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Do you want to know what's great about bread pudding? Everything. Everything is great about bread pudding. The richness, the texture, the simplicity of flavor and the versatility. In my quest for orange recipes for my orange-themed holidays, I came across many, tried a few then made this and knew all my searching hadn't been in vain. After this, I could wipe my hands clean of Orange Christmas 2010; I'd reached the pinnacle of success.
Now, full disclosure: I LOVE bread pudding. So maybe I'm a little biased. Maybe I ate this for breakfast a few times and maybe I also forked it into my mouth, directly out of the pan, because it was so addictive and lovely and I have little self-control. I kinda had my heart set on orange/chocolate recipes and I did find one for bread pudding on Food Network's site but it wasn't popular or reviewed more than 2 or 3 times and those always give me pause. This one, on the other hand, called for almond paste and the minute I see those two words, a flashing neon sign goes off in my head. WINNER. WINNER. WINNER. How does that delicious, yet shamefully unhealthy paste taste so good? Oh right, it's shamefully unhealthy. But it was Christmas so I indulged!
This had such an amazing smell when it was baking up as well and that was a big part of my Christmas baking too. I wanted the scent of orange and cinnamon and warmth permeating the house and this was spot on! And even though it's pictured, I didn't make the caramel sauce the recipe called for. That's a store bought for plate decoration. To me, it needed absolutely nothing else. It's rich and flavorful all on its own! Don't feel the need to add more sweetness to it; let the pudding speak for itself!!
If you have any inclination toward bread pudding at all, you absolutely must try this one. ugh. I miss it like an old friend. ...And it's only been 3 weeks since I've made it. want more!
ORANGE ALMOND BREAD PUDDING
Adapted from: Sweet Pea's Kitchen
2 cups whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
Grated zest of 4 oranges
1/2 cup sugar, plus more for sprinkling
6 large egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 tablespoon orange flavored liqueur such as Triple Sec, Grand Marnier or Contreau
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 large egg white, at room temperature
7 ounces almond paste, crumbled
1 loaf (1 pound) of firm-textured white bread, cut into 1/2″ slices
1. In a medium saucepan, warm milk, heavy cream, orange zest and 1/2 cup of sugar to 110 degrees; Stirring often to dissolve the sugar. Remove from heat, cover, and let steep for one hour.
2. After one hour, reheat the cream mixture until it’s very warm (110 degrees). In a medium bowl, whisk the yolks then gradually whisk in the warm milk-cream mixture, whisking constantly to prevent eggs from cooking. Whisk in the vanilla extract, almond extract, orange liqueur, and cinnamon. Pour mixture through a strainer into another bowl to remove orange zest. Set aside.
3. Butter an 8x8 baking dish OR a shallow 2-quart baking dish or souffle mold. (Baking time will be longer with 8x8 as it will be thicker, as pictured.)
4. In a small bowl, beat the egg whites and almond paste until smooth. Spread a spoonful of almond paste over one side of a slice of bread, then place the slice in the prepared baking dish, almond paste side down. Continue spreading paste on bread, and layering slices into the dish. Pour the milk-egg yolk mixture over the bread and gently press down, submerging the layers in the liquid.
5. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator at least an hour or overnight, pressing down occasionally to make sure the top layers of bread are soaked through.
6. Preheat oven to 350°F. If you’ve put the bread pudding in the fridge, allow it to come to room temperature before baking by placing it on the counter for at least an hour.
7. Sprinkle the top of the bread pudding liberally with sugar. Set the baking dish in a water bath by setting it in a large roasting pan, and then filling the roaster with water until it is halfway up the sides of the pudding’s baking dish.
8. Bake until pudding is puffed up in the center and the top is brown, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. (Place loose aluminum foil over top if center isn't puffed; will keep top from burning.)
9. Let cool until warm. Serve warm. Optional: drizzle with caramel sauce.
Yields: 8-10 servings
Continuing on with the ice cream experimenting, I next attempted my second favorite flavor: coffee ice cream with fudge swirl and chocolate covered almonds (AKA Starbucks' Java Chip). I guess I should disclose that the ice cream is the only thing I actually made: the almonds and chocolate fudge are store bought. Next time, I'll make my own chocolate. This was good, of course, but it wasn't MINE.
I ran into an issue with this recipe and the entire Ben & Jerry's ice cream book: they use raw eggs. I was nervous. Very very nervous. But after asking around (and the fact that these recipes are tried and true), I went for it and it's fine.
Another issue that haunted me was the swirl... The recipe calls to "fold" it in as the very last stage however, it also says to chill the chocolate so it's not exactly pliable. It was a big clump so I kept cutting and folding and soon it became mostly-mocha ice cream. I've heard some people layering the ice cream and fudge in the storage container itself so when you scoop in, distinct stripes of chocolate you get! Will try that next time...
COFFEE ALMOND SWIRL
Adapted from Ben & Jerry's
2 large eggs
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 cups heavy or whipping cream
1 cup milk
3 tablespoons espresso powder
3/4 cup chocolate covered almonds (halved)
1 cup cold fudge sauce
1. Whisk the eggs in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk the sugar, a little at a time, then continue whisking until completely blended, about 1 minute more. Add the cream, milk and 2 tablespoons of the coffee and whisk to blend.
2. Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker and freeze following the manufacturer's instructions.
3. After the ice cream stiffens (about 2 minutes before it is done), add the remaining 1 tablespoon of coffee and 3/4 cup almonds, then continue freezing until ice cream is ready. Remove the dasher and fold in fudge sauce with a spatula.
I've been having a hard time deciding on what I was in the mood for in January, the month of new, fresh starts (read: light and healthier) but still, you know. Dead of winter. And I live in Alaska. It looks like this:
I started concocting this elaborate, perfect dessert for the season that I attempted but dare not speak its existence for fear of being smited, it was so awful. Let's just say, the syrup soaked dough balls came out looking like mini jellyfish (that wanted to eat ME).
Luckily, I had a backup plan to ALSO try my first tart ever this weekend after I got a food processor for Christmas. I could finally make dough without the debilitating terror of having to touch it (and screw the whole thing up with my lava-fire hands that would melt the butter, then stretch it too much and omg!) It was time consuming (refrigerating the dough a couple times) but I've got a new appreciation for pans that shape stuff prettily (look at the little crinkles! They're perfect!).
It came out surprisingly good! My confidence in my tart-making abilities is through the roof. w00t!
ITALIAN ALMOND TART
Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Collection Series, Pie & Tart, by Carolyn Beth Weil
TART DOUGH
1 egg yolk
2 Tbs. very cold water
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
8 Tbs. (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into
1/4-inch cubes
TART FILLING
8 Tbs. (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room
temperature
1/2 lb. almond paste, cut into 1-inch cubes
1/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/3 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/3 cup apricot jam (or raspberry, plum or cherry)
1/3 cup sliced almonds
GLAZE
1/3 cup apricot jam (or peach)
2 Tbs water
1 tsp. of Almond Extract (or 1 tablespoon Disaronno Amaretto)
In a small bowl, stir together the egg yolk, water and vanilla; set aside.
Stir together the flour, sugar and salt in the medium bowl and put in food processor. Add the butter and pulse processor until the texture resembles coarse cornmeal, with butter pieces no larger than small peas. Add the egg mixture and pulse just until the dough pulls together.
Transfer the dough to a work surface, pat into a ball and flatten into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until well chilled, about 30 minutes.
On a lightly floured board, flatten the disk with 6 to 8 gentle taps of the rolling pin. Lift the dough and give it a quarter turn. Lightly dust the top of the dough or the rolling pin with flour as needed, then roll out from center until the dough is about 1⁄8 inch thick. Fold the dough round in half and carefully transfer to a 9 1⁄2-inch tart pan, preferably with a removable bottom. Unfold and ease the round into the pan, without stretching it, and pat it firmly into the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Trim off any excess dough by gently running a rolling pin across the top of the pan. Press the dough into the sides to extend it slightly above the rim to offset any shrinkage during baking.
Refrigerate or freeze the tart shell until firm, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, position a rack in the lower third of an oven and preheat to 375°F.
Line the pastry shell with lightly buttered aluminum foil or parchment paper and fill with pie weights or raw short-grain rice or beans. Bake for 20 minutes, then lift an edge of the foil. If the dough looks wet, continue to bake, checking every 5 minutes, until the dough is pale gold, for a total baking time of 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack.
Position a rack in the middle of the oven and reduce the heat to 350°F.
In a bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed or a whisk, beat the butter until smooth. Add the almond paste, one piece at a time, beating until smooth after each addition. While continuing to beat, sprinkle in the sugar. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the flour.
Spread the jam evenly over the bottom of the partially baked tart shell. Spoon in the almond paste mixture and spread evenly over the jam. Sprinkle the surface evenly with the sliced almonds.
Bake the tart until the filling is golden and the middle is firm to the touch, 35 to 45 minutes.
Heat glaze preserves and water in a 1-quart saucepan over moderately high heat, stirring, until preserves are melted. Remove from heat and force through a fine-mesh sieve into a small bowl, discarding solids. Stir in almond extract.
Brush top of hot tart generously with glaze and cool in pan on rack 15 minutes. Remove side of pan and cool tart completely, about 2 hours.
Serve at room temperature. Makes one 9 1/2-inch tart; serves 8.
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