Thursday, March 24, 2011

Belated St. Patrick's Day

In my family, growing up St. Patrick's Day equaled Grandpa's birthday so I've never been all that into it especially since this year, he turned 90!  That milestone was a much bigger highlight of the month for me.  Unfortunately, I wasn't home in Hawaii to celebrate with him but I hope he knows just how much I love and respect him.  I hope he lives past 100.  But I know he'll only do it if my grandma stays healthy and sharp.  He always says that he has to die before she does.  He wouldn't know how to live without her.  Now that's love!  I always say that one day I aspire to be like my grandparents.  I can only hope to be so lucky.

Anyway, even though St. Patrick's Day has always been more about his birthday than shamrocks and green beer, I tried out a few recipes for kicks.  I'm always the mad scientist after all.

First up is some homemade Baileys Irish Cream.  I followed the recipe but it asked for A LOT of whiskey and reeked of liquor.  But it still made for a tasty Irish Cream Cake, which is basically a yellow bundt cake made with Irish cream covered in an Irish Cream glaze.  The glaze looks uneven because I brushed it on instead of pouring it so lesson learned for next time.  But it's my first bundt!


Second up are some Guinness stout chocolate cupcakes with an Irish Cream buttercream frosting.  Simple to make but the flavors are really defined.  I'm not a huge fan of beer flavored cake but if you are, this cake is for you.  Moist.




Last up are some oatmeal scones.  Not sure that they're very Irish but it felt of that part of the world so I made some anyway.  Plus, I have quick cooking oats that I'm trying to get rid of so it was a good way to experiment.  They turned out nice and crisp on the outside with a great texture overall.  The only problem is I was all set to make blueberry scones except...I forgot to add the blueberries.  I didn't remember until they were already in the oven for 15 minutes.  Whoops.  Oh well, they still tasted great!

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Class 2 Homework ~ Croissant Bread Pudding ~


My coworker H has this amazing neighbor who owns a bakery/chocolate store.  This neighbor likes to leave leftover croissants on H's doorstep so they don't go to waste.  Free croissants!  But since one can only eat so many at once, they often go straight to the freezer.  When H told me about this wonderful phenomenon that occurred every so often, I half jokingly said that if she ever gave me some, I would make a croissant bread pudding for her.

Flakey on top, moist on the bottom.

A couple of months passed after our initial conversation and I almost forgot about it until one day, H appeared with a paper bag full of huge croissants! I immediately went home and baked them into a bread pudding since it was the perfect opportunity for me to do some "homework."



I ate one for dinner too, to taste.  Hey, I have to know what I'm baking with right?  It was still pretty flaky on the outside and with a couple minutes in the toaster oven, it was the perfect texture.  Very flavorful too.  Quite impressive for a bakery in Los Angeles.


Croissanty!

I used my standard recipe.  Super easy but delicious and as always, I added some brandy.  The brandy is really what seals the deal on the deliciousness of this recipe.  But don't add more than the recipe calls for otherwise you will get a very alcoholic pudding, which is fine if you plan on serving it in place of a cocktail but as a dessert, not recommended.  Trust me.  I made another bread pudding shortly after this one and added extra brandy thinking more is better.  More is better when it comes to money.  And presents.  But not brandy in bread pudding!



Bread Pudding


1/2 loaf French bread or Challah, cubed (or in this case, an equivalent amount of croissants)
1 cup milk
2 cups cream
3 eggs
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
zest from 1/2 orange
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup raisins soaked in 1/2 cup brandy
(if you don't like raisins, omit them but still add 1/4 cup brandy for flavor)

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Butter a round or square baking dish.  Either 8" or 9" will work.  I suggest lining it with parchment too since raisins will stick to the bottom.  It's not as big of an issue if you aren't using raisins though.

2. In a large bowl, whisk eggs, milk, cream, sugar, cinnamon, zest, and vanilla extract.  Add cubed bread and stir to combine.  Note: you don't have to actually cube the bread with a knife.  You can just tear it into smallish pieces. 

3. Add raisins and brandy and stir to combine.  Let sit until the bread has soaked up the liquid mixture and become soggy.

4. Pour into the baking dish and place on the middle rack of the oven.  Bake until browned and set, about 1 hour.  Once cool, unmold the pudding and cut into squares.

I personally prefer it chilled but you can definitely eat it warm.  My style is to stick the cut pieces in the fridge and about 5-10 minutes before consumption, I pull a piece out and let it sit on the counter to warm up just a tad.  Best.  Ever.