Dessert for a large group of seniors, men only

[Wendy DeBord]

I'm looking for any dessert suggestions for feeding 200 senior male golfers in the end of Sept.. These men travel and golf at every country club in the region........so I'm looking for something that fits this group of people plus something that probably hasn't been served to them a zillion times at other clubs.

They're a fussy group. It has to be something easy to eat and rather familar. My first thought was apple cobbler ala mode. But I bet every chef that doesn't have a pastry chef on staff has made that for them.

I'm stuck using salad plates-so the plate design will be limited. I'm also limited with equipment and it can't be a last minute plate up situation.

What do a bunch of senior men really want for dessert?

[Dave the Cook]

Men love Boston Cream Pie. If you don't want to serve it up straight, it seems to me that this is a dish that lends itself to deconstruction quite readily.

[LaurieA-B]

The common wisdom seems to be that men love pie. What about individual tarts? Perhaps chocolate cream, or fruit with ice cream/whipped cream/creme fraiche. My grandfather's favorite dessert is lemon meringue pie, which makes a beautiful small tart.

[foodie3]

serve cheesecake with different toppings, berries and chocolate sauce are nice.

[TrishCT]

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

[Richard Kilgore]

I also think your guys are going to go for something resembling a pie or tart...or the cobbler. If they are fussy, I would not do anything to challenge their preconceived notions of dessert. Unless having a bunch of disgruntled men swinging golf clubs around is your idea of a safe thing.

[tanabutler]

Give 'em tarts. Give 'em Viagra. Case closed!

[petite tête de chou]

German chocolate cake? Just a thought, but it seems as if most grooms cakes are chocolate. So maybe...?

[tanabutler]

As much as I love German chocolate cake, nuts and coconut in a sticky confection are something I think not best to serve to a large group of elderly men.

[niobe]

how about a slice of apple strudel with a creme anglais or some other sauce encircling it - how about a plate of assorted ruggelach

[McDuff]

ice cream bar, scooped ice cream, lots of toppings and sauces.

[PastryLady]

One club chef I knew said that it seemed all older people wanted was brownies with icecream. You could do a rich chewy brownie layered with cream with candied cashews (had to throw that one in because my grandpa loved cashews) with icecream. At any rate I wouldn't do "new flavors" such as basil strawberry.

[KarenS]

Senior men seem to always love lemon meringue pie.

[foodie52]

So how many of these guys are going to be diabetic and with false teeth? How old are we talking?

Go for the sugar free chocolate pudding pie with whipped cream.

[Abra]

At this time of year I'd go for berry shortcakes. Individual cakes, baked and split ahead of time, berries prepped ahead, cream whipped, last minute plating is quick, and I think everyone feels really pampered by shortcake.

[project]

Yesterday I brought home a three pound box of fresh strawberries and a quart of heavy whipping cream. I washed and sliced the strawberries, dumped over some sugar, and stirred. After a three quart ersatz Caesar salad -- homemade Caesar dressing, with wine vinegar instead of lemon juice, plus pepper, basil, oregano, and parsley and the salad with tomatoes, pepperoni, Pecorino Romano, imitation bacon bits, grocery store croutons, scallion rings -- I dumped half the strawberries with sugar into a bowl and poured over about as much of the whipping cream as reason would permit, plus some. Ate it all, then ate the other half. "I can't believe I ate the whole thing!"

With the strawberries covering a round of shortcake -- basically just a biscuit, sliced horizontally, cut side up, topped with butter -- in a bowl and with the cream lightly whipped, it would be about as good as anyone could expect on this planet.

[Wendy DeBord]

I'm guessing that most of the guys have their own teeth and are pretty darn healthy considering.

Strudel is a great idea, then I don't have to worry about fork tender issues. Or complaints that something was too heavy etc........

Thanks everyone.