Fruit Tray Designs for Back to School Party
Fruit tray designs make my heart happy and could this pencil be any more perfect for a back to school party?
If you've been around here very long you know my love for SIMPLE food art. Fruit and veggie trays can easily be made beautiful for any theme or season. All you need is a little time and a produce guide! I am that produce guide my friend, so let me show you how easy this fruit pencil can be!
Fruit Tray Ingredients
You don't need a lot of fruit for this one, so if you need to feed a crowd, make the pencil as decor, and have a secondary fruit tray full of cut fruit for serving. You will end up eating this decor in the end however!
- Nectarines or peaches, sliced
- Strawberries, sliced
- Banana, sliced
- Blueberries, whole
- Aluminum foil
- White serving tray
*Note: I did not end up using the blackberries. They are just too big to create a nice pencil point. But they'd be great on the other serving tray!
Tips for Fruit Tray Designs
The best tip I can share is how to cut your round fruit when you need it to lay flat. Our first instinct is to create wedges, which as you know, are a beast to try and stack neatly on a tray. Instead, I want you to cut the fruit in half, lay it cut side down on the cutting board, and create even slices. {see image above}
This works great for fruit tray designs, charcuterie boards, and apple nachos.
Lay Out The Nectarines
Line nectarine slices into 3 rows, with the skin facing into the center to create the yellow painted section of the pencil. Continue adding second and third layers, making sure to cover any gaps in the fruit so no white platter is showing.
After your layers are complete you'll use your knife to straighten up any lines.
- First, check the long sides and trim any pieces still sticking out a bit
- Next, slice the eraser end of the nectarines into a straight line
- Finally, Shape the top of the nectarines, where it will become the point, into a zig zag with 3 points.
Banana Pencil Point
Bananas are easy to shape into the sharpened wooden portion of the pencil. Cut your banana slices approximately the same thickness as the nectarines so you are working with the same height with your layers. Cut several rounds in half to create the point and slice wedges to fit into the nectarine zig zags.
Again, use your knife to trim the angled sides and cut a straight line off the top. The shaping is very easy to do, so don't let this step scare you off!
This Fruit Tray Design is On Point!
Create your pencil lead “point” using the blueberries. Being round, the blueberries are a little harder to work with to create just the right shape. Cut some in half for filling in gaps and smoothing out lines.
Strawberry Eraser Anyone?
Adding the eraser end is your last fruit step and much easier than the bananas or blueberries. Given the rounded shape of the strawberries they lend themselves naturally to the curved edges of the eraser. Give yourself a longer “eraser” than you think as the foil band overlaps. Plus who doesn't love a good sliced strawberry?
Same as the previous fruit, build the eraser end up into 3-4 layers of sliced strawberries. Taking care to cover all gaps.
As the finishing touch tear off a piece of foil and fold the sides in to create a foil band approximately 1-1/2″ wide. However, you will need to scale it down if using a smaller platter.
This foil piece is about 7″ long with enough to tuck under the fruit on each side to keep it secure.
Serve Your Fruit Tray
When you are all done, take a step back and admire your handy work. Now set it out for your kids to destroy. 🤣 The hazards of fruit art.
This little pencil makes good after school snacks, a great back to school party tray, or even fun ideas for teacher appreciation.
If you like these fun fruit tray designs check our our whole Back to School Party for the best after school snacks!
If you try it out, let me know in the comments below. And if you share, I want to see! Please tag @partieswithacause on Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook. We love showing off all your hard work and are so happy to be part of your celebration.
FollowMore Back to School Party Ideas
Back to School Party Table
Date Ball “Apple” Cake Pops for Back to School
Apple Sandwiches With Peanut Butter and Granola
Pin it for Later
Pencil Fruit Tray
Equipment
- White platter
- Serrated knife
Ingredients
- 2 Nectarines
- 6 Strawberries
- 1/3 Banana
- 10 Blueberries
- Aluminum foil
Instructions
Prepare fruit
- Wash all fruit with produce wash to remove any dirt or pesticides
- Cut the nectarines in half and remove pit
- Place cut side down and cut each dome into even slices
- Remove stems from strawberries and slice
- Slice Banana into 8-10 slices
Arrange Pencil Fruit Tray
- Line nectarine slices into 3 rows, with the skin facing into the center to create the yellow painted section of the pencil
- Continue with a second layer and a third making sure to cover any gaps in the fruit so no white platter is showing
- Slice the end of the nectarines into a straight line and the top of the nectarines into a zig zag with 3 points
- Arrange the strawberries into a half oval "eraser", building up the layers just like you did with the nectarines, careful to cover all the white spots
- Slice several bananas in half and arrange on the zig zags. You will need to trim them to fit. Then continue creating the wooden portion of the pencil with the remaining bananas layered for full coverage.
- Use the knife to create straight lines on either side of the banana point and cut straight across at the top.
- Arrange the blueberries into the lead point cutting them in half as necessary to create the cleanest lines
- Tear a small piece of aluminum foil and fold over to create a thick band of foil approximately 1-1/2" wide and 8" long. Lay the foil over the seam between the nectarines and strawberries and tuck the ends underneath to secure
- You may serve with fruit dip or on its own as a darling back to school treat!
More Fun {and healthy} After School Snacks:
- Apple Donuts
- Coral Reef – Under the Sea Veggie tray
- Apple Sandwiches
- Date Ball Apple “Cake” Pops
- Back to School Party Ideas
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