Celebrate year-round with sweet and savoury favourites from the beloved neighbourhood Cake & Loaf Bakery.

Whether you’re celebrating Valentine’s Day with that special someone or your bestie, a birthday, Easter, Mother’s Day, or Father’s Day; enjoying a summer party, tea party, Thanksgiving, or a holiday meal with friends and family, you’ll find the perfect recipes to create crowd-pleasing offerings—sweets, savoury dishes, or both—along with lasting memories.

Josie and Nickey love celebrating. Inside they also share their party planning and successful gathering advice—including tips for sustainable hosting, packaging take-home treats and favours, and even how to create sharing platters to round out a party spread—along with their mouthwatering recipes organized by occasion. Every recipe includes make-ahead tips, storage notes, and more so you can plan to make recipes in advance of your gathering—for stress-free entertaining and more time to spend with friends and family on that special day.

Whether you want to make a Mile-High Pulled Pork Mac and Cheese Pie for Father’s Day, Chocolate Dipped Brownie Mummies for Halloween, Apple Cinnamon Bundt Cake for a fall gathering, or Roasted Vegetable Torta Rustica for New Year’s Eve, you’ll return to Cake & Loaf Gatherings time and time again for all your celebrations.

Cake & Loaf gatherings: sweet and savoury recipes to celebrate every occasion by Nickey Miller and Josie Rudderham is available at Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and Indigo.ca.   

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S’mores Bars

Makes one 8-inch pan, nine 2½-inch square bars

Prep: 15 minutes, plus cooling time

Cook: 40 minutes

When a campfire isn’t readily available, these bars will fulfill that summer craving for s’mores and then some. A layer of buttery graham base topped with milk chocolate hazelnut spread and homemade marshmallow make for the perfect s’mores experience. The crowning layer of creamy Nutella drizzle on top of these bars completes the experience, complementing the dense, fudge-like, baked Nutella inside the bar. These are most scrumptious when slightly warm and you can still get that pull-apart marshmallow gooeyness, but they will firm up nicely for bite-size party treats when refrigerated.

¾ cup unsalted butter, melted and warm

½ cup packed dark brown sugar 1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup graham cracker crumbs 1 cup all-purpose flour

1¼ cups Nutella, divided 8 ounces (225 g/2½ cups)

Marshmallows (page 314), cut into ½-inch pieces

1. Preheattheovento350°F(180°C). Grease an 8-inch square pan with canola oil cooking spray and line with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the melted butter, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt until smooth and the sugar has dissolved.
3. Add the graham crumbs and flour and stir until well combined and no dry flour remains.
4. Press the graham mixture evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan. Using an offset palette knife, spread 1 cup of Nutella evenly over the base.
5. Evenly distribute the marshmallow pieces over the Nutella layer. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the top of the marshmallow is a deep toasty brown and the Nutella has bubbled up a little around the edges. Allow to cool at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.
6. In a small heat-resistant bowl, heat the remaining ¼ cup Nutella in the microwave for 30 to 45 seconds to make it easier to drizzle. Using a spoon, generously drizzle the Nutella over the bars in diagonal lines across the top.
7. Cut the bars using a warm chef’s knife by dipping it into hot water and drying it on a clean kitchen towel. Wipe the knife between each cut to get nice clean cuts.

Excerpted from Cake & Loaf gatherings: sweet and savoury recipes to celebrate every occasion by Nickey Miller and Josie Rudderham. Copyright © 2023 Nickey Miller and Josie Rudderham. Photography and illustrations by Nickey Miller. Published by Penguin, an imprint of Penguin Canada, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.