How to Host a Sweet Easter Brunch

By Beth Whiffen
April 20, 2011

Valerie Gordon

Valerie Gordon; Valerie Confections' chocolates on a vintage walnut bowl, surrounded by tea cakes, petits fours, tartlettes & cookies, with a Mid-Century coffee & tea set in the foreground

If confectioner Valerie Gordon could only eat one thing for the rest of her life, it wouldn’t be truffle-dusted Wagyu beef, deep dish Chicago pizza or even mom’s chicken potpie. It would be shortbread. “I was drawn to sweets over savory foods because of the response a cake or a box of chocolate inspires,” she says. “It’s pure joy.” And that feeling of unadulterated delight clearly hasn’t dissipated for Valerie Gordon in the seven years since she founded her eponymous confectionery shop in the Silverlake section of Los Angeles. Like a disobedient child, she eats dessert for breakfast—every morning. “I start every day with a cookie,” admits Valerie Gordon.

Beyond her a.m. sugar rush, this innovative and design-savvy baking sensation draws her inspiration from vintage cookbooks, not surprisingly, but also from design books, current issues of Vogue, World of Interiors magazine and The New York Times’ T Magazine. And while Valerie Gordon routinely deals with situations more harrowing than throwing a springtime brunch (baking for Chez Panisse chef Alice Waters, for one), she readily admits how daunting hosting duties can be. So, she agreed to share her ultimate brunch menu ideas for the perfect midday meal—from the shopping list to the brunch table setting ideas—with eBay's The Inside Source. Try it for your Easter brunch menu or any springtime Sunday with friends.

On the menu:

Blood Orange mimosas and Heirloom tomato Bloody Marys
Artisan breads with butter and assorted preserves
Shrimp Cocktail
Minted crab, Spring pea and butter lettuce salad
Prosciutto, asparagus and goat cheese tart
Lemon tarts
Berry galettes (see recipe below)
Coffee

To put a personal spin on these brunch menu ideas, serve a dish that a close family member shared with you, suggests Valerie Gordon. “Whether it's your grandmother's cake recipe or the rolls your mother made, sharing your personal food legacy is always satisfying.”

If you don’t have a special dish in mind for your Easter brunch menu, pie is the dessert trend du jour, according to Gordon. “It seems to be a recessionary reaction, because pies started popping up more frequently when the economy was at its lowest,” she says. “Pies suggest a feeling of comfort and ease and they are very simple to make. So are galettes and tarts—especially when you purchase a pre-made shell.” To that end, we convinced Gordon to share one of her favorite dessert recipes with us:

Berry Galette recipe (courtesy of Valerie Confections)

     Galette dough
     6 cups flour
     2 T sugar
     1.5 t salt
     2 cups unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
     1/2 cup cold water
     1 t vanilla

- Sift flour, sugar and salt together - Pour flour mixture into a food processor; add in cubes of cold butter. The dough will look like flour-covered peas - Stream cold water into the dough - Add vanilla - Stop food processor when you can still see chunks of butter - Divide the dough into two mounds, wrap with plastic or parchment and refrigerate for at least one hour - Remove dough from refrigerator and roll on a flour-covered surface - Using a 6" circle as a guide, create 15 galette rounds - Refrigerate rounds.

Galette construction:

Preheat oven to 350F

     1 egg
     1 basket fresh raspberries
     1 basket blueberries
     4 T sugar
     2 T flour

- Crack egg into a small bowl and mix until it is combined - In a separate bowl, combine 2 T sugar and 2 T flour - Line baking sheet with parchment - Place one galette round on lined sheet pan - Sprinkle approximately 1/2 t of the sugar/flour mixture on center of the galette dough - Spread 2 -3T of berry jam over an area of 4'x4' square - Using a pastry brush, paint the perimeter of the circle, outside of the jam - Pinch the four corners creating a frame - Place several berries at the center of the pastry - Sprinkle the entire pastry with a dusting of sugar - Bake for 25 minutes.

A sophisticated way to showcase your berry galette (or any other sweet item) is to pair it with a special dessert wine. “I recently did a pairing and matched my almond Fleur de Sel toffee to Madeira and a Ruby Port to a raspberry chocolate bar,” says Valerie Gordon. She suggests pairing this galette recipe with Billecart-Salmon Brut Rosé champagne.

Easter Brunch Preparation:

“Brunch is, perhaps, the most challenging meal to host because of the hour it is served. Waking up at the crack of dawn to create the ‘perfect’ experience could drive anyone crazy!” Valerie Gordon says. To lower your stress level, create a master shopping and to-do list a few days before the event and get the majority of your shopping done 48 hours in advance. “Running around the day before is never pleasant,” she says.

The day before your brunch, prepare as much of the food as possible. Drink mixes, salad dressing and desserts can all be taken care of ahead of time. “Examine your menu for anything that can be crossed off before the big day,” advises Gordon. Another way to stay calm? Set the table the night before. “Even if things get a bit harried in the morning, a dressed table will give you a feeling of readiness."

Valerie Confections

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Vintage cakestands and serving pieces
Photo Credit: photos courtesy of Valerie Confections
Valerie's partner Stan Weightman Jr, pouring champagne into vintage Dorothy Thorpe glasses
Valerie's White Chocolate Coconut Cake
Vintage amber glass cakestand
Vintage finds, including an amber glass cakestand, Dorothy Thorpe glasses, and bronze & wood dessert forks and knives
Old-fashioned yellow cake with chocolate buttercream
Vintage glass cakestand
Strawberry Hand Pies on a vintage Polish glass cake platter

Setting the Table:

When arranging your table settings, think vertically. “I love using cake stands and tiered pedestals when dressing a table,” says Valerie Gordon. “Stemware can also really change the look. Varying the heights of the serving pieces and stemware adds interest and a personalized touch.”

To find tabletop pieces with vintage charm, Gordon often turns to eBay online auctions. “Vintage silver sets are shockingly affordable and used French linens are never wrong. eBay is a great resource for these items,” she says. “I prefer the look, feel and proportion of vintage items to newer, modern settings. The level of detail in older pieces is gratifying as is the durability.”

When sourcing vintage table settings, pay attention to the photography, says Gordon. If the images are clear and the seller has offered unobstructed views of the piece, you are most likely in good hands. With regards to eBay search keywords, Valerie Gordon generally searches using the name of a designer whose pieces she has used in the past or another well-known designer.

Welcoming your guests and serving the meal:

Now that the Easter brunch table is set and the galette is in the oven, it’s time to greet your guests and make them feel at home. Valerie Gordon suggests welcoming your company with the option of three beverages: alcoholic, non-alcoholic and caffeinated.

For daytime events, Valerie Gordon prefers to serve the meal buffet or family style to lend a relaxed tone—even if the food is elegant. If you have a couple of guests who insist on helping in the kitchen, let them. “Some guests feel more comfortable if they have a role to play,” says Gordon.