Fruit canapes are a beautiful festive dish that even the most demanding children will not refuse. Therefore, there is nothing surprising in the fact that bright, fragrant and tasty pieces of different fruits on skewers are often used for children's birthday parties.
In this article, we will talk about how to properly prepare an unusual children's delicacy, which fruits and in what combinations are acceptable, as well as how to properly serve fruit canapes.
General rules
According to culinary canons, a canapé is a small French sandwich (an elegant and lightweight version of a regular large sandwich), intended for a banquet, buffet, buffet.
Foods cut into small pieces and placed on a skewer are convenient to take and eat on the go. This is important due to the fact that children are quite restless, they want to run, play.
Canapes are a great option for children, because you can take and eat such a miniature culinary structure right during the game.
Adults will also like fruit canapes, because everyone loves fruit.
Apples, pears or bananas, cut into pieces and spread on dishes, can darken from contact with air and will look ugly and unappetizing. And children will not eat an ugly dish. But that won't happen with canapés. In addition, there is an opportunity to experiment with tastes - fruits strung on a skewer can be combined with each other in an interesting way.
General rules in culinary and restaurant business imply that the weight of one canapé should not exceed 30 grams, and the length can vary from 0.5 to 7 centimeters. If you want your table to look attractive, try to adhere to the set values when preparing canapés for children.
Culinary rules allow a combination of not only different types of fruits, but also berries. Tasty and beautiful additives in the form of nuts, nut crumbs, melted or lumpy chocolate, marshmallow, tender marshmallow, lucum are acceptable. Such small sandwiches will look very impressive and will definitely please the little guests. You can try to combine fruit with cheese and shrimp.
Recipes
It's hard to imagine all the variety of recipes for children's fruit canapes, because in each case the hostess can amend the recipe, add or remove an ingredient, which will make the dish completely different. We have collected some of the most beautiful and delicious options that your children will definitely appreciate.
"Watermelon Paradise"
This variant of fruit sandwiches is perfect for an autumn birthday or other seasonal celebration. At this time of year, watermelons are the tastiest and most affordable, which is why they will become the main ingredient.
For cooking you will need:
- pitted watermelon slices (250 grams);
- 2 types of raisins grapes - red and green (or green and purple), 100 grams each, respectively;
- 1 banana;
- 1 kiwi;
- 1 medium mandarin.
The watermelon pulp must be pitted with a thin long knife, trying not to make large holes in it. The watermelon is cut into neat cubes of the same size. The banana and kiwi are peeled, cut into rings, and then each of these rings is cut in half again to make slices. The grapes are washed, the berries are separated from the twigs. Tangerine is divided into slices by hand and the seeds are taken out.
After that, you can collect the canapes.
It is recommended to plant one piece of each ingredient on each skewer - it is better to start with a grape (and finish with it, but in a different color).
The finished fruit treat is put on a platter and served on the table.
"Sweet fingers"
For such sandwiches, the very midsummer is best suited, since all the necessary ingredients grow at this time, and the canapes themselves turn out to be surprisingly bright.
You will need:
- 10 small mint leaves;
- blackberries (about 100 grams);
- raspberries (200 grams);
- 100 grams of ripe sweet gooseberries;
- some icing sugar.
Start assembling canapes with gooseberries - they are the densest in consistency. Alternate between different types of berries through mint leaves. Sprinkle the finished sandwiches with icing sugar before serving.
"Citrus hedgehog"
This is a very unusual solution, because instead of separate canapes, a design in the form of a hedgehog with protruding needles - canapes, will flaunt on the dish. It looks very funny, children usually like it.
You will need:
- 1 large orange;
- raisins grapes (150 grams);
- any hard cheese - 50 grams;
- 1 medium green apple.
Wash the orange unpeeled, dry its skin with a paper towel. On one side of the fruit with a sharp knife, you need to make a small cut so that the orange can stand and not roll. Place the orange on a saucer (you can use a small one).
The peel is removed from the apple and cut into cubes; cubes of the same size must be made from hard cheese. The grapes are washed and separated from the sprig.
The assembly procedure will be as follows: first, put on a skewer a piece of apple, then a grape and a piece of cheese. The skewer is inserted vertically into the orange standing on the saucer. This is how all the canapes are collected.
"New Year's surprise"
These sandwiches will be a great decoration for the New Year's children's table. It is a little more difficult to arrange them, since at the exit they should resemble New Year's red hats with a white edging, in which Santa Claus usually comes. The option is more expensive, since you will have to find fresh strawberries in winter.
So, we need:
- large strawberries (100 grams);
- green raisins grapes (100 grams);
- 1 banana;
- marshmallow marshmallow (100 grams).
Strawberries and grapes must be thoroughly washed and dried with a paper towel.
Hats are made from strawberries - a wide part is cut off with a sharp knife. The remaining part with a sharp end already looks like a hat. Bananas are cut into slices, and marshmallows are cut into slices no more than 0.5 cm thick.
A grape, a slice of banana and a strawberry “hat” are put on the skewer. A piece of marshmallows complements the design. Then they repeat it a few more times. It turns out New Year's hats, strung on a skewer.
"Chocolate pleasure"
From simple and tasty ingredients, you can create very beautiful canapes, which no child will refuse, because the main "hero" of the culinary "fairy tale" will be chocolate.
You will need:
- 200 grams of strawberries;
- 1 kiwi;
- 1 banana;
- 25 grams of coconut flakes;
- good quality milk chocolate bar.
Strawberries, kiwi and banana are cut the same way - into rings. Try to keep the sizes consistent. For this, some experienced culinary experts recommend using either a special metal shape or any round hollow object from the kitchen, in order to simply squeeze out smaller circles of the same diameter from the cut fruit circles.
In what order to pick fruits on a skewer is up to you. There is no recommended order. Chocolate melted in a water bath is poured in a thin stream onto the finished sandwiches, and sprinkled with coconut on top.
"Kaleidoscope"
These canapes received this name for the brightness that is characteristic of the finished dish. The combination of products may seem unexpected, but it's worth trying - there will be no limit to delight.
You will need:
- multi-colored marmalade, striped better (300 grams);
- 3 tangerines;
- hard cheese (200 grams);
- grapes.
Disassemble the tangerine into slices and carefully, without crushing them, select the seeds with a knife. Cut the cheese and marmalade into equal cubes (centimeter by centimeter). The grapes are washed and removed from the branches.
Put cheese on a skewer, then half a tangerine wedge, a grape and finish with a piece of bright striped marmalade.
"Merry Cherry"
Another option for a treat that will surely attract the attention of little guests.
You will need:
- watermelon (several pieces);
- pineapple (fresh or canned);
- cherry (150 grams).
Cut the watermelon pulp and pineapple into pieces. Make sure there are no seeds left in the watermelon. Slices of watermelon and pineapple are alternately planted on a skewer, and the final touch will be a whole cherry, from which you do not need to get the bone first.
"Sponge cake and fruits"
This type of canapé may well replace a cake or cake for a children's party. It turns out very tasty and satisfying, but the children's stomach does not overload, since the basis is still fruits and berries.
You will need:
- 100 grams of strawberries;
- mandarin;
- banana;
- 100 grams of blackberries;
- biscuit cake.
Use a sharp knife or metal mold to divide the sponge cake into small squares. The berries are washed, the bananas are cut into slices, and the tangerine is divided into traditional slices.
The assembly order is as follows: first, put on a biscuit, then any fruit or berry, then - again a biscuit cube and already another fruit. Round off the design with a biscuit cube. You can sprinkle ready-made canapes with powdered sugar or coconut.
Useful Tips
The following tips will help you prepare a beautiful, tasty and healthy treat:
- use only fresh fruits and berries, canapes from frozen fruits and berries will give a lot of juice and water, the pieces will not look appetizing;
- wash the ingredients well before slicing;
- it is advisable to cut products and build small structures on skewers of them immediately before serving, since cutting earlier will lead to a loss of juiciness and darkening of certain fruits;
- try to use fruits and berries of different colors in each canapé - so the finished mini-sandwiches will turn out brighter and more noticeable.
A few more recipes for children's fruit canapes are in the video below.
