentine’s Day treat, which is super easy, no fuss and super enjoyable. Load it up with your favorite sweet pickings and things you also know your guests like and prefer.

Table of Contents

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the foundation for a dessert board

Although this is called a dessert “board” it does not necessarily have to be on a “board”. Any vessel will do. A serving platter or a pretty tray or even a shallow basket can all serve as a great foundation for a dessert board. I used this oversized round wooden tray as my “board” to assemble this dessert board. This is a similar tray if you like the look.

I chose this tray for a few reasons. First of all the size was grand, but not overwhelming for a total of 8 guests. Since I had to transport it to our friend’s house, I liked having the lip on the the tray that kept all the items corralled and prevented them from sliding off. Most wooden boards are open on the sides so sometimes transporting a premade board can be tricky. These edges solved the problem.

Also the handles are super practical when toting the board into the car, out of the car into the house etc. The handles aren’t only super pretty aesthetically, but also super practical for arriving with the dessert board safely to the final destination.

main components of a sweet treats dessert board

I bought a variety of items for the board. And although I did not have a totally detailed idea for what the board would look like, I did have a general plan for the spread. My main components consisted of fruit, cookies and chocolates. Pick three main components whatever they may be.

Fruit

I had a variety of berries plus I covered some of the strawberries in chocolate. You can see all the details on how you can do this to here {the best & easiest way to make chocolate covered strawberries}. Here’s the list of what I used.

Fresh Strawberries
Chocolate Covered Stawberries
Fresh Raspberries
Fresh Blackberries

Cookies

Many of the cookies I used are heart shaped since I wanted a sweetheart type of theme for this dessert board for the upcoming Valentine’s Day holiday. You can adapt it accordingly for whatever event or holiday or everyday celebration.

Heart shaped black & white biscuit cookies
Chocolate hazelnut cookies
Chocolate assorted wafer cookies
Vanilla assorted biscuit cookies

Chocolates

Once again I have an assortment of chocolates, and I selected some heart shaped varieties. Also some of the chocolates are individually wrapped, but I unwrapped them for a nicer presentation and for ease of eating.

Milk chocolate sea salt caramel squares
Creme Brûlée white chocolaté double hearts
Hazelnut praline heart chocolates
Dark chocolate sea salt caramels

I also made chocolate covered pretzels along with the strawberries. I guess you could include them in either the cookies or the chocolate section. I love the sweet & salty combination.

building a sweet treats dessert board

Once the chocolate covered strawberries and pretzels are setting in the refrigerator I started assembling the board. I layered each component type in sequence until the entire board was full.

Start with the fruit since the berries have the most intense and vibrant colors. I sectioned the board into thirds by creating lines with the three berry varieties. I knew I wanted the chocolate covered strawberries to be in the very center of the board as the stars of the show.

After the fruits are in place, start layering the cookies keeping the shape and color of the cookies in mind. You want to alternate and contrast between the different items.

Once all the cookies are in place fill in the gaps with all the chocolates. Always allowing for different colors and textures next to each other, avoiding anything to blend into each other.

Last but not least add the items chilling in the refrigerator. As I mentioned before, I placed the chocolate covered strawberries, which are always a crowd pleaser, in the center. I also included some individual picks if folks prefer not to use their fingers.

final thoughts on how to assemble a dessert board

This is a simple dessert idea, which gets a wow factor every time. Everybody loved it and we ate almost all of it. You can make this as simple or as complex as you desire. I chose to make my own chocolate covered strawberries and pretzels, but you can decide how much or how little to do.

If you are a baker, you can certainly bake many of the items yourself. You can include home baked cookies, biscuits, mini cakes, etc. Or if you go the store bought route as I did, I recommend searching for unique cookie varieties.

If confections is your thing, then homemade chocolates and the such would be a huge hit! It all depends on how much time and energy you wish to put into your board. There is no right or wrong way. Simply having a variety of sweets all pilled up together looking pretty is enough. Bon Appetite!