Because we All Need Another Dessert

Yes, I know. We just finished with holidays. Everyone wants to lose weight. So why am I posting dessert recipes?

I suppose everyone likes a good dessert. And if you don't, I am not sure I can understand that. But I am open minded ;-)

Pound Cake Bread Pudding with Coconut Milk

Pound Cake Bread Pudding just mixed up

The thing is, I just posted my first Newsletter a few days ago, and in it I offered a "bonus recipe," meaning it is not featured on my website or blog site. Granted, it is not really my own recipe, but one found all over the internet. Why then, you might ask, did I feature it in my first Newsletter? Well, the fact is that I like pound cakes, but my husband is not really fond of them. To me, they are rich and plenty sweet and great all on their own. For my husband there is not a cake anywhere that is not made better with icing or some other topping. I made that pound cake recipe before posting it in my Newsletter, to make sure it worked out as good as it sounded. And it did work out great. I loved it. As is. My husband ate it with some leftover caramel topping. 

The reason that I posted this recipe is that if you run into this situation where you have a whole big pound cake and not many takers, there are multitudes of options for using it up. 

One of the ideas that I just couldn't pass up is bread pudding. I have written this before, but I absolutely love bread pudding. I am very hard pressed to find one I don't like, and there are all kinds out there. When I lived in Louisiana, where bread pudding is something like the "State Dessert," I ate it every single time I went out to eat. Okay a slight exaggeration, but only slight, mind you. Last night, as we were coming around to about a third of the cake left, it seemed like my husband might just be at the end of his pound cake rope. And I felt I just had to try making the remainder into bread pudding. 

Pound Cake Bread Pudding with Coconut Milk  

Again, you may think, "Isn't the pound cake rich enough, already?" And I would answer, "Yes, it certainly is." Still. I just had to try it out. Today I set about doing just that. I used as a basis my original Bread Pudding recipe (find that one here) to see what I did there. My bread pudding is terribly rich, as I always use heavy cream for the mixture. It can be substituted with milk, or 2%, half & half or any combination. While I probably should use something less heavy with fat, I unapologetically state that I have yet to even try that. But as I was perusing my bread pudding recipe, I thought about substituting the heavy cream with unsweetened coconut milk. The pound cake is dense, so I felt that it would be far more thirsty, given a little time, than bread cubes. I used 2 (13.5-ounce) cans of coconut milk, which equaled more liquid than the original recipe's 3 cups. I used the same amount of eggs and lightened up on the sugar, since the cake is already sweet. Just because, I also added 2 ounces of white chocolate. I figured it was already over-the-top, so what could another 2 ounces do? 

It baked up perfectly. I made the same Bourbon Sauce (found here) I usually make to put on top. I am sure it is great on its own, but I love this sauce. And here is what I did:

Pound Cake Bread Pudding with Coconut Milk

Makes one 13 x 9-inch pan

Pound Cake Bread Pudding with Coconut Milk

1.5 pounds plain pound cake, cut in 1/2-inch cubes
2 (13.5-ounce) cans unsweetened coconut milk (or regular milk, half & half, cream or any mixture equaling about 27 ounces (about 3¼ cups)
1/4 cup sugar
¼ cup bourbon or rum (or substitute milk)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
½ teaspoon salt
5 large eggs
2 ounces good quality white chocolate, chopped, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13 x 9-inch pan with cooking spray, or grease with butter and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the coconut milk, sugar, bourbon. vanilla, salt and eggs. Whisk briskly to combine. Pour in all the pound cake cubes and mix. Allow the mixture to set for about 10 minutes. Fold in the white chocolate. 

Pour into the prepared baking dish. Bake the bread pudding for about 30 minutes, or until a knife inserted halfway between the center and edge comes out clean. If the center is a little jiggly  it's okay, as residual heat will set it up just fine. 



My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Bread Pudding is a Fine Comfort Food

I have yet to meet a bread pudding I didn't like. Bread puddings come in all sorts of styles, shapes, sizes and flavors. I don't believe bread pudding was ever a part of my life growing up, but once I married and moved to Guatemala, I started exploring the few cookbooks I had and found bread pudding as a dessert option. Leftover bread is always around. Milk and eggs and sugar were always on hand. Presto!

Most of my sisters like bread pudding, though some may eschew the whole concept on the basis of calorie or carb count. Granted, it is hard to make bread pudding without carbs. Calories can be corralled a bit if needed. I personally just don't care. Once in a while, I make bread pudding and sit in glorious rapture as I take a spoonful and savor the smoothness, sweetness and creaminess. It doesn't get much better for comfort food in my book. If you are not a bread pudding fan, then this blog is simply not for you.

White Chocolate Bread Pudding

It wasn't until my current husband and I moved to Mandeville, Louisiana that I really found out what bread pudding could be. The bread puddings I had made from my Joy of Cooking or Better Homes and Gardens books back in Guatemala did not have a sauce poured over them. In Louisiana, there is definitely a sauce poured on top of bread pudding just about everywhere you might go. And in Louisiana it is hard to find any restaurant that does not have bread pudding on the menu. I was in bread-pudding-heaven down there! Some bread puddings had the sauce poured over them straight from the oven, to soak in at its leisure. Some places served a sauce on the side, and some poured it over the pudding when it was served. Sometimes the bread pudding was made in a flat pan, sometimes in tall souffle type pans. Sometimes the puddings were more dry and sometimes very wet. Many had raisins. One even had coconut. Not every bread pudding I ate in Louisiana was on the tippy-top of my list, but they were still good. The ones that were really good though, were out of this world.

White Chocolate Bread Pudding left, and with Bourbon Sauce over top, right

One place we went quite often when living in Mandeville was the Times Bar & Grill. I would rate their bread pudding right at the top of my list of desserts, nearly provoking a "When Harry Met Sally" moment. Even if I was too full to eat a dessert, I would order it to take home. The Times Bar & Grill did survive Katrina, though I have no idea what their menu contains at this point in time as it has been a lot of years since we moved away. Another great restaurant right around the corner from where we lived was Semolina. They had some amazing pasta dishes, of course, and their bread pudding was the really tall one I described as like it was baked in a souffle dish. Excellent, though a drier variety.

Okay, so after all the amazing bread puddings I ate everywhere we went, I also continued to make them at home. I have played with the amounts and this recipe is the one I like best, both for the bread pudding and for the sauce. I like to add white chocolate to the bread pudding as I feel it makes the pudding even more unctuous, but it can be left out with no problems to the recipe. I use whatever kind of bread I want, from sandwich bread to a very artisanal, chewy style - or a combination. I often buy a loaf of French bread and use that. I rarely use dry stale bread. I think of a thing and want to make it NOW! The bread pudding I made a few days ago was partly made with leftover hamburger buns and part artisanal bread. 

Once I had some of my Double Chocolate Bread and decided to use it to make a bread pudding and it was great. The addition of chocolate chips might have made it better, though I had none at the time. No photos of my Double Chocolate Bread exist - it seems to disappear before a photo is even taken. This chocolatee bread is certainly a bread - nothing like a sweet cake or brownie. But it is absolute HEAVEN when toasted and topped with honey. 

Double Chocolate Bread

Makes two 8 x 5-inch loaves

1 package yeast, instant preferred (or "Gold" for sweet breads)
3 cups bread flour
¼ cup brown sugar
¼ cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
4 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1 egg
1 cup milk, warmed
¼ cup water
1 cup chocolate chips

In the bowl of a heavy duty mixer, combine together the flour, yeast, brown sugar, salt, cocoa, cinnamon. Add the warm milk, water and the egg, along with the chocolate chips and set the mixer to stir, then allow to knead for up to 8 minutes. Lower bowl, remove the dough hook, and allow to rise until doubled in bulk - about 2 hours.

Remove dough to a floured surface and divide into two sections. Gently roll into loaves and place in greased loaf pans, and allow to rise once more until doubled in bulk.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes. These are smaller loaves, but they are dense, so may require the whole 30 minutes baking time.

NOTES: Rich yeast dough sometimes takes a very long time to rise. The King Arthur Flour Bakers catalogue has "SAF Gold Instant" yeast (sometimes referred to as "brown yeast"), made especially for these rich yeast doughs. It only comes in a 1 pound brick, so if you do not make rich yeast dough often, this might not be for you.

If desired, ½ to 1 cup of raisins may be added to the dough at the beginning of the kneading time, along with the chocolate chips. The raisins make a more moist bread.

Back to the Bread Pudding:

The heavy cream called for can be substituted with half & half, milk or 2% milk as desired, though the outcome will be far less creamy, particularly with the latter. Many bread pudding recipes call for raisins. I do not care for cooked raisins in a dessert, so I do not use them. If you love raisins, add in about 1/2 cup of them. Other dried fruits could also be added, such as craisins, cherries or apricots, or a combination.

I have experimented with many of the sauce recipes available. The sauce can be made with bourbon, brandy, cognac or rum, or none-of-the-above. It needs to cook until it "coats the back of a spoon" or until a candy thermometer reaches 235. The first time I made the sauce, it was in a taller saucepan and it took over an hour to reach that point. After that I started making it in my widest soup pot, giving the sauce a lot of surface area to evaporate more quickly. This way it takes about 15 or 20 minutes.

White Chocolate Bread Pudding

Makes one 13 x 9-inch pan

16 ounces of bread of choice, cut in 1-inch cubes
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
6 eggs
1 cup sugar
4 cups heavy cream
3 tablespoons bourbon (or brandy, rum, cognac)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 ounces white chocolate, chopped finely

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (325 on Convection). Grease a 13 x 9-inch pan. Have a larger casserole or roaster pan that will accommodate the 13 x 9 pan easily.

In a large bowl, toss together the bread cubes with the cinnamon and nutmeg. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs until combined. Add in the sugar, heavy cream, cognac and vanilla and whisk together well. Pour this mixture over the bread cubes and stir to combine. At this point the mixture can be held for 15 minutes to 24 hours. When ready to bake, add in the white chocolate and stir. Have boiling water ready to pour into the larger pan. Pour the bread mixture into the prepared 13 x 9 pan. Set the bread pudding pan into the larger pan and very carefully, pour the boiling water into the larger pan until it comes halfway up the sides of the 13 x 9 pan, creating a water bath to help the pudding cook without making scrambled eggs. Carefully set the whole thing in the oven and bake until a knife inserted between the center and the edge comes out clean, about 40 - 45 minutes.

Just beginning to cook the sauce            sauce bubbling to half the pan height               coating the back of a spoon 

Bourbon Sauce

1½ cups heavy cream
½ cup sugar
3 tablespoons bourbon (or brandy, rum or cognac)
¼ teaspoon cinnamon

Stir all the ingredients together in a large, wide pot. If you prefer the bourbon to make more of a statement, add it later, once the sauce has cooked. Set the pan over medium high heat and bring to a boil. Lower to about medium heat and allow to cook without stirring, to 235 degrees or until it coats the back of a spoon. A candy thermometer is helpful, but not necessary. Just about when the sauce is ready, it will bubble up quite high in the pan (middle photo above), so check often. It should coat a spoon so when a finger is passed across the spoon it will leave a definite, visible trail (photo at right above).

Pour the sauce over the baked bread pudding. Cool to lukewarm to serve.


My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Easter Ham Makover

Before delving into what I have been cooking lately, I want to take time to note that I added a new tab above. I created a page for a Recipe Index to give very easy access to all the recipes I have on my blog, as I have been blogging since October of 2012. They just would not be found unless reading through all the 1½ years of blogging. I would not want to subject anyone to that much slogging through my adventures. I will add a list of article links also. Some blogs have been very 1-subject oriented and could have interest on their own merit. So, please peruse my list of recipes under Recipe Index!

Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes with Ham

A few days ago I created a recipe out of desperation for something different to do with leftover ham. Every single time we have ham in the house I make my Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes with Ham. My husband absolutely loves this as it has his main food groups in it: meat, potatoes and cheese. To be honest, I absolutely love this casserole also, so I cannot in truthfulness place all the credit on my husband. His sister also loves this casserole, so almost every time I make it she is over for dinner. It's a great casserole. And I will likely be making it very soon. Again.

But meanwhile, I was just casting about in my head, trying to think of some other application for leftover ham, and I thought, "how about a savory bread pudding? My husband will eat a dessert bread pudding, but he is in no way as excited about the whole bread pudding concept as I. I love bread pudding. It sits far higher in my list of dessert loves than anything chocolate ever could. When my husband and I lived in Mandeville, Louisiana, just a mile up from the Lake Ponchartrain bridge, he was still out entertaining prospective doctors for the current practice he was managing and so we ate out often in this capacity. We also ate out with some really fantastic friends quite often in many different venues. And we sometimes went down to New Orleans and ate there. I had never been in Louisiana, or in New Orleans, and was not sure what kind of food they ate there, the blanket of Creole or Cajun just covered everything. And then I discovered Gumbo. OMG! Love at first bite. Later I found that there are two kinds of Gumbo, either okra gumbo, or file gumbo. I prefer the file gumbo by a long shot. Okra has never caught my foodie attention. 

Anyway, to get to the point, the other thing I discovered in Louisiana is that bread pudding is on almost every, single dessert menu. I was in heaven! I love bread pudding. I really, really love bread pudding. I ate it everywhere while living there. 

Bread Pudding

Bread Pudding

Makes about 6 servings

½ cup golden raisins
3 tablespoons bourbon, rum or brandy
5 eggs
¾ cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
pinch salt
3 cups heavy cream
8 ounces stale bread, in 1-inch pieces, with crusts
Bourbon (or Rum or Brandy) Sauce, recipe below

In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, combine the raisins and bourbon and heat gently until the liquid is evaporated and the raisins are plump, about 7 minutes.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, vanilla, spices and salt. Stir in the cream until well blended. Toss in the torn bread and plumped raisins and stir together. Let the mixture set for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, to allow the bread to soak up the liquid. The pudding may be made ahead until this point and refrigerated for 4 hours until you are ready to bake.

Heat the oven to 350ºF. Butter eight 6-oz. custard cups or ramekins or one larger baking dish. Divide the bread mixture among the cups and pour any remaining custard over the top of each. Set the cups in a baking pan and add enough water to the pan to come halfway up the sides of the cups. This is more easily accomplished if the larger pan is placed in the oven first. Trying to move a large pan full of boiling water is unsafe! Bake until the puddings are browned on top and a knife inserted between the center and the edge of the pan comes out clean, about 50 minutes, or 60 for the larger casserole.

BOURBON (or Rum or Brandy) SAUCE
1½ cups heavy cream
½ cup sugar
3 tablespoons bourbon
⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon

In a wide saucepan, combine the cream and sugar. Dissolve the sugar over medium heat and let the mixture come slowly to a boil. Cook, boiling gently, until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, (235º on a candy thermometer). Remove from heat and stir in the bourbon and cinnamon. Serve warm, poured over the individual puddings, or servings. 

NOTES: I have found that the extra work of the hot water bath seems not to matter! I totally forgot to do it once, and it still turned out perfect! Just watch for doneness by inserting a knife between center and edge of pan; the knife should come out clean.

If you don't like raisins - omit them. If fat-conscious this can be made with plain milk, half & half or some of both. Still great!

VARIATION: I have added in a cup of grated good quality white chocolate (with actual cocoa butter content) to the mixture, with heavenly results. If you love bread pudding, and white chocolate, this is a match made in heaven.


And that brings me back to the ham dilemma. I had never made a savory bread pudding, though I  have seen them in magazines or on TV. So I started to think about this. What would I like to taste in a savory - ham - bread pudding? Obviously there would be bread, eggs and milk with the ham. I had some blue cheese crumbles in the fridge, so I added that to the list. Some nutmeg. I thought I would try using pink peppercorns, for their very different flavor. And then I tossed in some currants. I originally was thinking of sultanas, or white raisins, but switched to currants. Now I think I might have liked the raisins more, but I will try that next time. The bread I used is some of the artisanal style bread I had made, and it gives a nice chewy bite to the casserole. I would really not recommend a plain white sandwich bread, as it would be pasty. 

Thinking about this particular casserole I realize it would also be a wonderful brunch or a breakfast casserole with a side of fruit. Here is what I did:

Ham & Blue Cheese Bread Pudding with a side salad

 

Ham & Blue Cheese Bread Pudding

Ham & Blue Cheese Bread Pudding

Serves 6

2½ cups cubed day-old bread, preferably artisanal style
2 cups milk
2 eggs
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated
½ teaspoon pink peppercorns, crushed
1½ cups cubed ham
¾ - 1 cup blue cheese, crumbled
3 scallions, chopped
¼ cup currants
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan
½ cup panko bread crumbs
1 tablespoon melted butter

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease or spray an oven safe casserole either 9 x 1 1/2-inches round or 8 x 8-inches square.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs and milk together. Add the bread cubes, salt, pink peppercorns, nutmeg and ham to combine. Mix in the blue cheese, scallions and currants and then pour this mixture into the prepared casserole. In another mixing bowl, combine the fresh grated Parmesan with the panko crumbs. Add in the melted butter and toss well with fork or fingers to combine and moisten. Pour crumbs over the bread pudding and bake the casserole until a knife inserted between the center and the edge comes out clean. This could take 45 minutes or much longer. I set my casserole onto a pizza pan and I believe this may have inhibited the oven's heat from properly heating the bottom of the casserole. It took mine just a little over ah hour to bake.

To make this for breakfast, to save time, prepare the milk, bread, eggs, salt, nutmeg, peppercorns and currants or raisins the night before. Combine and cover tightly and keep refrigerated. In the morning, add in the ham and blue cheese, with the scallions, combine and pour into the casserole. The crumb topping could also be made the night before. Allow enough time for baking when getting it into the oven. 


The reason I set my casserole onto a pizza pan was because recently I have had to clean my oven three times due to spills from baking foods. I was playing it safe, but am pretty sure this altered the timing needed to bake the Ham Bread Pudding. Be careful to check between the center of the casserole and the edge, because this is a custard. If you over bake the casserole, the eggs will become mealy. The consistency should be smooth and creamy. The center of a custard should still be a little wet when it is done. Allow the casserole to set at room temperature for about 10 or 15 minutes before cutting and serving, to allow the temperature to come up and set the center. I really loved this casserole. My husband said he did also, though I am sure he is still waiting for me to get around to the Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes and Ham.



My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.