Chocolate Chip Fireball Bread Pudding

Hey every body Antoinette here!

With another yummy bread pudding recipe. In fact I like this recipe a bit more then our last one and I'll tell you why. This time we used Challah bread which is a sweet egg bread. The bread itself has honey in it which the yeast feast on and wallah! Beautiful, sweet bread that can be used for French toast, toasted with butter or as we did here, bread pudding.

First let me sing the praise's of bread puddings once more. Bread pudding is a relatively easy crowd pleasing dessert. It can be made with very basic ingredients that your average kitchen has. No odd spices or ingredients that you will probably only ever use once then be pushed to the back of your cabinet to never been seen again. It can be spiked with your favorite liquor/whiskey/rum or just with simple nonalcoholic  extracts. It's a great simple idea for a dinner party all you have to is prepare it beforehand and pop it in the oven before your first course and by the time you're done with your entree, it should be done and ready to be serve warm. No need to go all out with a cake or smancy fruit tart just serve your guest a nice warm ooey gooey plate of this stuff an I'm sure it will please.

 Custard Recipe
-16  fl Oz of whole or half an half
-4  Oz of sugar
-2 whole eggs
-4 egg yolks
-1 Tbsp of vanilla extract

1) Bring milk to a boil with the sugar
2) Whisk eggs and yolks in to a liquid in a large bowl
3) Whisk in boiling milk in a thin stream, this is to prevent cooking the eggs I would recommend to whisk for about 5 minutes
4) Strain in to a clean bowl and stir in vanilla extract

Bread Pudding Recipe
-2 Tbsp of FireBall whiskey (a very smooth cinnamon flavored whiskey) you can switch this out with your own personal favorite
-2 Fl Oz of melted unsalted butter
-Custard mix as seen above
-3 Oz of any style bread you prefer . We chose Challah for this recipe
-1/2 cup of semi sweet chocolate chips

1) Preheat oven to 300 degrees F
2) Cut bread in to small cubes and pour the melted butter over and mix to make sure the bread gets evenly coated
 3) Add the 2 tablespoon of the Fireball whiskey in to the custard mix and stir
4) Place the coasted bread in to the custard mix and let sit for about 10 minutes
5) Place  1/4 of the chocolate chips in a 6x6 baking tray
6) Add the bread mixture to the pan and place it in a water bath . Water should come up about 1/4 to half way of your baking tray.
7) Add the remaining 1/4 of the chocolate chips on top of the bread mixture ,then sprinkle some cinnamon sugar on top to taste
8) Place both in to the over for 45 minutes or till the custard has set.
9) Let rest for 5 to 10 minutes an serve warm or a scoop of ice cream on top.

Creamed Corn Bread

I like doing corn bread and I have made the standard recipe a few times but I like pushing the boundaries a bit and play with the recipe just to see what I can do with it. I have done sweet, I have done savory and this out of pure resourcefulness do to lacking an ingredient from the original recipe, I stumbled upon what as of now I shall call creamy or creamed corn bread. Think of the most delicious,  moist, lightly sweet corn bread but now the texture of a bread pudding.

I was skeptical at first that it wouldn't have come together from the ingredient I had to substitute but it was
surprisingly tasty and everybody enjoyed it, so much so that there wasn't much left for pictures.

Creamy Corn Bread

Ingredients:
1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup yellow corn meal

2/3 cup sugar ( we used 1/3 C granulated and 1/3 C brown)

1 tsp salt

3 1/2 tsp Baking powder

1 cup milk

1 egg

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 Tbsp honey

8 oz (1 cup) cream corn

Procedure:

As simple as it gets. Mix all dry together, mix all wets together,  then add all the wets to the dry until mostly smooth. Place in a loaf pan or muffin pan lightly greased. 

Bake at 350 degree F for 20-25 minutes. Use a cake tester or toothpick at the center. If it comes out clean or with a little bit of crumbs is done.

Chocolate Chunk Mint Scone

Happy St Patrick's Day folks!

Who here enjoyed a nice plate of corn-beef and cabbage? Believe me we did! We also tried the Irish soda bread. I much rather eat it with butter and jelly than with a savory meal.

Now onto why we are here. Today for dessert I made a Chocolate Chunk Mint Scone. Unlike a lot of scones that are dry and super dense, this scone had the perfect balance of sweet, chocolate, mint, and density. It would go very well with a nice glass of cold milk, ice coffee, or regular hot coffee. I would also drink with a nice cup of earl grey tea.

By reading the recipe you might think that it is a lot of chocolate but surprisingly, it wasn't an in your face chocolate which might give you heart burn, it was a good smooth chocolate taste.

For this recipe you will need a stand mixer, scale, dough cutter, sheet pan, and either silicon sheets or parchment paper.

Ingredients:

12 oz All Purpose flour
  1 oz Coco powder
  4 oz Sugar
  1 Tbsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
  3 oz butter
  6 oz Coarsely chopped semisweet chocolate ( I used 60% dark bar)
  1 egg
  6 fl oz milk or buttermilk
   3 drops of Creme'd Ment

Directions: 
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F

1. Add all the dry ingredients in with the butter and mix until it looks like grated Parmesan cheese.
2. Add the egg, mix for 5 seconds. Add the Milk with the mint and mix until it forms a nice sticky consistency around the paddle.
3. Add the Chocolate chunks and mix for 10 seconds for it to incorporate into the dough.
4. In a lightly flowered surface, place dough and knead in any dry ingredients that were left in the bowl.
5. Divide dough into three 11 oz pieces. From each piece into a 5in disk.
6. Divide each disk  into four wedges, milk wash it, place on the sheet pan.
7. Bake for about 10 to 15 minutes. 

Cinnamon Craisin Bread

Hey everyone . Its super cold and snowy in the NYC these days an when I think of something warm and comforting to help me fuel thru the snowy sidewalks left untouched by my inconsiderate neighbors, I think of home made bread! There is nothing like the feel of making your own bread, mixing the ingredients the smell of the yeast coming back to life and growing. I bake many things but nothing warms my house like bread...that might be due to the fact I leave the oven on to help it rise and ferment but y'know what I mean right?

One of my favorite breads to make is a cinnamon raisin loaf  with a crumble topping that is to die for!
Seriously you can put this crumble on almost anything pies, cookies and muffins are my go to for ideas.

So here is the break down of the recipe.

Dough
-Milk   4  ounces
-Water 2 ounces
-Dry Yeast 7 grams
-All purpose flour 1 pound
-Sugar 2.5 ounces
-Salt 3/4  teaspoon
-Whole egg 1

Spread/filling
-Butter melted 2.5 ounces
-Sugar  3 tablespoons
-Cinnamon 2 teaspoons
-Raisins 6 ounces (can be switched out for craisins , yellow raisin etc)

Crumble
-All purpose flour 1and 1/4 ounces
-light brown sugar 2 and 1/2 tablespoons
-Cinnamon 1/2 teasppon
-Butter melted 3/4 ounce
-1 egg white to brush the top of the loaf

Procedure

1. Whisk together yeast, milk, and water and set aside.

2. In a kitchen aid with a paddle, mix all purpose flour, sugar, salt, butter.

3. Add yeast mixture and egg to flour mixture and mix until kneaded.

4. Place in a bowl, cover and ferment. (About 30 to 45 min) or till doubled in size

5. Once fermented, remove from bowl, press dough into a rough rectangular and spread butter, then cinnamon, sugar, and raisins.

6. Fold the 2 ends slightly over and roll tightly from one end to the other, sealing as you go along. Place in a buttered loaf pan seam side down.

 7. Brush with egg white and sprinkle with crumb ingredients that have been mixed together to a rough crumb consistency. Ferment at least another 20-30 min.

8. Once risen, bake at 350-375 degrees F for approx 40 minutes.

 What the crumble should look like.

 The bread will be moist from the swirl in the middle. Also keep in mind as weird as it might sound, some dry fruits produce more moisture than others and have different levels of sweetness.

This bread taste really good toasted with butter and a nice cup of coffee to go with it. Maybe a small slice of toast to go with your oatmeal. Or instead of smearing jelly and butter into a piece of toast to go with your eggs, have a slice from this bread with a little bit of butter. One less thing to have on the table. Maybe smear some peanut butter and skip the jelly.
 Pare this yummy bread with your bread pudding mix and you will have out of this world french toast!

Baker's tips

. If using craisins you might want to roughly chop them first.
. Make sure to roll the dough tightly.

Halloween candy part 2.

In our last blog we talked about how you can utilize the left over Halloween candy and use it to bake with. Well we actually did just that with Twix bars and bread pudding. Now today is your lucky day because this recipe came out so good that we have to share it with all Twix lovers out there.

It is very easy and simple. Prep time will take at least 15 minutes and bake time 45 minutes. It is a bit long because of the method the bread pudding has to cook but the wait is so worth it.

On to the recipe.
Makes 1, 9in Bread pudding      Prep time: 15 min         Bake time: 45 min       Bake Temp: 300 Degrees F

-1 loaf of plain Italian bread cut into small squares.
-16 fl oz (2 Cup) of Half and Half or Whole Milk
-4 oz (1/2 Cup) of sugar.
-2 Large eggs
-4 egg yolks
-1/2 Tsp Vanilla Extract
-4 Twix Bars 

Cooking Method:
1. In a medium sauce pan, bring milk and sugar to a boil, stir occasionally to make sure your milk doesn't scorch on the bottom giving the mixture a burn taste.
2. In a bowl, whisk the eggs and yolks together, set aside.
3. Once the milk comes to a boil, turn off heat and  slowly temper the eggs. Strain after it is tempered. Add Vanilla Extract. ( I will explain what tempering is no worries)
4. In another mixing bowl, put the bread, chopped up candy bars and 1/4 of the custard and mix a bit to coat a good amount of the bread.
5. Place in an 9 in cake pan or disposable pan and pour the rest of the custard mix
6. Place in a water bath and cook for 45 Min.
7. Optional, sprinkle some sugar and cinnamon mixture on top.

*How to temper the eggs with the boiling milk.
To make it easy, grab a kitchen towel and fold it the long way and place it on your counter top or table which ever one is easier making a circle shape and living a small well in the middle. Place the bowl in the middle and it will help hold the bowl for when you whisk the milk into the eggs.

To make sure you don't cook the eggs, pour the milk in a small and slow steady stream, onto the eggs as you whisk it together. Make sure you pour the milk where you are whisking or your chances of cooking the egg increases.

Bakers side notes.
: You can use any bread or candy you like, this recipe is great for old bread just laying around.
: Apparently twix bars are made of kryptonite  or something because for being in an oven for over a half an hour and they barely melted. I would chop them smaller then I did.

Cutting up the Twix

Milk coming to a boil with sugar

Whisked eggs

 Whisking the eggs.

Tempered eggs with Milk sugar mixture.

Bread pudding out of the oven.

Close up

Twix Bread Pudding with whipped cream