Baking Club Adventure: Bread Pudding!

January 08, 2016 by Libby Harrison in desserts

At our September meeting, the subject of bread pudding came up since the pudding cake I chose to make for the September theme, was more like a bread pudding than a lava/pudding cake. Tonya mentioned that she had never had bread pudding before - and so the rest of us decided that our next theme had to be bread pudding - so that she could finally have a taste of one of my most favorite desserts! I can pretty much always be convinced to get dessert when eating out at restaurant, if bread pudding is on the menu. It's such a delicious comfort food and a great way to use up any kind of bread you have left over.

I've made bread pudding with French bread, challah, Irish soda bread...even Krispy Kremes! So if you ever have any leftover bread - don't throw it away - just put it into your freezer and pull it out for the next time you want to serve a crowd - for either dessert or brunch! Bread pudding makes for an excellent breakfast! (Think of it as a fancy baked french toast.) So when you've got enough bread on hand, all you need is some milk or cream, eggs and vanilla to whip up a delicious batch of bread pudding! There's even a simple ratio to keep in mind when putting together the egg custard in which the bread cubes are soaked: two parts milk to one part egg, plus sugar, vanilla and salt. So for a regular 1-lb loaf of bread, you'll need 2 cups of milk, 4 eggs, 1/2 cup of sugar, 1 tsp vanilla and 1/4 tsp of salt. From there, the variations are endless - you can add additional ingredients like nuts, chocolate or fresh or dried fruit!

Note: Regarding the ratio above, remember that you have to use the same units of measure for your ingredients. Two cups of milk to one egg is not the proper ratio (an egg isn't an equal unit of measure for milk). Instead, you'd have to measure your eggs by weight or volume to get the proper ratio. For standard large eggs, 1 egg = 2 ounces. So for this ratio, 2 cups of milk (16oz) and 4 eggs (8oz) fits the 2:1 ratio.

The Baking Club had a wide range of breads and flavors added to our bread puddings - some came with sauces, some were served plain. All were delicious!

LIBBY: Apple and Maple Bread Pudding (via Bon Appetit)

I had just returned from vacation in Montreal & Quebec - so had maple on the mind when I picked this recipe. Maple can be an overwhelming flavor - but I liked how it wasn't overpowering in this dish. I decided to pair this bread pudding with a classic creme anglaise - a cooked custard sauce that is so delicious, I could (and would) just eat it with a spoon! I chose to use Julia Child's recipe - and it produced a deliciously smooth and creamy sauce that is perfectly mopped up with a bite of this bread pudding.

GINA: Classic Bread Pudding (via Cooks Illustrated) and Milk Chocolate Croissant Bread Pudding (via Food & Wine)

Gina made two different variations on the bread pudding theme. The first was a classic bread pudding with good quality challah and a simple, but rich, egg custard. With no additional flavors or ingredients - this recipe lets the simple flavors of the pudding shine. What was unique about this recipe, is that you reserve some of your toasted bread cubes and sprinkle them on top of the soaked pieces, and brush them with melted butter. This helps crisp up those pieces, so you get a nice contrast in texture. So so good. This was one of my favorites and a recipe I'll definitely make on my own!

Her other recipe used croissants (yum!) and chocolate (more yum!). The egg custard is mixed with melted chocolate to make a chocolate custard and then additional chocolate pieces are mixed in along with the croissant cubes. We all liked it, but felt that the custard itself didn't taste chocolatey enough. I think you could try melting the full amount of chocolate in the recipe and add to the custard and then still add the called-for-amount of chocolate. Or, you could also omit the melted chocolate from the custard and just let the chocolate pieces be the sole source of your chocolate flavors.

KLARE: Pecan and Butterscotch Bread Pudding (via Bon Appetit)

Last, but definitely not least, Klare made a pecan and butterscotch bread pudding. The original recipe calls for bourbon in the butterscotch sauce, but she omitted it, as none of us in the club are big fans of liquor in our desserts (call us crazy). For the bread, Klare used Parkerhouse rolls from a local bakery, since that's what she had on hand - and they worked perfectly in this recipe. As far as bread puddings go, this is a pretty standard recipe - but what makes this stand out are the addition of pecans (my favorite nut) and a delicious butterscotch caramel sauce. Perfection!

It's All Greek to Me - Part One

May 11, 2014 by Libby Harrison in desserts

Happy Mother's Day! It's been a celebration weekend for sure - honoring friends with graduations, friends with birthdays and of course, my mom and those who have been like a mom to me. I'm now sitting on my sun porch enjoying the beautiful weather and the springtime chatter of the birds chirping, lawn mowers humming and kids laughing on the swingset.

One of the celebrations this weekend was for the birthday of a dear friend of mine. It has become tradition with us to meet at our favorite Greek restaurant whenever we get together for dinner. Since I was hosting at my house, I figured I would bring the Greek to us! On the menu was chicken souvlaki, homemade pita, Greek salad and baklava. None of which I had ever made before. The pressure was on!

First up to make was the baklava. I researched several recipes and settled on one by The Pioneer Woman. Baklava, if you've never had it, is comprised of layers of flaky phyllo dough and nuts tossed in cinnamon with a sticky honey syrup mixture poured all over top. Delicious!!

One of the main ingredients in baklava is nuts. I've seen recipes that use walnuts, pistachios or pecans or some combination. I chose to use equal amounts of pistachios and pecans, two of my favorite nuts. A quick note about nuts - I have a steadfast rule that I always toast my nuts before adding to pretty much any recipe (savory or sweet). Toasting brings out the flavor of the nut and also gives it a crispy texture. Trust me, it's worth the extra step.

So after the nuts are toasted, pour them into the bowl of a food processor and add in some cinnamon and pulse the nuts a few times until they are evenly chopped into small bits. Then set that aside.

Phyllo (FEE-loh) dough, which can be found in the frozen desserts section, comes in boxes with two packages of dough. You'll only need one package for the baklava. You'll also want to the thaw the dough in advance. Either place in the refrigerator the night before, or if you forget (like I did), you can let it thaw on the countertop for a couple of hours. A quick word on phyllo dough - it's a very thin and paper-like dough and dries out very quickly. It's important to keep any dough you're not working with, covered in plastic and then a damp cloth on top.

Before we start working with the phyllo, we need to melt some butter so we have it at the ready. Now that everything is in place, take two sheets of the phyllo dough and place on a clean surface. (Remember to cover the remaining dough with plastic and the damp cloth!) Brush the melted butter on top of the top layer of dough and then place in a greased 9x13 pan, buttered side down. Grab another two sheets of dough, butter the top layer and place in the pan, again, buttered side down. Repeat this process again; you'll now have six total layers of dough (three of them buttered).

Bring over that bowl of nuts and grab a good handful or two of nuts and sprinkle evenly over the phyllo dough. Take another two sheets of phyllo dough, butter the top layer, place in pan (buttered side down) and again sprinkle nuts over the top. Repeat this process until you've used up all the nuts. Then, just as we did in the beginning, top with six sheets of dough, adding in batches of two, with the top layer buttered. Brush a final coat of butter over the top.

Before we bake, we need to pre-cut the baklava with a sharp knife. Traditionally, baklava is cut on the diagonal to make diamond shaped pieces. If this is too fancy for you, you can always cut into traditional squares.

Bake the baklava in a 350 oven for 45 minutes or until a deep golden brown.

While the baklava is baking, we need to make the honey syrup-y nectar of the gods mixture. This is a crucial part of the baklava - it's the source of a lot of the flavor and all the sticky sweetness. In a saucepan, combine butter, honey, sugar, water and vanilla until it comes to a boil. Reduce to low and let simmer for about 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside until the baklava is done baking.

Once the baklava is done baking, drizzle the honey syrup all over the top and let it seep into all the nooks and crannies. Then comes the hardest step...waiting for it to cool! It's actually very important to let it sit uncovered for several hours so that the honey syrup can set and all the flavors meld together.

I was able to follow these directions and wait to dig into the baklava until my guests had arrived (but man, it was hard). During the evening, I learned that one of my friends had studied abroad in Greece and she said this baklava reminded her of the ones that her host mother would make. Wow....such high praise!

I ended up making a few modifications from the original recipe. First, I toasted the nuts. Second, I increased the cinnamon from 1 tsp to 1 Tbsp. Lastly, I reduced the amount of honey from 2 cups to about 1 1/2 cup (a 12 oz bottle). I think these changes allowed for each of the ingredients to distinctly shine through without overpowering the others. O-YUM-G!

Here's the full recipe:

BAKLAVA

For the nut/phyllo layers:

2 cups pistachios
2 cups pecans
1 Tbsp cinnamon
6 Tbsp butter, melted
1 package phyllo dough, thawed

For the honey syrup mixture:

1 stick of butter
12 oz bottle honey (approx. 1 1/3 cup)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1 Tbsp vanilla

Toast nuts and place in bowl of food processor with the cinnamon. Pulse a few times until evenly chopped into small bits. Set aside.

Melt the butter. Take two sheets of phyllo dough and place on a clean surface. (Remember to cover the remaining dough with plastic and the damp cloth!) Brush the melted butter on the top layer of dough and place in a greased 9x13 pan, buttered side down. Grab another two sheets of dough, butter the top layer and place in the pan, again, buttered side down. Repeat this process again; you'll now have six total layers of dough (three of them buttered).

Sprinkle a handful or two of nuts evenly over the phyllo dough. Take another two sheets of phyllo dough, butter the top layer, place in pan (buttered side down) and again sprinkle nuts over the top. Repeat until all the nuts are used. Top with six sheets of dough, adding in batches of two, with the top layer buttered. Brush a final coat of butter over the top.

Pre-cut the baklava with a sharp knife into either diamonds or squares

Bake the baklava in a 350 oven for 45 minutes or until a deep golden brown.

While the baklava is baking, combine butter, honey, sugar, water and vanilla in a saucepan until it comes to a boil. Reduce to low and let simmer for about 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside until the baklava is done baking.

Once the baklava is done baking, drizzle the honey syrup all over the top and let it seep into all the nooks and crannies. Let sit uncovered for several hours.

Yields 24 pieces.

Recipe adapted from The Pioneer Woman

Peanut Butter Oreo Cheesecakes

April 27, 2014 by Libby Harrison in desserts

So yesterday was my good friend Rebecca's birthday and I was in the mood to bake (shocker, I know). I asked her if she had any requests, or flavor favorites (or flavorites?) and she mentioned something chocolate or peanut butter or coffee (which she said in jest since she knows I dislike all things coffee). So I said, Challenge Accepted!

I began to think of some ideas that included both chocolate and peanut butter...maybe cookies, maybe cupcakes and then I remembered these individual Oreo turtle cheesecakes I had made a few weeks ago, that were incredible. I only needed to make some modifications and we'd have our something chocolate and something peanut butter! The other reason I liked this idea is because this recipe is super easy to put together and I already had all the ingredients - so no special trip to the grocery store!

The concept is this: use a whole Oreo cookie as your crust, quickly whip up your filling, add your toppings and bake for 15 minutes. That's it!

So let's get started. First, gather all the ingredients. Line a muffin pan with muffin liners and place a whole Oreo in the bottom of each liner.

Then you mix your filling ingredients all up in a bowl. The batter will be pretty thick.

Scoop the filling on top of each Oreo - once again, I used my trusty #40 scoop to portion out the filling. You may need to press down the filling a bit to get it to spread completely over the cookie.

For the topping, I chose mini Reese's peanut butter cups (no unwrapping of foils!) and chopped them up into pieces. And since these were for Rebecca's birthday, I added some chocolate sprinkles to make them extra festive and made a special rainbow sprinkled one for the birthday girl.

Then it was into the oven for these guys for 15 minutes at 325. Then just let them cool and then refrigerate until chilled. When I served them at the party, I added a little sea salt caramel sauce drizzle to give them that little somethin' somethin'. And they were a hit! The birthday girl loved them and she lived happily ever after (or something like that)!

Here's the full recipe:

PEANUT BUTTER OREO CHEESECAKES

12 Oreo cookies
1 8-oz package cream cheese, room temperature
1 egg
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup peanut butter, smooth
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup chopped Reese's peanut butter cups
1/4 cup caramel sauce (optional)

Preheat oven to 325. Line a muffin pan with muffin liners and place one Oreo in the bottom of each tin. In a large bowl, mix cream cheese, egg, sugar, peanut butter and vanilla until blended and smooth. Scoop out cheesecake filling across the cookies evenly. Sprinkle chopped peanut butter cups over each cheesecake. Bake in oven for 15 minutes or until cheesecakes are set. Bring to room temperature. Unwrap cheesecakes from their paper linings and refrigerate until chilled. When ready to serve, arrange on a plate and drizzle caramel sauce over the top.

Yields 12 individual cheesecakes.

Note: To make the original Oreo Turtle Cheesecakes, omit the peanut butter in the batter. Before baking, sprinkle chopped toasted pecans and mini chocolate chips over each cheesecake. Before serving, drizzle caramel sauce over top.