Bake 12b: French Toast Bread Pudding with a Twist

I generally avoid bread pudding. I admit this is a texture issue as I don't like things that are soggy, or have an unpleasant texture, like cottage cheese. Just thinking about it is unpleasant. So I put on my big girl pants and thought through how to make a bread pudding for someone like me, who is not keen on the idea in the first place. 

Years ago I learned some secrets for french toast that greatly improve on the basic method and that had me thinking about how the wife and I once had french toast bread pudding at a tiny cafe that was in the same building at the A Book for All Seasons bookshop in Leavenworth, Washington. I love that bookstore. It is small but thoughtfully stocked and I can always find something I need. One may argue that I can do that in any bookstore but that is beside the point. Back to our bread pudding.

I started with a simple french toast bread pudding recipe, brioche with a custard mix and then added some buttery, brown sugary, nutty crunch. Add a dollop of very lightly seasoned whip cream and a drizzle of maple syrup, or just skip brunch and serve it as a dessert with a scoop of vanilla ice cream! 

Ingredients

1 loaf Brioche or Challah

8 large eggs

1 1/2 cups whipping cream 

1 1/2 cups whole milk

1 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Topping

1/2 cup salted butter

3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar

3/4 cup chopped pecans (or other nuts of your preference)

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Prep a rectangular baking dish, 13x9 preferred with butter or baking spray with flour. Set out a large shallow pan to use for the water bath that your baking dish fits into, I use a roasting pan. 

Cut the bread into 3/4 inch thick slices. Arrange the slices in rows, leaning and overlapping as necessary, if serving to guests you want it to be pretty but otherwise just smoosh it in there. If you want to be extra fancy, use a braided brioche.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs (by hand or with an electric mixer) until light and slightly thicker, 2-4 minutes. Beat in the cream, milk, sugar, flour, vanilla, salt and nutmeg. Pour over the bread in the dish, making sure to pour between the slices of bread, and gently push down on the bread to soak up the custard. 

Combine the topping ingredients, cutting the butter into the other ingredients. I usually just use a fork but if you are feeling fancy you can get out a pastry cutter. Spread the mixture over the soaking bread, pushing some down between the slices. 

Cover and refrigerate allowing to soak, either overnight, or at least 1 hour. The bread will soak up all the custard if you give it the time. Otherwise it will seem like there is too much.

Preheat the oven to 350, Place in the center of the larger pan, adding hot water into the larger pan to come up the side of the baking dish. Bake 36-40 minutes. It will look puffy, golden brown, and when you touch the top it should feel spongy, not dry or crusty. 

Serve with a drizzle with maple syrup or add a dollop of whipped cream (1 cup whipping cream + 2 tablespoons powdered sugar + 1/2 teaspoon vanilla = lightly sweetened whip cream). I went for a drizzle of maple syrup and a sprinkle of powdered sugar so I didn't have to wait for the cream to whip. Our whole house just smelled SO GOOD.

Since there is no party happening here, I made a half batch and baked it up in a 9 inch square dish. If you are going to do the same, grab a small size brioche, or put the other half in the freezer for later use.

Bake 12a: Apple and Blackberry Crumble

Time for the pudding showstopper! It involved three different types of puddings: crumble, bread, and suet. You will have to wait a little while for the suet pudding as I can't find suet so have gone to the internet to order some. In a few weeks when that comes and I have worked on the recipe then I will get it posted. In the meantime I will make the crumble and bread puddings!

First up, the crumble. I had a hankering for berries and we had apples so I did an apple and blackberry crumble with walnuts in the topping. You can use most any fruit for the filling and feel welcome to leave out the nuts, or trade them for nuts you prefer. Crumbles and crisps are a super easy summer dessert and love to be topped with a scoop of ice cream or in our case, brown sugar whipped cream.

Ingredients

Topping

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup oats

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (or other spices of your choosing)

1/4 cup flour

6 tablespoons softened butter

Filling

3 tablespoons softened butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 pound apples (I used 5 smaller apples, I prefer to peel mine, then cut into small pieces)

12 ounces blackberries

*1 tablespoon corn starch can be added for particularly juicy fruits

Cream

1 cup whipping cream

1/4 cup brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and prep a square baking dish with butter or baking spray with flour. 

 

Mix the walnuts, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon and flour with a spoon. Smush in the softened butter until combined. I realize that 'smush' is not a technical term but just keep working the butter into the mixture until there are no streaks of dry mix that are still dry. Set aside to rest.

Bring butter and brown sugar and salt to a to a medium heat in a saucepan. Add the apples and cook until just beginning to soften, 5-6 minutes. Add the blackberries and cook an additional 3-5 minutes. If the fruit releases a lot of juice, add the cornstarch and continue to stir to ensure it is evenly distributed.

Pour into prepared dish, top with crumble. Bake for 15-18 minutes. 

While the crumble bakes, put your bowl and whisk or whisk attachment (if using a mixer) into the freezer for 5 minutes. Then whip the cream (start on a low speed and work up to high), adding the brown sugar midway through whipping. Pop in the fridge until the crumble is ready.

Allow crumble to cool slightly so you don't have a lava situation, and top with a generous scoop of whipped cream. 

Bake 10: Steamed Butterscotch Pudding

Episode 4, all about Pudding! Now, let's talk about pudding. The British folks have a long history with puddings of all kinds, and that did not seem to make it all the way across the pond, and the rest of the United States the northwest corner of Washington State where I grew up. This is the first hurtle where I feel confident in making pudding, once I figure out what all the words mean. 

In the signature, the bakers were asked to bake their own classic pudding, steamed or baked. Okay, swell. Yes, swell. Yup. Okay. SWELL. 

After much deliberation I have determined that we will jump right in and make a steamed butterscotch pudding. I love butterscotch, it is the more attractive but shy cousin of caramel. It makes a mean milkshake and is a great addition to a blonde brownie. 

I found some basic recipes and made a few adjustments. You will need a large stock pot or dutch oven to use for steaming your pud and don't worry if you don't have a lidded pudding mold, you can still make this!

Ingredients

Sauce 

1 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 cup salted butter

1 cup creme fraiche*

1 teaspoon vanilla

Pudding

1/2 cup salted butter, softened

1.2 cup sugar plus 2 tablespoons

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 2/3 cup all purpose flour

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 cup milk

Cream

1 cup heavy cream

*if you don't have creme fraiche you can substitute sour cream, or for a less 'sour' finish 3/4 cup sour cream and 1/4 cup heavy cream. Creme fraiche is the french version of sour cream and is more subtle. Who isn't more subtle than American's!

Prep your pud steamer first. I used our dutch oven, filled about 1/2 way with water, and a metal trivet on the bottom inside. You don't want the pudding mold resting on the bottom, no trivet? no problem, roll up some foil to make a ring and rest your pudding mold on that. Now, I mentioned that I don't have a pudding mold but I had a number of metal bowls. So I grabbed one that was small-medium sized, greased it up, and when it was time to steam, covered the top with plastic wrap, then foil, and tied baking string around the rim to ensure it was super secure. Rubber bands work well too. 

Bring the water to a boil and then reduce to a simmer.

Make the sauce by adding sauce ingredients to a medium saucepan and stir until the mixture comes to a boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for 3-5 minutes until thickened.

Pour 2/3 of the sauce into the prepared bowl. Put the rest in the fridge for later on.

Next mix the pudding by creaming the butter and sugar, adding the eggs one at a time, and adding the vanilla. Then adding the flour and baking powder (stir the baking powder into the flour to distribute evenly and avoid getting out another bowl). Add milk when streaks of flour remain, and fold until just combined.

Carefully spoon the batter on top of the sauce. Leveling the top and then covering the top. Lower into the simmering water, so the water comes up at least 1/2 way on the bowl/mold. Cook for 1 hour 20 minutes.

While steaming, whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks and set aside with the remaining sauce for topping.

To serve, run a knife around the edge of the bowl and turn out onto a large plate or shallow wide bowl. As long as it has a lip you will be good to go. I was worried about loosing the sauce so I used a shallow wide bowl which made serving rather challenging, a lipped plate is advised. 

Serve with a dollop of cream and a touch more sauce if desired. It is a rich pudding so it doesn't need much!