Daisy Café - Spring Equinox

How to host a home café

I love coffee, I love baking and I love my friends therefore, I hosted a café at my house! It was just the spring equinox on March 20th, so I figured there’s no better way to celebrate Spring then to host friends on a Sunday morning with good food. The first thing that I think of when I think of spring are fresh berries. Strawberries, blueberries and raspberries, They're easy to bake with and you can add them to really anything. Berries have such bright, natural colours that can inspire a beautiful, springy colour scheme while hosting.

Now for the menu! On this beautiful morning at the Daisy café we served a yummy yogurt blueberry lemon poppy seed loaf, scrumptious Healthy Berry Banana Muffins, delicious Healthy Berry Bars with Homemade Chia Seed Berry Jam, rejuvenating Honey Ginger Lemon Shots and simple pepper, mushroom, and spinach egg bites. I love baking and I love sweet stuff but there’s definitely ways to cut down on sugars and replace them with natural, un processed sweetener that still makes whatever you’re baking taste delicious! Everything that I make is a healthier version of the standard or at least I try my hardest to make it “healthier”. For example I used Greek yogurt style vegan coconut yogurt in the lemon loaf to add protein, I sweetened it with maple syrup, and I used whole wheat pastry flour. Overindulging in any sweet treat is definitely not what you want to do but, but I find you feel better and less guilty eating something that you know was made healthier. In the berry bars, I used maple syrup, coconut oil, and homemade berry chia seed jam. The egg bites contain simple ingredients including egg, milk, pepper, mushroom, and spinach. The banana berry muffins were made with whole wheat pastry flour, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, and coconut oil. Lastly, the Honey lemon Ginger shots are a good way to add some wellness to the menu as they reduce inflammation and and they add a natural energy boost to the party. Now, if you want to host a home café, a brunch with friends or just a morning hang out, these are some yummy snacks you can make that everyone will love, along with coffee.

For the event, I have been wanting host an at home café for a while now and figured with spring coming around the corner why not host a café that involves things surrounding spring. This includes beautiful flowers, bright pastels and berries. Hosting a home café can be a little daunting and I was prepping for days before, but it turned out better then I hoped and people were asking if there would be more in the future (Which meant it had to have been good)! There are a few simple things that you need in order to host a café at your house. The first thing I can think of is a cute sign. You can either go full out and make cool graphics or just simply draw out your designs by hand, but a sign is key. The second most important thing is the menu. It can be as simple as coffee and croissants or more dynamic featuring things like mocha’s, matcha's, or berry bars, etc. Everyone thinks of coffee when they hear café so some sort of caffeinated something to sip on is important. This can be as simple as instant coffee, or as fancy as a pour over, espresso or matcha. No matter what you serve, your friends will just be happy to be there. Don’t feel the need to go buy a thousand dollar espresso machine because you sure don’t need it! If you’re hosting a café in the spring you’ll want bright flowers to lighten up the room. I had tulips and they brought so much colour and a beautiful smell to the event. I also bought a pastel green table runner from winners and it looked amazing with the spread. I find that if you want cute decor, winners has everything you need and for a price that doesn't hurt your wallet. Mason jars for cups always look nice, you can even make your own cups and stickers if you're feeling fancy, or just use your regular mugs you have at home. Make sure you follow a colour scheme for the event, pastel pinks, purples, greens and blues for spring, this will make event come together. Set up your table, display your pastries and start decorating with your spring decor. Your house will be a bright beautiful café in no time and all thats left is to invite your friends, put on a record, and start sippin!

Let me know how your café goes!