Cooking Lesson #1062: Wisconsin Salad With Caramel Sauce

 …from the Perspectives’ Kitchen

How you doin’? In previous posts you already know that Joan has been asking me to develop more salads and healthy recipes. Well, here is a Wisconsin Salad—just as Joan has asked—and it’s even from her native Milwaukee!
 
It’s a heaping bowl of chopped apples, Snickers and Payday pieces with a  burnt caramel drizzle. It’s time to Make America Fun Again (MAFA)!
 
Long before “candy salad” was a trend on social media, Midwesterners were dressing chopped-up fruit with whipped cream and pudding, adding in diced candy bars, and calling it “salad.” This one is one of the greatest of them all.
 
We can debate the merits (and I am sure I will have to) of calling anything dressed in whipped cream and topped with caramel a “salad,” but what’s not up for debate is how delicious this cool, creamy treat is and how perfect it is for midwestern potlucks and parties.
 
Unlike some other popular dessert salads like Ambrosia salad or Jello salad, Wisconsin Salad doesn’t have a clear origin story—maybe it just came out of my dreams. Some sources say it’s from the influence of Scandinavians who may have adapted their beloved römmegröt—a sweet porridge of cooked flour, milk and sour cream, often served with fresh fruit and nuts—with ingredients that they had in the American Midwest.
 
Couple that idea with a general trend towards convenience foods like instant pudding mix and Cool Whip in the 1950s, and dessert salads like this one were born.
 
I prefer vanilla pudding, but you can also try this recipe with other instant pudding flavors—cheesecake, chocolate and butterscotch are popular alternatives. As for whether the apple truly makes this dish a salad or not, Wisconsin Salad really depends on “which end of the table it is served on.”
 
Wisconsin Salad is made with just a few ingredients. It is a crunchy, creamy, sweet-and-tart dessert that will become at least once a year family favorite.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                      credit: Simply Recipes 
Prep time:  15 minutes
Chill time:  1 hour
Yield:  10 servings
 
Ingredients 
3/4 cup whole milk
1 (3.4-ounce) box vanilla instant pudding mix (I prefer Jell-O brand)
3 medium chopped Granny Smith apples (about 1 pound total)
4 full-size Snickers candy bars
3 full-size Payday candy bars
1 (8-ounce) container thawed whipped topping (such as Cool Whip)
1/2 cup homemade burnt caramel sauce, for serving (see recipe below)
 
Directions

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the milk and pudding mix and stir until smooth. Set the pudding aside while you core and chop the apples and Snickers and Payday bars into bite-sized pieces.
2. Reserve about 1/2 cup of diced apples and Snickers and Payday for topping the salad.
3. Fold the whipped topping into the pudding mixture until mostly smooth.
4. Add the apples and Snickers and Payday pieces and stir to incorporate.
5. Chilling the “salad for about an hour until the pudding set completely.
6. Just before serving, sprinkle with the reserved diced apples and Snickers and Payday pieces on top
7. Drizzle with homemade burnt caramel sauce.
8. This salad holds really well refrigerated for about 2 days.

                                Choclatique Homemade Burnt Caramel Sauce
 
In just 12 minutes with only sugar, butter, and cream, you'll have the best caramel sauce you've ever tasted. By burning the sugar, you get a more nuanced flavor just like we used to make at Choclatique. Making your own caramel sauce from scratch is a lot easier than you might think! It takes practically no time at all.
 
To make caramel sauce, first you start by heating white granulated sugar in a deep, thick-bottomed, sturdy pan. As the sugar heats, it will melt and start to "caramelize" changing color and creating caramel flavors. Bring it up to the burn until it starts to smoke a little.  Once the sugar has dissolved and turned dark brown, add the butter. The heat of the burnt sugar will melt the butter and create even more wonderful flavors. After the butter has melted, carefully add the heavy whipping cream. This will turn the caramel mixture into a creamy sauce.
 
When you add cream to the caramel mixture the hot caramel will bubble up. You want to make sure you have a pan that will not overflow when this happens.
 
Safety First!  Be extra careful while cooking the sugar, as with any candy making process. Once the sugar has melted it is much hotter than boiling water.
 
Cook time:  12 minutes
Yield:  1 cup+
 
Ingredients 
1 cup granulated sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
 
Directions

1. Have all ingredients ready to go—making caramel is a fast process that cannot wait while you look for ingredients.
2. Heat the sugar on moderately high heat in a deep, heavy-bottomed 2-quart or 3-quart saucepan. The sugar will begin to melt in a minute or two. As the sugar begins to melt, stir vigorously with a whisk or wooden spoon. The sugar will form clumps and will start to melt at the edges of the pan.
3. As the sugar starts to melt, lower the heat a bit to keep the sugar from really burning.
4. Keep whisking until all of the sugar has melted. It will clump up quite a bit but just keep stirring. Once all of the sugar has melted, stop stirring. You can swirl the pan a bit if you want.
5. Use a wet pastry brush to mop down the sides of the pan as the sugar melts, ensuring every crystal is incorporated.
6. As soon as all of the sugar crystals have melted (the liquid sugar should be dark brown in color, almost burnt), add the butter to the pan.
7. Whisk until the butter has melted. If your caramel clumps up after adding the butter, keep stirring it over the heat until it’s smooth again before adding the cream.
8. Once the butter has melted, take the pan off the heat.
9. Count to three, then slowly add the cream to the pan and continue to whisk to incorporate. When you add the butter and the cream, the mixture will foam up considerably. This is why you must use a pan that holds at least 2 quarts, preferably 3 quarts.
10. Whisk until caramel sauce is smooth.
11. Let the caramel cool in the pan for a couple minutes, then pour into a clean, dry glass mason jar and let it sit to cool to room temperature.
12. Cover and store it in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
13. To reheat the caramel, microwave for 30-second intervals, heating just until warm and pourable.

ChefSecret:  If you are having problems with sugar burning before it is all melted, you might try adding a half cup of water to the sugar in the beginning of the process. This will help the sugar dissolve and heat more evenly. It will also take quite a bit longer to caramelize the sugar.

Safety First!  Be extra careful while cooking the sugar, as with any candy making process. Once the sugar has melted it is much hotter than boiling water.
 
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Quip of the Day:  I had a disturbingly long dream that I was making a salad—I was tossing all night!
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Do you have a question or comment? Send your thoughts to [email protected]. All recipes and cooking tips are posted on our website https://www.perspectives-la.com/perspectives-on-food
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