Showing posts sorted by date for query bread pudding. Sort by relevance Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by date for query bread pudding. Sort by relevance Show all posts
I think bread pudding has to be one of the most comforting desserts you can enjoy, especially during the winter months, when the thermometer is dipping down low and we want something to warm us up.
Often in day gone by it would be a common dessert served for school dinners. This was not only because it was fairly economical, but also because it made great use of stale bread so that there was no waste.
One of the nice things about it is that you can use just about any bread or even stale cake to make it. Croissants, brioche, French bread, etc. even donuts!
Yes, you heard that right, donuts! And it doesn't matter what kind of donuts you have, so long as they are plain. They can be yeast or they can be cake. Today I happened to have some stale cake donuts and so I used them with excellent results.
If you don't have stale donuts, just take some donuts and leave them sitting out on the countertop over night. They will be perfect for this pudding at that point.
You will be slicing the donuts in half horizontally through the middle and filling them with jam. You can use any kind of jam which you enjoy. Today I used cherry.
But any kind of jam will work, even lemon curd. Its whatever you happen to enjoy or have on hand.
I love these old fashioned types of puddings. They never go out of fashion. As enjoyable today in the early 21st century as they were in the early 20th or 19th, or dare I say it, 18th.
They are timeless. Do note that this is a small batch recipe. To feed more than three people simply double the amount of ingredients.
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE DONUT & JAM BREAD PUDDING
Its simple really.
- 3 stale donuts (either cake or yeast) (cake will give you a softer finish)
- 1 large free range egg, plus 1 egg yolk
- pinch salt
- 3 tsp your favorite jam (today I used cherry)
- 1/4 cup (50g) sugar
- 1 1/4 cups (300ml) whole milk
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- few drops almond extract (goes wonderfully with fruit)
- 2 or 3 TBS flaked almonds
- sugar to sprinkle
- boiling water
Seriously nothing is more comforting than this pudding.
I can hear people thinking, who has leftover or stale donuts? Well, if you happen to live by yourself as I do, or if you are only two people in your household, then it is quite likely that you do!
We can get these lovely donuts here in Nova Scotia. Mrs Dunster's donuts and they are lovely. Just like the ones grandma used to bake, but they come in a bag holding one dozen, and that's how I end up with stale donuts.
I know . . . I should just freeze them!
HOW TO MAKE DONUT & JAM BREAD PUDDING
Seriously nothing could be easier. You really cannot mess this up, unless you make the mistake of overbaking it.
You want to take it out of the oven while there is still a slight jiggle in the center, but even if you happen to over cook it, it will still be deliciously edible.
Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. You will need a small casserole dish large enough to hold the doughnuts, halved snugly together, and a larger casserole dish large enough to hold the smaller dish. Butter the small one.
Whisk the eggs, sugar, salt, vanilla and almond together in a bowl.
Warm the milk over medium heat in a small saucepan just until there are bubbles around the edges. (You can also do this in the microwave, about 1 1/2 minutes.)
Slowly whisk the warm milk into the egg and sugar mixture until well amalgamated.
Cut the donuts in half through the middle horizontally. Sandwich each donut back together with a tsp of jam in the middle and then cut into two crosswise. Place the donut arches into the smaller of the casserole dishes, fitting them in next to each other. Mine fit into my dish in two rows of three halves.
Pour the egg custard over top. Place the filled casserole dish into the larger casserole dish and pour in boiling water making sure that it comes halfway up the side of the smaller dish.
Sprinkle the flaked almonds over top and then sprinkle with a bit of granulated sugar.
Pop the whole lot into the preheated oven and bake for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the custard is set. (A knife inserted near the center should come out clean.)
Sprinkle with some icing sugar and serve warm.
And that's it. Your dessert is ready. This is beautiful served warm. I like to dust the top with just a bit of icing sugar to pretty it up. Its soft and indulgent, rich even.
The outside is a bit crisp both from where the donuts crisp up a bit on top and from the flaked almonds. The middles nice and sweet from the jam.
Of course the British way to eat this is spooned into a bowl with some cream or custard poured around and drizzled over top. In North America you might be more inclined to enjoy it with a scoop of ice cream.
The fact is, you will enjoy it. No matter what you spoon over top, even if you don't spoon anything on at all. Yummity yum!!
Donut & Jam Bread Pudding
Yield: 3
Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 30 MinTotal time: 45 Min
This is comfort food pure and simple and a great way to use up stale donuts.
Ingredients
- 3 stale donuts (either cake or yeast)
- 1 large free range egg, plus 1 egg yolk
- pinch salt
- 3 tsp your favorite jam (I used cherry)
- 1/4 cup (50g) sugar
- 1 1/4 cups (300ml) whole milk
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- few drops almond extract
- 2 or 3 TBS flaked almonds
- sugar to sprinkle
- boiling water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. You will need a small casserole dish large enough to hold the doughnuts, halved snugly together, and a larger casserole dish large enough to hold the smaller dish. Butter the small one.
- Whisk the eggs, sugar, salt, vanilla and almond together in a bowl.
- Warm the milk over medium heat in a small saucepan just until there are bubbles around the edges. (You can also do this in the microwave, about 1 1/2 minutes.)
- Slowly whisk the warm milk into the egg and sugar mixture until well amalgamated.
- Cut the donuts in half through the middle horizontally. Sandwich each donut back together with a tsp of jam in the middle and then cut into two crosswise. Place the donut arches into the smaller of the casserole dishes, fitting them in next to each other. Mine fit into my dish in two rows of three halves.
- Pour the egg custard over top. Place the filled casserole dish into the larger casserole dish and pour in boiling water making sure that it comes halfway up the side of the smaller dish.
- Sprinkle the flaked almonds over top and then sprinkle with a bit of granulated sugar.
- Pop the whole lot into the preheated oven and bake for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the custard is set. (A knife inserted near the center should come out clean.)
- Sprinkle with some icing sugar and serve warm.
Thank you!!
I had some over-ripe bananas that needed using up and so I decided to make a banana bread with them. I have baked many banana breads on here, all of them very good. Today I decided to go back to my tried, true and trusted recipe.
It is a recipe from my old Purity Cook Book. This is a cookbook I have had since the late 1970's. It has withstood the test of time and traveled with me all over the world.
How can you tell that a cookbook is a good one. Other than trying the recipes you can tell a cookbook is a really good one by looking at it. If it's all tattered and torn . . . if the pages are all splattered with time.
The pages well worn and almost falling apart . . . then you know that you have a winner of a cookbook on your hands. This book is a winner of a cookbook.
I have been baking this particular banana bread for about 40 years now. It has no bells and whistles. It is not overly sweet. Its quite plain.
It is moist and delicious however, filled with lots of banana flavor and plenty of chopped nuts. In short, a real winner of a banana bread.
Another one of my favorite banana breads is the Sour Cream Banana Loaf I always baked for the Mr. when I worked at the Manor.
He loved it sliced and toasted until golden brown and spread with oodles of sweet butter. Another good banana bread recipe I bake is this one which comes from a cookbook called Bread by Dean Brettschneider. It has oats scattered across the top.
I also have a few smaller recipes such as this Banana Nut Loaf for Two. It is perfectly sized for the smaller family.
This Marbled Banana Bread is also a real favorite. It is a Cooking Light Recipe and is marbled through with ribbons of chocolate batter. Yum!!
As I said up top, this banana bread has no bells and whistles. There is nothing spectacular about it. Its just a simple banana bread.
And you are going to love it. I can promise you. If you are a fan of simple things, then you will be a fan of this.
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE BANANA NUT BREAD
Ordinary simple kitchen ingredients. Nothing spectacular outside of the ripe bananas.
- 2 cups (280g) all purpose plain flour
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup (60g) finely chopped nuts
- 1 large free range egg, lightly beaten
- 3/4 cup (180ml) milk
- 1/4 cup (60ml) vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 cups (3 bananas) mashed bananas (very ripe)
The right kind of bananas you need for a banana bread are bananas that have gone past their best eating stage. You want a banana with a skin that is well peppered with brown discolorations. The browner the better.
The riper the banana the sweeter it is. Don't ever throw an over-ripe banana away! They are perfect for baking with! Cakes, loaves, cookies . . .
HOW TO MAKE BANANA NUT BREAD
Preheat the oven to 350*F/ 180*C/ gas mark 4. Butter a 9 X 5 X 3 inch loaf tin and line with baking paper with an overhang on two sides for ease of lifting out the baked loaf.
Whisk the flour, soda, baking powder, sugar and salt together in a bowl. Stir in the nuts. (You can toast the nuts first if you wish.
To toast them, spread your nuts out on a baking sheet and pop them into a moderate oven. (350*F/180*C) 8 to 10 minutes will do it. Let cool before using.
Whisk together the mashed banana, milk, oil, and egg. Add to the dry ingredients and mix both together just to combine. Batter will be lumpy.
Turn into the prepared pan. Smooth the top and run a knife down the middle.
This is a really good, simple banana bread. I love to enjoy it cut into thick slices and spread with butter. Real butter. I am betting it would also be great spread with Nutella, if you like Nutella.
Toasted, spread with butter or creamed honey. Again, delicious.
Because the bread is not overly sweet any number of toppings go very well with it. It also goes great in a bread pudding if it happens to go stale. You can sprinkle chocolate chips amongst the bread for this lush dessert. Its fabulous served warm with some vanilla ice cream on top!
In any case the next time you have some ripe bananas that need using up I highly recommend this simple Banana Nut bread. You can't go wrong!
Banana Nut Bread
Yield: 1 (9 X 5 X 3) loaf
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 1 H & 10 MTotal time: 1 H & 20 M
Delicious old fashioned. No bells and whistles. Not too sweet. Just perfect.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (280g) all purpose plain flour
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup (60g) finely chopped nuts
- 1 large free range egg, lightly beaten
- 3/4 cup (180ml) milk
- 1/4 cup (60ml) vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 cups (3 bananas) mashed bananas
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350*F/ 180*C/ gas mark 4. Butter a 9 X 5 X 3 inch loaf tin and line with baking paper with an overhang on two sides for ease of lifting out the baked loaf.
- Whisk the flour, soda, baking powder, sugar and salt together in a bowl. Stir in the nuts.
- Whisk together the mashed banana, milk, oil, and egg. Add to the dry ingredients and mix both together just to combine. Batter will be lumpy.
- Turn into the prepared pan. Smooth the top and run a knife down the middle.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 65 to 70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean.
This is my quality control guy. I think he's pretty special, don't you? Hello Nutmeg!
I love my Tea Bag Holder. It was a Christmas gift from my friend Paula. She knows I love bees and I just adore this! So pretty! Thanks Paula! xo
All of the content you see here on this page, both photography and written, are the sole property of The English Kitchen, Marie Rayner. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at mariealicejoan at aol dot com.
Hi everyone! I thought it would be really fun today to share a few simple ideas and recipes for desserts for the holidays. These are all very easy desserts to make. Delicious and yet uncomplicated!
You know me, I am all about getting in and out of the kitchen as quickly as I can with the least amount of mess and fuss necessary. We are all very busy during the holiday season but we all also want to serve food that looks and tastes good to our families!
These desserts are perfect for this time of year. Simple to make. Most can be made ahead of time and all are quite delicious. Whether you choose to serve them on the festive day itself or on the days surrounding the big day, one thing is certain, everyone of these is engineered for your utmost pleasure and enjoyment!!!
PEAR AND GINGER TRIFLE - This is a really simple dessert to make. You can increase the numbers or decrease very easily as desired. You want to use a good store bought ginger cake/loaf for this.
Layered with tinned pears, Eau de Vie (pear brandy, optional), custard and whipped cream. It doesn't get tastier or easier than this simple dessert.
SALTED CARAMEL PAVLOVA - I think Pavlova's have to be one of the easiest desserts going! This one is no exception. Its incredibly lush and rich and delicious.
With its crisp meringue base with that lovely marshmallow-like insides, topped with billowing whipped cream and topped with a mix of caramel and chocolate drizzles as well as caramelized almonds, this simple dessert elicits oohs and aahs every time I serve it!
MINCEMEAT AND APPLE PUDDING - A layer of sweet cooked apple is topped with a rich mincemeat cake batter prior to baking to perfection.
Served warm with either warm custard sauce, lashings of heavy cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream, this always goes down a real treat!
BABY STICKY TOFFEE PUDDING CAKES - This is a personal favorite and something I baked often for dinner parties when I cooked at the Manor.
One of the reasons I love it so much is that you can totally bake the cakes ahead of time, simply napping them with the sticky toffee sauce and reheating when it is time to serve. Of course you will want to serve lashings of cream with these for the ultimate taste experience!
CHRISTMAS GINGERBREAD ROLL - What could be nicer than a sweet spiced gingerbread cake rolled around a lush lemon and cream filling.
Your kitchen will SMELL like Christmas while the cake part is baking. Don't let the idea of making a rolled cake intimidate you. This is very easy to make and soooo delicious!
FESTIVE APPLE DUMPLINGS WITH SPICED CREME ANGLAISE - Mincemeat stuffed apples are baked in a wrapping of puff pastry until nice and soft.
Served warm with a lush spicy custard sauce, these always go down a real treat, and they are very simple to make as well. These are simply beautiful.
CHRISTMAS PUDDING SUNDAES - Crumbled Christmas pudding, warmed up with some mulled wine and layered in glass dishes with a good Vanilla Ice cream. Toasted almonds are sprinkled on top.
Don't let the simplicity of this fool you into thinking its not something special!
VANILLA, LEMON & CARDAMOM PUDDING - Something incredibly beautiful happens to a simple vanilla pudding when you add the flavours of cardamom and lemon. It becomes WOW!
Served with a waffle cookie or two and this is a really special dessert that you can totally make ahead of time as you wish. The less stress involved on the day the better I say!
VANILLA SAUCED BREAD PUDDING - This is a delicious pudding. Its studded with plenty of fruit and nuts.
Included is the recipe for a deliciously rich vanilla sauce which you spoon over when serving. Recipe can be doubled easily.
TRADITIONAL ENGLISH TRIFLE - This is what I think I am making this year. My family have never had it and I think its something they would enjoy!
You can totally make it the day ahead, ready to serve, chilled from the refrigerator on the day. I have never had anyone turn down a bowl of this!
So there you have it. Ten deliciously perfect desserts to serve during the holidays, be it on the big day itself, or just a day when you have cause for celebration! All simple and easy to make. All very festive, and all delicious! It doesn't get much better than this!
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again!
When I first moved over to the UK in the year 2000 I was thinking I was moving to an English speaking country and that things would not really be all that different. Oh how wrong I was.
Nothing would ever be the same for the next 20 years! And I say that in the nicest possible way! It was not just the accent that was different. Things had totally different names and the foods and traditions were vastly different than what I had grown up and lived with throughout my whole life.
I have to say that I came to embrace and love everything and there are many, many things that I am missing and will continue to miss in the coming years. The UK really holds a special place in my heart and always will.
One thing which I loved and totally embraced were their Christmas foods and traditions! The Christmas Cake, Christmas Pudding and Mince Pies were only a very small part of it all!
I adored the Christmas dinner, with Christmas Crackers, funny hats, jokes around the table and all the fixings. The dishes served in some ways were very similar to what I was used to eating at Christmas in Canada, but at the same time very different!!
Nobody does Christmas like the British. The whole month is a beautiful feast for the eyes, ears and palate! I really miss it.
To that end I decided to cook myself a little mini Christmas Dinner in the British Tradition, sized perfectly for two, with turkey, roast potatoes, sausage stuffing balls, pigs in blankets, parsnips, sprouts and all the other trimmings!! Minus the crackers, party hats and jokes, sigh . . .
And the whole thing was cooked in pretty much an hour and a half and all on one tray for the most part! It was also delicious and very much enjoyed by myself. I am really going enjoy the leftovers today!
If you are only one or two and are up for it, or for trying something totally new this year follow along!
I had bought a couple of bone-in, skin-on split turkey breasts back in October. I cooked one then and I used one yesterday.
(source)
It weighed .588kg/1 1/4 pounds. The perfect size for just two people and took approximately 45 minutes according to the above chart.
To prepare it I placed it onto a baking sheet, patted it dry with some paper towels, rubbed it all over with butter, and seasoned it with salt, pepper and some Bell's seasoning.
I had preheated my oven to 375*F/190*C/gas mark 5. I popped it onto a foil lined baking sheet and added some potatoes for roasting at the side.
I used one large baking potato, which I had peeled and cut into large chunks. I par-boiled these chunks for 5 minutes in boiling water and then drained them really well, returned them to the saucepan. Banged them about a little bit, drizzled with about 1 TBS of oil, turning them to coat them.
These then got added to the end of the baking tray and I popped the whole thing into the oven.
While that was roasting, I got on with the business of preparing the remaining sides and turkey garnishes which is what the pigs in blankets and sausage stuffing balls, etc. are often called.
One thing you will note is that the British Christmas Dinner, or Christmas Lunch as it is also called is very heavy on the meat. Typically there is sausage meat in the stuffing and there are pigs in blankets (chipolata sausages wrapped in bacon) served on the side as a tasty garnish.
In fact you will often find that the turkey itself, if being roasted as a whole, will be blanketed with bacon strips to help to prevent the breast meat from drying out.
The stuffing is an easy one to make. I used Delia Smiths recipe from her book, Delia Smith's Complete Cookery Course, the classic edition, for Pork Sage and Onion stuffing.
Of course I had to cut it back substantially as the original made enough to stuff a 12 to 14 lb. turkey! I did not quite need that much!
Pork, Sage & Onion Stuffing
Yield: 2 - 3
This is a small portion designed to serve only a few people. It lacks none of the deliciousness of the full version!
Ingredients
- 1/2 a largish stale Ciabatta roll (70g) (The roll was 6 inches square in size)
- 2 fat banger sausages, skinned (about 1/3 pound/about 115g)
- 1/2 cooking onion, peeled and minced
- 1 TBS dried sage leaves
- salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Make your bread into coarse crumbs. Place into a bowl along with the onion and sage and some seasoning. Mix together well and add about 2 TBS of hot water.
- Add the sausage meat and mix well together with your hands. The mixture should hold together well. If you find it is crumbly or falling apart, you can add a tiny bit more water or an egg yolk.
- Shape into balls using wet hands.
Once I had made the stuffing and shaped it into balls, I set them aside on a plate. It made about six 2 inch balls.
I then got on with making the pigs in blankets.
Pigs in Blankets
Yield: 2 - 3
This is a small portion designed to serve only a few people. It lacks none of the deliciousness of the full version!
Ingredients
- 6 chipolata sausages (in North American use breakfast sausage links)
- 3 slices of streaky smoked bacon, cut in half crosswise
Instructions
- Once you have cut your bacon in half crosswise, stretch each piece a bit and wrap one piece around each sausage link. Place onto the plate/oven tray seam side down.
These were also placed on a plate and then I popped the plate into the refrigerator to keep the meat chilled while I prepped the other vegetables.
I trimmed the brussels sprouts and cut them in half.
I peeled one carrot, one parsnip and a 1-inch thick slice of a small rutabaga/swede/turnip. I cut each vegetable into evenly sized batons/sticks, and then par-boiled them in some boiling water for about 5 minutes.
I then tossed them together with 1/2 TBS honey, 1/2 TBS melted butter and the finely grated zest of 1/2 unwaxed lemon. (Or a waxed one scrubbed in warm water. In any case I scrub my lemons anyways.)
I then removed the tray from the oven. I tested the breast meat and it was done. (Internal temp of 165*F/75*C. Note that if you cook it to just short of that (162/73), it will continue to cook while it rests and your meat won't be dried out.)
I set the meat aside, lightly tented and kept warm while the rest of the dinner cooked.
As you can see the potatoes are starting to get a nice golden crust on them. I flipped them over and then added the sausage balls, pigs in blankets and roasting vegetables to the tray, and increased the oven temperature to 400*F/200*C/ Gas mark 6.
I then returned the tray to the oven to cook at the higher temperature for about 35 minutes, flipping everything over halfway through the cook time.
While they were cooking I got on with making the gravy and cooking my brussels sprouts. I used my Perfect Gravy from Scratch recipe, and then steamed my brussels sprouts for about 5 minutes. (They were large and cut in half.) Those I cooked right at the last minute.
The stuffing balls and pigs in blankets were done when no longer pink inside and the vegetables were nicely caramelized as you can see.
You can also see how nice and crispy my roasted potatoes were.
Everything was simply cooked to perfection, and I wasn't long sitting down and enjoying my beautiful traditional British Christmas Dinner/Lunch for Two!!
TIMELINE FOR COOKING THE DINNER
- Place the turkey and prepped potatoes onto a foil lined baking tray. Put the turkey in about 1 1/2 hour prior to you wanting to serve the meal along with the parboiled potatoes for roasting, at 375*F/190*C/ gas mark 5.
- While they are cooking make your sausage stuffing and pigs in blankets. Prep any other vegetables needed.
- Remove the turkey about 45 minutes to one hour later. The exact time will depend on the size of your piece of meat. Remove it, tent and set aside to keep warm.
- Turn over your potatoes. Place the stuffing balls, pigs in blankets and prepped parsnips/carrots and swede the baking tray. Increase the oven temperature to 400*F/200*C/gas mark 6. Return the baking tray to the oven and cook for a further 30 to 35 minutes until everything is cooked through, golden brown and the vegetables are just beginning to caramelize.
- While the stuffing, etc. is cooking make your gravy and then steam your brussels sprouts at the last minute.
- Carve the turkey and serve.
And there you have it! The perfect Traditional British Christmas Dinner, perfectly sized for just two to three people from start to finish.
I have not included the dessert. Most people will have mince pies, Christmas Pudding, Christmas Cake and often a Trifle. You can find my recipe for a Traditional Christmas Trifle here. Its delicious and very traditional. It is also full sized.
For the smaller family I would cut recipe in half, but set it up in individual dessert glasses, You will have enough dessert for two days, but I don't think anyone will be complaining!
All in all this is a lovely meal. I really enjoyed it and am contemplating doing a full sized one for my family come Christmas time. My oldest boy is supposed to come over with his wife and two sons. I am not sure they would appreciate all the extras however, so I will ponder on that!
If you would like full sized recipes for the stuffing or anything else just ask and I will happily give them to you!
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again!
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