A Labor Day potluck cannot be a potluck if there is no dessert.
Stuffed as one might feel after the six-layer dip, multigrain salad, burgers, sausage rolls, fried chicken, vegetable casserole and quiche, a sweet ending is a must.
When choosing a dessert for a potluck, the most criteria, in addition to being a crowd-pleaser, is that it should travel well. Much as a spongy banana tres leche cake is delicious, it doesn’t handle car rides very well, with the milk spilling out. Also, it helps to come with a dessert that is simple to serve. Think of a knife to cut a slice and a spatula or spoon to transfer it to the plate.
Bar cookies are ideal, and so are round and slab pies and cupcakes. A trifle pudding would work provided you have a sturdy flat-bottom bowl that won’t tip over during the journey. Sheet cakes are heaven-sent to feed a large crowd. They are quick to cool, easy to frost and even simpler to slice and serve, says historian Darra Goldstein in “American Cake” by Anne Byrn.
Being a chocolate fiend, I settled on tassies filled with Nutella and nuts, a bar cookie layered with caramel and chocolate, and a sheet cake done the Texas way, and wasn’t disappointed with the outcome. I don’t think the other guests would either.
Arthi Subramaniam: asubramaniam@post-gazette.com, 412-263-1494 or on Twitter @arthisub.
Mixed Nut-Nutella Tassies
PG tested
You can make these tassies with whatever nuts you have. I mixed chopped pecans, cashews and walnuts with Nutella for the filling. It’s not too sweet and my taste-testers liked it that way.
Crust
1 cup butter, softened
3 ounces cream cheese
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
1 cup flour
Filling
1/4 cup Nutella
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup mixed nuts, chopped
1/4 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
For crust: In a large bowl, cream butter, cream cheese, sugar and lemon peel. Beat in flour.
Refrigerate dough for at least 1 hour.
Form dough into 24 balls and press into bottom and sides of ungreased miniature muffin cups.
For filling: In a small bowl, beat Nutella, brown sugar, egg, butter and vanilla until blended.
Stir in nuts and chocolate chips and combine well.
Fill prepared cups with filling.
Bake for 16 to 20 minutes, or until set. Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully remove tassies from pan to wire racks.
Makes 24 tassies.
— Adapted from “Taste of Home: Recipes Across America” by Reader’s Digest.
Three-Layer Chocolate Caramel Bars
PG tested
If you have to travel far for the potluck party and don’t want to be cooking on the day of, these bars are perfect; they can be made two days ahead. Remember, when making the caramel sauce, it will not darken as most caramel sauces do and that’s OK.
Crust
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for baking pan
3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
Chocolate and caramel layers
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup whipping cream
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8-inch square baking pan. Line pan with parchment paper so that it covers the bottom and extends over two opposite sides. (This will make it easier to lift the baked bars from the pan.) Butter the paper.
For crust: In a mixing bowl, cream butter until smooth with an electric mixer on medium speed. Then beat in sugar and salt. Beat to blend well, 1 to 2 minutes. Reduce speed to low and beat in flour.
Place dough in mounds on bottom of the pan. With your fingers, press to form a smooth even layer. Prick dough with a fork.
Bake until dough is just starting to color lightly, 18 to 20 minutes. Remove pan from oven but retain oven temperature.
For caramel layer: In a saucepan over medium-low heat, add butter and brown sugar. Stir constantly until sugar has dissolved and butter has melted, about 1 minute.
Add condensed milk and salt. Whisking constantly bring mixture to a slight simmer. Whisking constantly and not letting it boil, cook until mixture thickens, about 10 minutes.
Pour caramel over crust, smoothing it into an even layer with a spatula. Return pan to oven and bake 10 minutes. Remove and cool to room temperature.
For chocolate layer: Add chocolate and cream to a heat-proof bowl over but not touching a pot of simmering water. Whisk constantly until mixture is smooth, about 2 minutes. Cool 5 minutes and then pour it over the caramel layer; spread evenly.
Refrigerate until chocolate is set, for at least 45 minutes.
Run a sharp knife around the inside edges of the pan to loosen, then lift it out with help of the parchment paper.
Cut into 16 small squares.
— “Soup Nights” by Betty Rosbottom (Rizzoli; October 2016)
Texas Sheath Cake
PG tested
That’s right, it’s a sheath and not sheet cake because that’s the way Sarah Hooton’s family spelled it and she guesses it’s a Scottish pronunciation. The cooking school manager at Fort Worth Central Market, who got the recipe from her grandmother, Mary Hooton, says roasting the pecans before adding them to the icing is a must.
Cake
Butter and flour for prepping the pan
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup lightly salted butter
4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup water
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Icing
1/2 cup lightly salted butter
4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 cup whole milk
3¾ cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 to 1 cup chopped pecans, toasted
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease and flour a 13-by-9-inch metal baking pan. Shake out the excess flour, and set the pan aside.
Place flour and sugar in a large mixing bowl, and stir to combine. Set aside.
Place butter, cocoa and water in a medium-size saucepan over medium heat, and stir until butter melts and mixture comes just to a boil, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat and pour into flour mixture. Stir to combine.
Stir baking soda into buttermilk, and stir into batter along with the eggs, cinnamon and vanilla. Stir until smooth. Pour batter into prepared pan, and place in the oven.
Bake cake until top springs back when lightly pressed, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from oven to cool on a wire rack.
About 5 minutes before cake is done, start preparing the icing.
Place butter, cocoa and milk into a medium-size saucepan over medium heat, stir to combine, and bring to a boil, 2 to 3 minutes. Place powdered sugar in a large mixing bowl, and pour hot cocoa mixture into sugar. Stir until smooth. Fold in vanilla and pecans until well combined. Pour the icing over the warm cake. Let cake cool for at least 1 hour before slicing.
Makes 16 servings.
Note: If you are baking with unsalted butter, add ½ teaspoon salt to the cake, and ¼ teaspoon salt to the icing.
— “American Cake” by Anne Byrn (Rodale Books; September 2016)
First Published: August 30, 2017, 4:00 a.m.
