planning an at-home café
Hello my lovely little darlings, & welcome to Café Caliente! I hope all is well & fabulous. This past month, I hosted my first-ever at-home café and let me tell you, it was everything I dreamed of and more.
I’ve been seeing at-home cafés all over TikTok and Pinterest, and I knew I had to host one myself. And May? Well, she just had café written all over her.
The name of my café was Café Caliente, which, yes, literally translates to hot coffee in Spanish. But I loved the idea of adding a little Spanish flair to the name since I’m currently living in Madrid. Plus, summer here gets muy caliente, so it felt fitting (and cute!).
I had such a wonderful time at my café, from spending hours baking my heart away to setting everything up, and of course, enjoying the café with my friends, that I knew I absolutely had to share how to have a café yourself!
So let’s get into exactly how you can plan your own at-home café that you may or may not be dreaming about, just as I was.
food to make
Not only am I a little party planner, but I’m a cheffy baker as well, which means I have to also be my own caterer for every and all events I host! That being said, I need to prep extra early for my events since this is typically the longest part of the preparation.
I ended up cooking and mostly baking for about 18 hours for this. Yes, that sounds crazy (I know), but you definitely don’t have to spend that long getting your food ready! I always attempt something quite difficult each time, along with other items that don’t necessarily take as long, so I can practice new skills while also making sure I have at least a couple of things that are edible in case that harder recipe doesn’t go as planned!
Here’s everything I made for my event:
a gluten-free matcha olive oil cake
Would make again! Super light for a cake and made with almond flour for a gluten-free aspect. I also threw in some poppyseed and almond bitters for extra flavor to accent the matcha!chai tea sugar cookies
Loved these! You can never go wrong with a sugar cookie that’s perfectly flat with a chewy, melt-in-your-mouth consistency. I mixed two Pinterest recipes together and, thankfully, they worked out perfectly.croissants
Needs work! My goodness. I knew these would be hard, but boy did I underestimate the amount of time they would truly take. Hence why I was baking for so long. And thanks to these (very mediocre) croissants, I only had three hours of sleep the day of my event. Thankfully, it was a café, so we had plenty of espresso on deck! I would try again, but not for quite some time. This was a humbling experience.a parfait bar
I loved this idea! It’s the perfect add-on that’s not too difficult (unless you’re anything like me and want to make everything from scratch). I made the granola from scratch, as well as coconut chia seed pudding, which added some time, but honestly, those are two very simple things to make. If you’re going to make anything, I think this is a great option to include! I had Greek yogurt, granola, chia seed pudding, strawberries, kiwi, and honey to top it all off. The perfect little section.yogurt bagels
I’m sure you’ve seen how to make yogurt bagels on TikTok. If not, welcome to the quickest and easiest way to make a bagel with low effort! Of course, they’re not authentic by any means, but they’re lighter and healthier than your typical bagel and take much less time.whipped strawberry cream cheese
Ummm why have I not done this sooner? The easiest way to turn store-bought cream cheese into something fabulous! Simply cut up strawberries, blend with cream cheese, powdered sugar (if desired), and vanilla extract in a food processor and voilà: the best cream cheese ever.rainbow ribbon salad
One of my favorite salads I’ve made thus far in my life! I’ve been obsessing over carrots recently, for good reason. Simply grab some veggies and a ribbon peeler and you’re practically set. I used carrots, onion, bell pepper, radish, and cucumber, as well as feta and garbanzo beans to whip this together. It was light, healthy, beautiful, and let’s not forget, delicious too.mini avocado toasts
My roomie made these and they were fabulous! Simply cut and toast an Italian baguette, drizzle with EVOO, and bake for a few minutes until they’re nice and toasty. Add some mashed avocado and top with feta.coffee cake
A staple at a café! No argument can be had here. My friend Sophie made this and it was wonderful, the most moist cake ever to indulge in. Highly recommend including a little coffee cake for the perfect café vibes.
extras:
Crackers, veggies, nuts, and dried fruit, just in case anyone needed a break between sweets and treats.
drinks to have
Well, this is a café after all, so I’d say we should probably have a drink or two... and boy did we. From cocktails to cafés, we had it all! So let’s get into it.
strawberry matcha
I will never not make a strawberry matcha for an at-home café again. Not only is it so delicious, but it’s insanely simple too! A friend of mine was our matcha maker, which was so helpful. I made the strawberry simple syrup by tossing chopped strawberries into a saucepan with sugar (coconut, white, agave, whatever you like) and a bit of water. Let it boil and then simmer until it’s the consistency you want. I really just eyeballed it. Let it chill in the fridge for a couple hours and you’re good to go!cheffy tip: If you want matcha but don’t want to make it fully from scratch, invest in a little frother so you don’t have to do as much work, but still get the nice matcha you deserve.
the coffee
Okay… I skimped on this. I know, bad. But I also kind of knew my friends and had a feeling we’d lean more toward matcha and spritzes, especially since it was in the late afternoon. I had my espresso machine and frother out in case someone wanted it, but next time I’ll definitely prep some more creative options.the spritz
It was a gorgeous sunny day in Madrid, and now that summer is nearly here, a spritz was absolutely needed. We had two kinds:elderflower spritz — I had some elderflower just laying around (don’t we all), so I made a simple syrup and mixed it with prosecco, lemon juice, and fresh mint.
limoncello spritz — thanks to my friend gifting us some leftover limoncello on Easter, we swapped the syrup for limoncello and used the same ingredients. It was perfection.
decorations
I decided to hand-craft some of my posters. I’ve seen this all over TikTok lately, people tracing brown paper, using it to cover tables, or creating menus you might find in a traditional café. I had to do this too, of course. But I bought pink wrapping paper instead to give it a little extra spice!
I also hand-made some signs for the food. I bought cheap, clear plastic photo frame stands and used construction paper to write mini menus, like for the drink station and the parfait bar.
I will always have flowers. I don’t care what the theme is or what season we’re in, there will be flowers. I usually go for one nicer flower, one bulky bloom like baby’s breath, and one leafy element to give it texture, color, height, all that jazz.
location
Well, my apartment of course! But seriously, you could host this all kinds of places. If your space is too small, I’d suggest heading to your nearest park and creating a cute little setup. Hang your menu from a tree with string, lay out blankets, bring all the goods, and pack cute napkins and everything in between.
If you really want to make it a day-long thing and you and your friends live close enough, you could even do a mini café bar hop! Everyone sets up their own café corner with a pastry and a signature drink, and then you hop from place to place. Such a fun way to visit each other’s homes and try different setups.
Overall, I will absolutely do another Café Caliente, especially now that it’s truly getting muy caliente outside. It’s always such a wonderful time hosting my monthly get-togethers, and I can’t wait for the next one (my big birthday blowout!). Just kidding — not a blowout, but a lovely little dinner with all my closest friends.
Until next time!
xoxo, avalon