Yes indeed, I do love bread pudding a lot! And now that I discovered bourbon sauce, I like it even more!
I made this bread pudding for breakfast the other day, and I was looking for something to make it even better, and stumbled upon this amazing sauce, so simple and fast to make and so delicious. I would put this on everything!
To make the bread pudding :
Ingredients for 4 servings
-2 cups brioche bread, cut in 1 inch cubes.
Cut the bread and let it stand on the counter for few hours, or over night, and if you have stale bread is even better. You can actually use any kind of bread, if it is not with olives, rosemary or any savory ingredient. Any regular bread will do. Or croissants, and various pastries that are getting old, you can use them in this recipe. Isn't this great? No more waist, and more yumminess in your life!
-4 whole eggs, beaten
-2/3 cups granulated sugar
-2 cups of milk
-1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick or 4 tablespoons) softened, and some more for greasing the pan
-2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 pinch of freshly grated nutmeg (skip it if you want)
-1/2 cup slivered almonds (or any other nuts you like)
Method
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 C)
In a big bowl beat together eggs and sugar, add the milk, vanilla and nutmeg, and mix well. Drop in the cubed bread, mix gently, and let sit in the fridge for at least 15 minutes. I actually prep everything the night before, and let it in the fridge over night. Pour everything in the pan you will bake it in. i like to use individual ramekins, but a deep dish or other deep pan should work just as fine. Mix the butter and nuts and sprinkle on top, then bake the pudding for 40-45 minutes (30-35 if you use ramekins).
While the pudding cools slightly, make the sauce
Ingredients
-1 cup granulated sugar
-1 stick butter (8 tablespoons) melted
-1 egg , beaten
-2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
-3 tablespoons bourbon or brandy , even rum (I don't have bourbon in the house and used some champagne instead, and it works great too)
Method
In a sauce pan beat the egg and sugar, add the melted butter and vanilla and mix well. Put on medium heat and whisking continuously let it cook for 5-7 minutes, until the sugar melts, and it starts to thicken just a little. To be more precise use a thermometer, and wait for the sauce to get to 150 degrees F. Add the brandy and mix well, keeping on heat for 2-3 minutes, for the alcohol to evaporate a little. If you want a stronger alcohol taste you can skip this step.
Pour the hot sauce over the bread pudding, and serve. I served it with a dollop of whipped cream on top, fresh mint and a cherry.
Recipe adapted from Paula Deen.
Shopping at a World Market yesterday I found some Italian cookies I used to love as a child : Savoiardi. I believe they call this type of cookie "lady fingers" here in United States. This particular ones are very dry, crisp, porous and crumbly, with a sugary sprinkle on top. They are used usually for Tiramisu, but work great for any cake. I bought them thinking to make the crust for my next cheesecake, as we are not very crazy for the graham cracker crust, and wanted to find a replacement. As a kid I used to love eating Savoiardi with my hot chocolate, dipping them in.
Thinking about what to fix for breakfast next day, bread pudding came to mind, and this spongy cookies would be perfect to take this yummy treat up a notch. Said and done. I think bread pudding is a wonderful breakfast, but you have to have the time. If you are in a hurry this won't be a good breakfast idea. You could try it as a dinner desert though!
Here is how to make this:
Ingredients (for 2 rather large portions, or 4 smaller):
12 Savoiardi cookies (you can use any other lady finger cookies, or even left over Panettone, or why not make the classic recipe with stale bread)
4 eggs
1/4 cup sugar (you can put less if you don't want them too sweet, as the cookies are also sweet and have sugar sprinkles on top as well)
1/3 cup heavy cream
2 cups whole milk
1/2 tablespoon pure vanilla extract, or even better, half vanilla bean seeds
1 pinch of grated nutmeg
Method:
Break the cookies in half, and arrange them in layers in the ramekins. Set aside.
In a bowl, or in a blender as I did, mix together sugar and eggs, then add all the rest of the ingredients and mix well, not too long though.
Pour this mixture over the cookies in the ramekins, to fill them up, but not all the way to the top, as they will rise at least one inch while baking. Gently press the cookies down to make sure they are sunk in the custard. Let them soak in for at least 10-15 minutes.
I prepared this the night before, so I placed the ramekins in the fridge until the next morning. But you can bake them right away as well. Bake at 350 degrees F (180 C), placing them in a deep pan filled with hot water halfway up the ramekins, for 50 minutes to one hour, until they get golden brown and fluffy and the custard sets. Just keep an eye on them after 45 minutes pass, not to get them burned, as every oven is different.
If your morning routine takes you about one hour, this is a great breakfast for you. What I do is, wake up, go straight to the kitchen, take the ramekins out of the fridge, place them in a deep pan, fill the pan halfway up with water, preferably hot, but cold should work too... after all, you just woke up, you need things simple and easy. Place the pan in the oven, turn the oven on to 350 degrees, and set the timer for one hour. Never place the cold out of the fridge ramekins in a preheated oven though, you risk them cracking. But if you place them in the cold oven and turn it on afterwards, it is fine. It will take them a little longer in the oven to be done if you are baking them straight out the fridge, then it would if you bake them right away.
Go get your shower, put on make up, get dressed... it takes me about one hour... long, I know... Between your mascara and blush, go check on the pudding.
And when you are ready, your kitchen will be filled with an amazing smell, and you have a yummy hot breakfast waiting for you.
Careful though, as it will be very hot, let them cool a little before digging in.
I believe this would be great with a nice sauce on top (extra calories always somehow make things tastier :), but I skipped the sauce this time), such as this one from Paula Deen:
Ingredients:
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick) melted
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons brandy, or liqueur, or 1/2 teaspoon rum essence
Mix everything but the brandy together in a sauce pan over medium heat, until the sugar dissolves, and you get a creamy consistency. Add the brandy, mix well, and pour over pudding.
You can also top the warm pudding with ice cream, or whipped cream, and even fresh berries.
Yum
I didn't make sweets with citrus before, but this tart was inspired by a friend who is pregnant, and told me she loves eating citrus this period and I wanted to bake something for her. This citrus tart sounded like the perfect choice.
Ingredients:
Crust:
1 1/2 cups flour
4 teaspoons sugar
pinch of salt
1 stick butter, cold and cut in half inch cubes
1 egg, separated; you will need the egg yolk and the egg white as well
1 tablespoon milk
Filling:
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup citrus juice (I used 1 orange, 2 lemons, 1 tangerine and used a citrus juicer, so it is fresh and fragrant; also I left some pulp in for extra taste and texture)
1/4 cup heavy cream
These ingredients are for one pie. I made two pies today, doubling the quantities.
You will also need a 9 inch pie pan, a rolling pin, plastic wrap, pie weights or dry rice/beans, parchment paper, and some raspberries, fresh mint for garnish.
Method:
For making the crust:
In a food processor or stand mixer pulse/mix together flour, sugar and salt. Add the cold butter and pulse/mix until you have pea sized butter lumps. In a small bowl lightly beat egg yolk with the milk, then add it to the dough. Mix until it forms a ball. This shouldn't take very long, 1-2 minutes. Don't overwork the dough.
Make a ball out of the dough, place it between 2 plastic wrap sheets, and roll it with a rolling pin into a circle, 1 inch bigger than the pan. Remove the plastic wrap on the top, then with the help of the other plastic wrap lift the dough sheet , invert it in the pan, and discard the second plastic wrap. Fit dough into pan, making sure it rises above the pan's edge a little. Freeze for 10-15 minutes until it hardens.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Remove pan from freezer, and prick the dough several times with a fork. Line with parchment paper, then fill with pie weights or rice/beans, and bake on the middle rack for 20 minutes. When 20 minutes pass, take it out of the oven, gently remove parchment paper and weights, and bake it for more 10 minutes.
Meanwhile prepare the filling by mixing all the ingredients together.
Take out the pan from the oven, and brush it with the egg white you saved.
Place the pan on a baking sheet, pour in the filling, and bake for 25 minutes.
Remove from oven and let it cool completely on a rack, for at least 1 hour.
Gently remove from the pan, and place it on a serving platter.
Garnish with fresh mint leaves and raspberries, or with orange/lemon zest.
Serve it cold, with whipped cream or just as it is. Tangy sweet delicious tart.
Crème caramel is a custard dessert with a layer of soft caramel on top, or bottom, as opposed to crème brûlée, which is custard with a hard caramel top. And is one of my favorite deserts!
It may seem difficult to make, but is just the opposite... so simple and easy, you will make this over and over again.
Ingredients:
For the creme ( all must be at room temperature )
8 large eggs
2/3 cups sugar
1/2 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 quart milk ( 1 liter )
few drops Rum essence
For the caramel
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 tablespoons water
This recipe will make 4 larger individual portions, or 6-8 smaller ones. You can divide or multiply the recipe to suit your needs.
Method:
Preheat the oven at 350 degrees F ( 180 C )
Make the caramel:
In a sauce pan put the sugar and water over medium low heat, and cook until it gets glossy and turns a golden/amber color.
The deeper the color of the caramel, it will taste more bitter, so you must be very careful at this point. It is very easy to over heat it, and it will be too bitter to eat. You must take it off the heat just a tad before it gets to the color desired, as it will continue to darken even after. Also please be careful, as this is very hot, so handle with much care, using protective mittens and a deeper pan.
This is the color I usually go for, but I like the caramel to be just a little bitter, so if you don't like that, take it off the heat sooner, while it is lighter. Place it when ready in an ice bath for few seconds to stop the cooking.
You want to move fast now, as the caramel hardens quite fast, so have the dish in which you will bake the creme caramel close at hand. Carefully pour the caramel in the dish, and cover the sides too. You can use any dish to bake this desert in: a regular deep pan, several ramekins for individual servings, a cake mold, a deep Pyrex dish, anything that can go in the oven will work.
You must let it cool and harden. If you want to speed up the process put them in the freezer for few minutes. You will know they are ready and cool when the caramel will start cracking. Love that sound!
While the caramel cools, it is time to prepare the custard.
In the bowl of your mixer fitted with the paddle attachment beat the 8 eggs on medium low just until combined, add the sugar and vanilla extract and beat on medium-low ( I use 3 on my KitchenAid ) for about 3-4 minutes. Slowly add the milk and beat until well combined and the sugar dissolves, another 5-7 minutes. The reason it needs to be beaten on lower speed is that you don't want to incorporate air in it. If it gets airy and foamy just let it mix for longer on the lowest speed, in order to take out all the bubbles.
Now pour the mixture in the caramel covered dishes. You can fill them as it will not inflate while baking.
Place them in the oven in a pan filled with water, just like you do with a cheesecake, and bake for one hour if you use one big dish, or 40 minutes if you used ramekins. The smaller the dish the shorter the baking time. When a golden crust forms on top, it is done. Careful not to over bake, as the caramel on bottom will start boiling, making the custard on top spongy, and we don't want that to happen. You want the custard to be smooth and creamy.
Take them out of the oven and sprinkle the top with few rum essence drops, then let them cool on a wire rack. Chill in the fridge for several hours, to set. They are best served cold.
But I cannot count the times I didn't have patience and just ate it warm... it is still delicious!
These are cooling right now, and I can't wait to have some!
You can also use really small ramekins, and make a bunch of them for a party, as they will look very cute.
You can carefully loosen the edges and turn them on a plate, having the caramel on top, especially if you used a cake mold, and have a very pretty presentation, or just serve them in the dishes they baked in, it will taste and look as great either way.
Enjoy and thanks for reading!
A
