Bread pudding is a great dessert because it is fairly easy to make and is a great way to use up a half loaf of leftover bread that is just a touch past its prime. That said, it’s also delicious enough that I’ve been known to run out to the store to buy a fresh loaf just to make some.

Most bread puddings have a custardy base made of milk and/or cream and eggs, similar to the mixture that french toast is soaked in before cooking it. For this bread pudding, I wanted to try something a little different and added some cream cheese into the basic custard mixture, adding a little bit of that tangy cream cheese flavor to the dish. I was inspired to give this a try when, during a dinner out, one of my dining companions just couldn’t decide between a mini cheesecake and homemade bread pudding We ended up getting both for the table and splitting them, and it was apparent that the textures and flavors would be very complementary, as both are often creamy and mild desserts on their own.

The finished bread pudding tasted like a very mild cheesecake, with just a hint of cream cheese flavor mixed in with a strong vanilla flavor, and had a slightly firmer texture than some of the softer bread puddings I’ve tried. The cream cheese blended in very well into the rest of the milk-egg mixture and had no problems being absorbed by the bread cubes that make up the base of this dessert. I would opt for white bread, or a bread like challah or brioche for this pudding, as a whole grain bread will add enough of its own flavor that the dessert will loose some of its cheesecake essence (although it will still be rich and tasty).

Since this is a fairly plain bread pudding, I would serve it with a few spoonfuls of cream anglaise or other custard sauce, or pair it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. If you opt for the ice cream route, serve the bread pudding warm. Otherwise, it is good both warmed and at room temperature.
(more…)

I suspect that one of the reasons that pancakes are usually kept fairly simple - plain or buttermilk seem to make up the vast majority of pancake recipes - is that pancakes are such a great way of serving maple syrup. It’s easy to save the bulk of the flavor for the syrup. But it is also easy to infuse a little more flavor into basic pancakes and doing so only improves breakfast, making the pancakes a little more interesting.

These pancakes get a little flavor boost from the addition of brown sugar. I used a bit more sugar than I typically would in a pancake recipe to bring it out, so the resulting pancakes are sweet and fluffy, as well as very soft and tender. They really are on the cake-like side of the pancake spectrum, and are all the more delicious for it. Still, the brown sugar flavor is relatively subtle on its own, if you want to take the time to make a batch of regular pancakes (as I did!), it is easy to see how much the flavor really stands out when you compare these to a plainer version.

To enhance the flavor even more, I made up a special syrup to serve these pancakes with. The syrup is a mixture of brown sugar, butter and real maple syrup. It tastes vaguely like pralines, and does a wonderful job of bringing out the brown sugar flavor - as well as the flavor from the butter - in the pancakes. It is best served warm, as the sugar may crystallize if the syrup sits too long at room temperature.

Both the syrup and the pancake recipe can be halved quite easily if you don’t want to make a big batch.
(more…)

Passion fruit, also sometimes written as passionfruit, is one of the best smelling fruits out there. Ripe fruit has a stong, sweet, floral scent that just makes you feel as though you’re somewhere tropical. More often than not, the passion fruits sold in US markets are a bit on the dry side, so I’m always thrilled when I can get my hands on some fresh, plump fruits. The two that inspired this batch of curd came from a friend who grows them.

The curd is made the same way as a lemon curd or a lime curd, using the juice of the passion fruit and combining it with sugar and eggs. Passion fruits usually have a fair amount of tart juice to give off when you cut into them, and you can extract some more by pressing the seeds and pulp through a strainer. I like to reserve the seeds and stir some in at the end of the curd-making process, and I do it for the same reasons that most passion fruit recipes do. It’s partially because the seeds are a dead-giveaway for the passion fruit flavor, but also because the black seeds at a nice contrasting color and texture to the mix.

If the scones in the picture look familiar, it’s because I served this curd with the coconut scones I posted the recipe for earlier this week. The combination of the coconut and passion fruit made for a very tropical treat. The passion fruit will go with many other dishes, from pancakes and waffles, to scones and muffins of almost any flavor. You can use it in place of lemon curd in tarts, cupcakes and cookies, as well.

(more…)

A curd is a thick, sweet-tart type of sauce that is typically made with citrus juice, eggs and butter. It is known for being rich in flavor, with a very silky texture. I call it a sauce for lack of a better category, as curds are much thicker than most sauces (rather pudding-like).

This version of a curd almost doesn’t fit the description above at all. It uses no eggs, no butter and only a minimal amount of citrus. My curd is strawberry-based and is a great way to use up a lot of end-of-season fruits in an interesting way. It has the thick, smooth texture of a regular curd and it’s vegan. I was inspired after seeing the vegan mango curd at Buttermilk and Pinecones. Curds that are based with a fruit other than citrus are uncommon (and I love mango), but since I’ve made curd-like puddings that happen to be vegan before myself, it didn’t surprise me too much that the idea would work so beautifully.

This recipe is quite easy and requires very few ingredients. It starts with fresh strawberries which are pureed with sugar, then added to a lime juice (lemon can be used) and cornstarch mixture. The cornstarch is the thickening element of this curd, while eggs are the thickening element of a traditional curd. This isn’t really all that surprising a substitution, since cornstarch is frequently used as an egg replacer (or partial egg replacer) in other vegan recipes. It actually works out especially well, since there is no additional flavor (the egg) to detract from the strawberries. The taste of fresh berries is definitely the star here and the lime juice just adds a nice accent to brighten it up.

The texture is perhaps a tiny bit less smooth than that of a curd which uses juice, as opposed to a fruit puree. I strained my curd twice -once going into the saucepan and once coming out - to try and get as smooth a texture as possible. I know someone will ask if this can be made with frozen strawberries, but I must admit that I think it will turn out best with fresh berries. They’ll have a more vibrant color and probably a better flavor. If you try to use frozen berries, be sure to defrost them completely before working with them.

(more…)

Lemon curd is a thick and custardy combination of lemon juice, sugar, eggs and butter. It typically has a silky smooth texture and a bright, zesty flavor. It goes well with scones - especially as a contrast to buttery clotted cream - and is often used as a cake filling, tart filling or as a sauce or side for other desserts. For a citrus lover, few things are tastier.

Lemon curd tastes so good that it’s hard to stop at only a few bites. Unfortunately, the rich consistency of lemon curd primarily comes from fat and, although the zest of the lemon makes the curd taste lighter, most versions are far from health food and you really shouldn’t overindulge - especially if you’re serving the curd alongside butter and cream-based traditional scones, as well.

In Chocolate and the Art of Low Fat Desserts (sadly out of print, but often available used), Alice Medrich includes a recipe for a lightened up lemon curd that is absolutely fantastic. I’ve been making it for years and, happily, don’t feel too bad if I eat half the batch in one go. The curd has a silky smooth texture and great lemon flavor. In fact, it is much brighter than many lemon curds I’ve had. The recipe is easy to make as long as you have one or two fresh lemons around. I’ve also adapted it to make lime curd before with great success. (more…)

Apples are not the first fruit I think of to go into bread pudding. For some reason, things like cherries, raspberries and especially various dried fruits seem like more obvious choices to me, despite the popularity of the apple as a baking fruit. They are softer and, in the case of dried fruit, more absorbent. Both seem like better matches for a custardy and tender bread pudding than a crisp-tender baked apple. But I am not one to let minor culinary prejudices get in my way when I have an idea in my head and when the combination of bourbon and apples called to me, I decided to try them in a bread pudding together instead of going with a standby apple dessert, such as a cobbler, pie or crisp.

And I’m certainly glad I gave this particular dessert a try because it turned out better than I had hoped - and I think it converted me to someone who likes apple in bread pudding! The apples were lightly caramelized before being mixed into the custard and bread mixture that is the base of the pudding, which gave them a bit of extra time to soften up before the dessert went into the oven. The fruit ended up with that perfect crisp-tender texture that you want in a baking apple and added a nice contrast to the very soft bread pudding base.

Apple and bourbon always make a good combination - particularly when cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla are also tossed into the mix - so the flavor of this dish was delicious. I used a fairly plain and soft white bread (store bought, sandwich-sliced potato bread, to be exact) and I did not bother to “stale” my bread, since I don’t find that doing so makes a big impact on the outcome of the pudding. The dessert will be slightly more indulgent if you use a butter and/or egg rich bread, like brioche or challah. Cinnamon swirl bread would be a pretty good choice, too.

Serve warm, either plain or with ice cream. If you want to take it really over the top, though, mix up a bit of the butterscotch sauce I made and spoon it on while hot. It’s not as thick as anything you’ll find at the ice cream parlor, but the flavor is great and it really makes this dish addictive. (more…)