Bourbon Bread Pudding

Sharon from Simply Southern chose Bourbon Bread Pudding for this week's Tuesday's with Dorie recipe.

I love bread pudding, but I've never been able to get it quite right when I try to make it myself. This recipe was probably the closest I've gotten to a good bread pudding. I did underbake it a little so the bottom was a tad "squishy".

If I make this again, I will make sure to bake it long enough and maybe use a shallower pan, which I think would help.

I thought the little bottle of bourbon was cute. I guess I can make all the bourbon bread pudding I want now, seeing how we don't actually drink the stuff. (Maybe there are other bourbon recipes? Hmmm.... )


OK, I guess that's it... short and sweet, like this dessert. If you'd like to see the recipe, please stop by Sharon's blog (link can be found above), or find a copy of Dorie Greenspan's book "Baking, From my Home to Yours".

TWD: Chocolate Souffle

I wonder whether some of you will be offended, or at least taken aback, when I tell you that I've learned a lot about parenting by watching dog shows. (Gasp!) You know, dog obedience shows like Dog Whisperer and It's Me or the Dog. It sounds terrible to say, I know.



But really, many of the principles are the same when dealing with kids of both the smooth and the furry varieties.



Case in point. On a recent "It's me or the Dog", Victoria, the dog trainer was working with an adorable (but ill-mannered) little Pomeranian. She was trying to teach him that he needed to be quiet in order to get his toy, rather than demanding and barking. In the exercise, Victoria brought out the toys, but calmly refused to give poochy his toy until he was quiet. He was *not* happy. He yapped, and yapped, and yapped, and yapped, and yapped, and yapped, and yapped, (cue the "20 minutes later" caption) and yapped, and yapped, and yapped until FINALLY he stopped. Boom! He got the toy.

You know, the old "rewarding positive behavior" rather than negative behavior. You know, that they taught in Childrearing 101. (Oh, you missed that day too?)



Fast forward to today, as I was happily making my chocolate souffle. I had just gotten through the one-minute window in which to take pictures of the just-baked souffle, when some sort of hullabaloo erupted in the other room. There was my 10-year old, fussing, fighting with innocent bystanders, and generally acting ugly.



I promptly ushered him to the back porch and applied my new dog-training skills. I parked my chair in front of the door and told him if he wanted back inside I needed to see the right behavior. I helped by giving a few clues as to the expected behavior and I waited. And ignored. He was *not* happy. He yapped, and yapped, and yapped, and yapped, and yapped, and yapped, and yapped, (fortunately it didn't take 20 minutes). Then he was quiet. I asked if he was ready, but didn't like the snappish answer, so I waited some more. And ignored. And stayed cool as a cucumber. He yapped a while longer. Then stopped. I asked again and this time got a much calmer, nicer answer. Boom! He got back inside.



And there was this sweet little chocolate treat on the table right where I left it, waiting to be gobbled up by me. My reward for a parenting job well-done. A little chocolate atta-girl.

It had collapsed, but no matter.



It tasted wonderful. Something like a very fluffy chocolate cake. Or very fluffy chocolate pudding, I couldn't tell which.



Many thanks to Susan of She’s Becoming DoughMessTic for choosing Chocolate Souffle for this week's Tuesday's with Dorie recipe. I had neither tried nor baked a souffle before.



Baking notes: I made 1/4 of the recipe and baked it in two 5-ounce ramekins (which fit perfectly). I baked for 19 minutes at 400 degrees. I used semi-sweet chocolate (I'm a dark chocolate wuss).

You can find the recipe in Dorie Greenspan's book "Baking, From my Home to Yours", or at Susan's site above.

P.S. Bouyed by my earlier success I tried one of my new dog-training skills on the dog. And it worked! I'm two for two!

TWD: Raspberry Blanc-Manger

I had never heard of Raspberry Blanc-Manger before this week. But now, thanks to a Susan of Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy, not only have I heard of it, but I have tasted and enjoyed the simple wonder that is blanc-manger.

Thanks Susan, for this week's Tuesday's with Dorie pick.

How would I describe this so-easy yet very tasty dessert? Hmmm, milk and cream is heated with ground almonds, some whipped cream is folded in and gelatin is added to help it set up, and don't forget the handful of fresh raspberries... yea, I guess that about covers it.


It seems so light and refreshing, perfect for a summer meal when just a little something sweet is required to make the meal seem complete.


I will definitely make this again!

Please pick up a copy of Dorie Greenspan's book "Baking, From my Home to Yours", or stop by Susan's site if you'd like to see the recipe.

Voyez-vous la semaine prochaine! (which I think translates to "see you next week!")

TWD: Four Star Chocolate Bread Pudding

I'm a big fan of bread pudding. I first fell in love with it when I lived in Southeast Texas. There was a restaurant that had the bread pudding of my dreams, perfectly moistened, perfectly spiced, with raisins hidden inside and the most wonderful alcohol-laden brown sugar sauce over top.

I've never made it, so I didn't know what to expect with this week's Tuesday's with Dorie recipe, Four Star Chocolate Bread Pudding (chosen by Lauren of Upper East Side Chronicle).

I made my own brioche using Dorie's recipe. I dried the bread for several days so it was quite crunchy by the time I started. Here it is with dried cherries, ready for it's chocolate custard bath.


The custard, just before whisking in the chocolate...


I added the custard and it didn't seem right... like there was way too much liquid, so I took some out.


It still seemed soupy, but I was afraid of taking out too much, so I left it.


The finished product didn't look very appealing to me, to be honest. But I was still hopeful. Taste and visual appeal aren't always related in the baking world.



The verdict? You know, this wasn't my favorite of Dorie's recipes, but it sounds like a lot of the other TWD bakers enjoyed it. It tasted like, well, chocolate mixed with bread. You might be saying, "well, no duh!". I guess it just wasn't what I'm used to calling "bread pudding". Maybe if it had had a sauce, I would feel differently. At least I now have a data point for future bread pudding experiments.

As always, it was a learning experience.

If you'd like to see the recipe, get yourself a copy of Dorie Greenspan's book "Baking, From my Home to Yours" or check out Lauren's blog. OK, see you next week!

Rhubarb and Custard

I'm not sure if I've mentioned how much I love rhubarb.

Well, I'll mention it now. I love rhubarb.

As I was leafing through "COOK with Jamie" by Jamie Oliver, I stopped dead in my tracks (figuratively) at the recipe for Rhubarb with Custard.

After a quick read of the ingredients, I already knew I would love this dessert.

And I did. Love it, that is. I. Loved. It.



Not only was it absolutely fabulous as-is, it was a bonus three-for-one recipe. I ate some of the rhubarb with ice cream (some by itself, even) And then, on one of Jamie's suggestions in the book, I took the surviving custard and turned it into ice cream. All I had to do was throw the custard in my cheap-o ice cream maker with a little crushed up peppermint and voila! Peppermint ice cream!


A lot of bang for the buck, if you ask me.

Here's the recipe. Make it! You'll thank me.

Rhubarb with Custard
From the book COOK WITH JAMIE by Jamie Oliver. Copyright (c) 2007 Jamie Oliver. Used by permission of Hyperion. All rights reserved.

1 3/4 pound rhubarb, washed and cut into 3 inch pieces
4 tablespoons superfine sugar
zest and juice of 2 oranges
a thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
1 Proper Custard recipe (see below)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Put the rhubarb pieces in an ovenproof dish or pan, with the sugar, orange zest and juice and the grated ginger sprinkled over the top. Cover with foil and cook in the preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes until the rhubarb has softened. The cooking time will depend on the variety and thickness of your rhubarb, so trust your instincts and keep checking it. Meanwhile, make your custard. Once your rhubarb is cooked, taste it to see whether you think it's a little tart - it may need a bit more sugar.

Serve the rhubarb either in a big serving bowl or in individual bowls, with a generous amount of your delicious homemade custard.

Proper Custard

2 cups plus 3 tablespoons whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
6 tablespoons superfine sugar
1 vanilla bean, scored lengthwise and seeds removed
8 large free-range or organic egg yolks

Mix the milk, cream, 4 tablespoons of the superfine sugar, the vanilla bean and seeds together in a saucepan. Bring to the point of boiling, then remove from the heat and leave for a couple of minutes to cool slightly - this will also allow the vanilla flavor to infuse.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar until pale. Remove the vanilla bean from the milk mixture, then ladle a little of it on to the egg yolks and whisk immediately. Add the remaining milk a ladleful at a time, whisking in well before adding the next. Pour the egg mixture back into the warm saucepan and cook very gently for a few minutes, stirring all the time using a rubber spatula or a wooden spoon. After a matter of minutes the yolks should cook just enough to thicken the custard and make it shiny - you should be able to coat the back of a spoon with it.

Once you've reached this point, take it off the heat immediately. If you cook it too fast, for too long or on too high a heat, the mixture will probably scramble. But don't worry; if you start to see flecks or lumps of egg in your custard, pull it off the heat right away and pour it into a cold saucepan to cool it down a little, then strain the custard through a sieve into a clean pitcher. Served hot or cold, it's delicious.

P.S. If you want to warm up cold custard, it's best to place it in a bowl over a pan of boiling water - this way it won't curdle.

Recipe notes:
- I didn't have fresh rhubarb, so I settled for frozen, it was still delish. I let the rhubarb thaw completely and drained off all of the liquid before starting.
- I used my Vanilla Bean Paste by Nielsen-Massey (LOVE that stuff!) since I didn't have any vanilla beans.
- I used regular granulated sugar.
- I refrigerated both parts overnight. I tend to prefer cold custard.

I wanted to mention that there were a lot of fantastic looking recipes in the book. Gotta love Jamie!

TWD: Lemon Cup Custard - and - Caramel-Topped Flan

I did something new yesterday. I finally sat down and counted the recipes in Dorie Greenspan's book, "Baking: From my Home to Yours". It's surprising I haven't done this yet, since I'm a sorter and organizer and counter of things.

Maybe I hadn't done it because if I knew how many recipes there were, I wouldn't have joined the Tuesday's with Dorie group. It's a daunting task, baking your way through an entire cookbook. Baking Every. Single. Recipe.

Now that I'm forty recipes in, I guess it's safe to say I'm committed to the effort.


By my count, there are 208 recipes, not including variations. I think I missed a few, but still, we're talking roughly 4 years to get through the cookbook (at one recipe per week). OK, so we'll be done at the end of 2011! Wow.

I wonder how many folks will be left standing at the end. How many people will be able to say "I baked EVERY recipe from that book", or even "I baked almost every recipe from that book".

I hope to be one of them. But to do that, not only do I have to stay the course, but I also have to make up the recipes done before I started the group last May.


That's why you're seeing a custardy friend hanging out with my Lemon Cup Custard, this week's recipe, chosen by Bridget of The Way the Cookie Crumbles. Readers, meet Caramel-Topped Flan.



I was glad for the opportunity to compare and contrast the two different types of custard. Although the base was similar, the flavoring was quite different. For the lemon version, the lemon zest was to be steeped in the hot milk. With the flan, sugar was cooked to an amber hue and placed in the baking dish ahead of the custard.

The verdict? I thought the lemon custard was quite tasty. However, I thought the flan was fantastic. (My neighbor thought the lemon custard was the better of the two.) One qualifier... you have to like custard (i.e. "eggy") to enjoy these desserts. (I do, my husband doesn't. ) I would definitely make either of these again.

Baking Notes:

I baked the flan according to the directions in the book. I baked the lemon custard slightly different, based on comments from the TWD bakers that tried it ahead of me. Most commented that it was very eggy and bland. I substituted half of the milk with cream to make it more creamy. I used twice the lemon zest called for, I gave it a squeeze of fresh lemon, and I added a little lemon extract. This made for a lightly lemon flavored dessert. I also took it out of the oven right at 40 minutes, while it was still noticeably jiggly, so as not to over cook.



For the Lemon Custard recipe, please refer to Dorie's book, or Bridget's site, above. For the Flan recipe, please refer to Stephanie's site at Whisk: A Food Blog (Steph chose this recipe back in March, 2008).

OK, two more recipes down, only (about) 140 more!

TWD: Floating Islands

For this week's edition of Tuesday's with Dorie, Shari of Whisk: a food blog chose Floating Islands.

This French dessert definitely falls in the "woulda-never-tried-this-in-a-million-years-if-not-for-Tuesday's-with-Dorie" category. I've never even heard of such a dessert. But boy, I'm glad I have. What a tasty, unique treat.

It was like a custard soup with sweet clouds of meringue floating about. As you can see, I went the lazy route and used strawberry sauce in place of the recommended caramel drizzle. Talk about delish! Like a deconstructed strawberry ice cream (I got more generous with the strawberry sauce in the post photo-shoot servings.)

The "soup" was creme anglais, which gave me no problems. I made half of a batch, so it got to the right temperature in no time. It wasn't thick-thick, like pasty cream. I assume it was supposed to be somewhat runny.

The meringue clouds... those were so interesting. I had no idea what to expect when poaching them. I half expected them to dissolve before my very eyes.


But, no. (I still can't believe they stayed intact.) I overcooked a few of them - you can see those flat little eggies in the back.


Many, many thanks to Shari for introducing me to this lovely dessert. I really enjoyed making and tasting it. Very delish!


If you'd like to peek at the recipe, maybe even give it a try, see Shari's blog, or check out Dorie Greenspan's book "Baking: From My Home to Yours".

Daring Bakers: Tuiles

Daring Bakers...

Got the tuiles made earlier in the month.

No time to post. (Still unpacking from our move. Husband wants to throw Super Bowl party this Sunday. Deadlines at work. Snow day #3 today. Kids driving me mad.)


Recipe notes:

- fairly easy recipe (thank goodness!!!)
- tuiles are cute and fun
- a little time consuming. I couldn't manage to get my act together enough to make more than two at a time.
- might make these again if I really want to impress someone or as decoration.
- chocolate mousse was delish! (see link to recipe below.)

This month's challenge is brought to us by Karen of Bake My Day and Zorra of 1x umruehren bitte aka Kochtopf. They have chosen Tuiles from The Chocolate Book by Angélique Schmeink and Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles from Michel Roux.

Following is a recipe taken from a book called “The Chocolate Book”, written by female Dutch Master chef Angélique Schmeinck.

Tuiles
Recipe:
Yields: 20 small butterflies/6 large (butterflies are just an example)
Preparation time batter 10 minutes, waiting time 30 minutes, baking time: 5-10 minutes per batch

65 grams / ¼ cup / 2.3 ounces softened butter (not melted but soft)
60 grams / ½ cup / 2.1 ounces sifted confectioner’s sugar
1 sachet vanilla sugar (7 grams or substitute with a dash of vanilla extract)
2 large egg whites (slightly whisked with a fork)
65 grams / ¼ cup / 2.3 ounces sifted all purpose flour
1 table spoon cocoa powder/or food coloring of choice
Butter/spray to grease baking sheet

Oven: 180C / 350F

Using a hand whisk or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle (low speed) and cream butter, sugar and vanilla to a paste. Keep stirring while you gradually add the egg whites. Continue to add the flour in small batches and stir to achieve a homogeneous and smooth batter/paste. Be careful to not overmix.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to firm up. (This batter will keep in the fridge for up to a week, take it out 30 minutes before you plan to use it).

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or grease with either butter/spray and chill in the fridge for at least 15 minutes. This will help spread the batter more easily if using a stencil/cardboard template such as the butterfly. Press the stencil on the baking sheet and use an off sided spatula to spread batter. Leave some room in between your shapes. Mix a small part of the batter with the cocoa and a few drops of warm water until evenly colored. Use this colored batter in a paper piping bag and proceed to pipe decorations on the wings and body of the butterfly.

Bake butterflies in a preheated oven (180C/350F) for about 5-10 minutes or until the edges turn golden brown. Immediately release from baking sheet and proceed to shape/bend the cookies in the desired shape. These cookies have to be shaped when still warm, you might want to bake a small amount at a time or maybe put them in the oven to warm them up again. (Haven’t tried that). Or: place a baking sheet toward the front of the warm oven, leaving the door half open. The warmth will keep the cookies malleable.

If you don’t want to do stencil shapes, you might want to transfer the batter into a piping bag fitted with a small plain tip. Pipe the desired shapes and bake. Shape immediately after baking using for instance a rolling pin, a broom handle, cups, cones….

Chocolate Mousse

Check out the recipe here.

TWD: Real Butterscotch Pudding

You never know what adventure, baking or otherwise, the Tuesday's with Dorie baking group might present on any given week. Take this week, for example, where the adventure included exposing my child to a double dose of sin... swearing and alcohol.

Let me back up a bit and explain. There's a store in our area called The Party Source. It's one of the greatest stores EVER. For any type of holiday or celebration, this place has got the goods.

Don't want to cook? they have food and appetizers galore. You forgot the balloon bouquet or need grass skirts for your luau party? They got 'em. Need those sample size bottles of booze because you're making REAL butterscotch with REAL Scotch, and you don't really need a $40 lifetime supply of Scotch? Gotcha covered!


So anyway... it's Sunday afternoon and I'm on a mom-and-son outing. Our destination just happens to be close to the Party Source, so I think, "great!" I'll swing by and get some Scotch (I was going to sub Brandy in my butterscotch pudding and hope for the best). So there I am with the 7-year old, trying to hustle my bustle and find the single malt Scotch amongst the collection of sample sized bottles. As I'm searching, I keep hearing my son saying, "Mom, look at the name of this one!". Oh niiiice, the Scotch section is right above the bottles of "Hot Damn", which are directly at kid eye level. He keeps pointing out the colorful names as I'm searching, searching... (what the heck is single malt scotch anyway?) I see blended scotch, I see single malt Irish whiskey, but no single malt scotch. ("Mom! Look at this one...") Finally, I grab a bottle (never did find the single malt Scotch) and got the heck out of Dodge.

I can't wait to see where my son shares this little gem of an experience. Oh, yes... He. Will. There's no doubt in my mind that this "mom took me to a liquor store" story will pop up at a moment that will ensure maximum embarrassment.

Ooooh, the things we do for Tuesday's with Dorie....


Speaking of TWD, this week's pick was by Donna of Spatulas, Corkscrews & Suitcases. Donna chose Real Butterscotch Pudding.

And a fine pick it was! Wow, this pudding was delicious and addictive. It was a far cry from pre-made or boxed-mix pudding, which is the only butterscotch pudding I've ever tasted. I can't say I'm too crazy about the premade version, but home made? I would definitely make this again. Now I'm kind of sorry I didn't buy the lifetime supply of Scotch.

OK, Merry Christmas y'all! I hope everyone enjoys a happy, stress-free holiday. Christmas hugs to all of you wonderful bakers :)

Egg Nog Panna Cotta

I'm not sure, but I'm guessing Egg Nog Panna Cotta translates roughly to Egg Nog Jell-O. Which is exactly what it is... egg nog and powdered gelatin.

Don't let the fancy name fool you, this dessert is SO easy to make. I used a recipe found ---> HERE.

These little baby jellies were a nice change from the typical sugar coma-inducing holiday desserts. They were light and refreshing and just sweet enough to satisfy those after dinner cravings.


Recipe Notes:
I used more like 3-4 tablespoons of water to bloom the gelatin. After the called-for 2 tablespoons the gelatin just seemed too solid. I'm not sure if it mattered since it was added to the hot egg nog.

To unmold the desserts, I first swirled the molds in a bowl of hot water for maybe 2 to 3 seconds to loosen the panna cotta from the sides of the mold. You might not need to do this if you sprayed the mold first with nonstick spray. I forgot to do that part. I used a clean finger to gently pry away the panna cotta from the mold. If the sides didn't come away cleanly, I gave them a second quick dunk in a bowl of hot water and then tried again. Be sure to dry the outside of the mold after setting in water.

I used a number of different metal molds. I ended up liking the taller panna cottas better than the shorter ones. Next time I would skip using the smaller molds altogether.

TWD: Arborio Rice Pudding

Yin and yang. Men and women. Summer and winter…

Chocolate and vanilla.

Aaaaah, the eternal question, whether to have chocolate or vanilla. Dorie saved us from having to choose with this week’s Tuesday’s with Dorie recipe, Arborio Rice Pudding, White, Black (Or Both). Thanks so much to Isabelle of Les gourmandises d’Isa for picking this unique recipe. (See Isabelle's web site if you'd like to peek at the recipe, or better yet, check out Dorie Greenspan's book Baking: From my Home to Yours.)


I’ve never actually eaten rice pudding. Is that strange? I don’t know. I’ll find out this week, probably.

I’m really glad I read the discussion thread about this recipe before trying it. Seems there was a typo in the book, leaving some of the early bakers with rice soup rather than rice pudding. I boiled the milk-rice mixture for a full 55 minutes and my pudding was indeed pudding-ish once it was all said and done.


The verdict? Interesting. I liked the vanilla rice pudding, it reminded me a lot of tapioca, which I enjoy. The chocolate rice pudding? Eh, not so much. Both types had a faint rice taste, which was fine with the vanilla. But the chocolate just didn’t seem to pair well with rice flavor, in my opinion.

All in all, it was a learning experience. I had no idea one could make pudding with only rice as the thickener.

Oh, by the way, did anyone else’s pan look like this at the end? LOL, I might have been a bit aggressive in the early stages of boiling the milk.


Looks like something straight out of the movie “Alien”.


OK, we'll see ya next week, but not on Tuesday. TWD-ers have the option of posting late next week due to Thanksgiving. So, see you next Saturday with Thanksgiving Two-fer Pie!

TWD: Chocolate Pudding

Mmmm… finally, a chocolate dessert. Pure, unadulterated chocolatey goodness.

This week’s Tuesday’s with Dorie recipe was chosen by Melissa of “It’s Melissa’s Kitchen”. My family and neighbors and I thank you, Melissa!


One of these days I'm going to learn to "completely and thoroughly" read a recipe before getting started. When I got done with the final whiz of the pudding in the mixer (food processor proved to be too small), I thought it didn't seem very chocolatey. I added a little more cocoa but still it was only faintly chocolate. Then as I was cleaning up, I happen upon my bar chocolate... which was supposed to be in the pudding, NOT on the counter. Duh! I melted it and added it... Double DUH!


The verdict? It was very good and very chocolatey. I think I would change up the type of chocolate if I made it again, though.

The recipe calls for bittersweet chocolate, cocoa powder, and only 6 tablespoons sugar. I thought that would probably be too bitter for our milk-chocolate-luvin’ tastebuds, so I used a combination of semi-sweet and bittersweet. I also ended up adding about ½ cup powdered sugar because it was still just a tiny bit bitter. After it chilled for the requisite time, it tasted better.

Next time, I would probably try semi-sweet, and possibly some milk chocolate. I guess it’s hard to overcome a lifetime of eating (and enjoying) good old Hershey’s milk chocolate.


If you'd like to try it, you can find the RECIPE-----> HERE.

Better yet, go buy the book "Baking: From My Home to Yours", by Dorie Greenspan. It's worth it's weight in chocolate, I tell ya!

Stay tuned for next week's TWD adventure... Cherry Rhubarb Cobbler.