Soaking the pudding overnight allows the flavors to blend before baking. This was an extremely moist, flavorful bread pudding, which by the way isn’t usually one of my favorites. I am thinking a steaming plate of this …a good cognac and a fire in the fireplace would be a great end to a chilly evening..and make you feel a bit like badger in Wind in the Willows.

This is a great way to have a fantastic dessert on a weeknight. You can toss it together the night before and shove it in the oven while you are fixing dinner.

Pour half and half into a bowl.

Beat in eggs and sugar

Not very appetizing ...yet.

Bread Pudding:

• 4 large eggs
• 1 pie pumpkin, roasted (about 4 to 4 1/2 cups)
• 2 1/2  cups half and half
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1  teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup bourbon
• 10 cups of bread cubes from challah, brioche or french bread

Bread Crumbs

• 1 1/2 cup Panko
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
  

Caramel Pecan Sauce

• 1 cup  pecans, chopped
• 1  cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2-4 tbs bourbon, optional
• 1  tablespoon organic light corn syrup
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions:

Pudding:

1. Whisk together all ingredients except the bread in a large bowl until well blended. Add bread pieces, stirring to thoroughly coat

2.Pour in a greased 13×9 inch pan. Cover with plastic wrap, and chill overnight or up to 24 hours.

3. Preheat oven to 350°. Remove the pudding from the fridge and let stand for 20 minutes.

4. Mix bread crumbs, cinnamon, and 1/4 cup brown sugar.

5. Remove plastic wrap. Sprinkle on bread crumb mixture, and cover with aluminum foil.

6. Bake, covered, at 350° for 35 minutes. Uncover and bake 15 minutes.

Sauce:

7. During last 15 minutes of baking, prepare Caramel-Pecan Sauce: Heat pecans in a medium skillet over medium-low heat, stirring often, 3 to 5 minutes or until lightly toasted and fragrant. Remove pecans and add butter. Melt and heat until golden brown. Add brown sugar, bourbon, and syrup.

8. Cook brown sugar, butter, bourbon, and corn syrup in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, 3 to 4 minutes or until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla and pecans.

9. Remove bread pudding from oven; drizzle with Caramel-Pecan Sauce. Bake 5 minutes longer or until sauce is thoroughly heated and begins to bubble.

yield: 13 x 9 inch pan

images:marye audet

Post from: Baking Delights

Would I like to win?

Uh…YEAH.

Can this recipe win?

I don’t know. The voting begins on November 1. ::::subliminal message:::vote for me…vote for me….vote for me:::::::

Honestly I was planning this dessert before the Bon Appetit thing. It is the star in the Baking Delights Pumpkin Week crown. This will be a show stopper on your holiday dessert table…it is just that good. Consider the flavors…Pumpkin, maple, bourbon, cream cheese…

I chose to use cream cheese rather than mascarpone because I think it is more available. I have a difficult time finding mascarpone (especially GOOD mascarpone) and so I often use cream cheese instead. I feel that others of you, who live in areas like I do would appreciate not having to feel like you substituted. Nope, we’ll use good ole cream cheese right off.

This looks like a long list but really the cake is simple. I have tried to break it down into steps to make it less intimidating. Also, you can do this in stages:

Day 1 -Roast the pumpkin (1 hour)

Day 2 – Bake the cake (1 hour)

Day 3- Make the syrup, filling, and assemble the cake (1 hour at the most). Put it together Thanksgiving Eve and it will be ready to be devoured at dinner the next day.

Be sure and have your espresso ready. You are going to need them with this.

I roasted the pumpkin a little longer because I wanted a deeper, more pronounced pumpkin flavor in the cake.  Be sure to cover the outside of your spring form with foil to keep the batter from dripping through.

Smooth the batter in the pan.

It's o.k. - Nothing in life it perfect.

A little word about the cake. It may break or crumble when you try to get it in the pan. No problem. Just piece it together and keep going. It will magically glue itself together while it chills..I promise. If it breaks apart too much dump it all in a trifle bowl and call it Pumpkin Tiramisu Trifle..and then blog it.

Pumpkin Pound Cake

Cream together:

• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 3/4 c unsalted butter, room temp

then add 4 eggs, one at a time (allow 3-5 minutes between each)

Sift together the dry ingredients

• 2 3/4 c  flour
• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 t ground cloves
• 1/2 t Kosher salt
• 1/8 t grated nutmeg
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Mix the wet ingredients together:

• 1 cup pumpkin
• 1/3 cup full fat buttermilk
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon bourbon

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Cream butter and sugar together for about 5 mins
3. Add the eggs  one at a time
4. Alternate adding the wet and dry ingredients to the sugar mixture on low speed
5. Scrape the bowl often
6. Pour into a springform that has been sprayed with baking spray
7. Even the top of the batter
8. Bake for 50 – 65 minutes or until a skewer inserted in center comes out clean
9. Cool in pan for 5 to 10 minutes
10. Run a knife around sides to loosen cake and remove sides. Cool completely
11. Slice in half.

Bourbon Maple Syrup

• 1 cup good bourbon
• 1 cup maple syrup
• 1/3-1/2 cup sugar (depends on how sweet you want it)

Boil all ingredients, stirring, until sugar is dissolved and mixture is slightly thickened and reduced by about half. Set aside but keep warm.

Tiramisu Filling

• 3 eggs, separated
• 1 pint heavy cream
• 24 oz cream cheese
• 3/4 cup sugar, divided use
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tbs bourbon

1. Beat the cream cheese, 1/2 cup of the sugar, and vanilla until soft and well blended. Scrape the bowl and beat to make sure all the cream cheese is broken up.
2. Beat the egg yolks, bourbon, and 2 tbs of the sugar over boiling water until they are thick and light yellow, about three minutes.
3. Immediately beat the egg mixture into the cream cheese mixture.
4. Set aside.
5. Whip the cream with 2 tablespoons of sugar until it is thick and mounds on a spoon. Carefully fold it into the cream cheese mixture.
6. Whip the egg whites until foamy. Slowly add the remaining sugar and beat until it holds stiff peaks.
7. Fold half of the egg whites into the cream mixture to lighten it. Gently add the remaining egg whites.

To Assemble

1. Put the bottom of the cake in the springform cut side up. Brush with half the syrup mixture.
2. Add half the cream mixture and spread evenly.
3. Add the second half of the cake gently on the top.
4. Brush with the remaining syrup.
5. Add the remaining cream and spread evenly.
6. Refrigerate for 2 to 6 hours

Serves 12-16

images:marye audet

Post from: Baking Delights

This combination of pumpkin, coconut milk and spicy smoked peppers is a rich and warming first course, or light lunch dish. It is silky and smooth with the sweetness of pumpkin and coconut offset by a smoky spicy finish. I added just a squeeze of lime before serving to brighten the whole thing and bring the flavors together. Just a sprinkle of Vietnamese cinnamon added a nice touch at the table.

Make it ahead of time and reheat it for the most flavor. I saw the prototype for this recipe on epicurious, but I wasn’t completely happy with the way the flavors sounded together. I like my version!

Make sure the coconut milk "thumps" when shaken.

Cut the pumpkin into wedges and remove seeds. This will make it easy to peel.

Peel the pumpkin.

Cut the pumpkin into chunks

Rub leaves between fingers to check for freshness.

This sounds a lot more involved than it is. You CAN do this…and trust me, you WANT to.   Adjust the spiciness to your own liking. Thai chilis are HOT…chipotle a little less, and poblanos pretty mild. I would suggest starting with the chipotle and then moving to a Thai if you want it spicier.

Spicy Thai Coconut Pumpkin Soup

• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
• 1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and sliced thin
• 1 1/2 pounds fresh pumpkin
• 2 cups canned or fresh coconut milk
• 2 cups  chicken broth
• 1 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves
• 1/2 dried Thai chili, or 1 chipotle in adobo, or to taste
• 2 tbs organic coconut oil
• 1/2 tsp liquid smoke
• 1 tbs brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoons Thai fish sauce, or to taste
• Pepper to taste
• Juice of 1 lime

1. Peel the pumpkin and clean off any seeds.
2. Cut into cubes. You should have 4 1/2 to 5 cups cubed pumpkin.
3. Place the coconut milk, broth, pumpkin cubes, cilantro leaves, garlic, ginger, and chilis in a large pot and bring to a boil.
4. Add the salt and simmer over medium heat until the pumpkin is tender, about 10 minutes.
5. Stir in the fish sauce, liquid smoke, and coconut oil and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes.
6. Spoon, a little at a time, into a blender and blend until smooth.
7. Set aside for flavors to blend about an hour
8. Reheat
9. Check seasoning and adjust.
10. Just before serving squeeze in the lime, ladle into bowls and sprinkle with cinnamon.

About 8 first course servings or 4-6 luncheon size servings

images:marye audet

Post from: Baking Delights

Is homemade pumpkin puree tastier than the canned kind? And…most important of all…Is it worth the trouble? I am starting the week with 5 sugar pumpkins from my local produce stand. They were on sale for 99 cents each. If you ever wondered if there really was a difference you are not going to want to miss this week on Baking Delights!

Here’s the highlights…

• Need to know the best way to cook the pumpkin flesh?
• How do you make the puree?
• What about the seeds?
• And, did Peter Pumpkin Eater really keep his wife in a pumpkin shell?

Recipes this week will include:

• One Dish Pumpkin Caramel Bread Pudding adapted from Southern Living
• Homemade Pumpkin and Chipotle Pasta with Sage and Walnut Cream
• Pumpkin Tiramisu with Maple Bourbon Drizzle
• Pumpkin Bundt Cake
• Pumpkin Pie
• Thai Style Spicy Pumpkin Coconut Soup
• If my pumpkin holds out there may be more…

And Monday we’ll not only see how to prepare pumpkin BUT we will also compare it to canned.  So…a big week…an exciting week…eh…a pumpkin week.

And…you better show up…’cause Chipotle is takin’ names…

images:marye audet

illustration:Wikimedia via Gutenberg Project..Illustration 1902…public domain

Post from: Baking Delights

It is chillier and chillier in the mornings. The leaves are turning color and the days are shorter. It is an awesome time of year -  probably my favorite time for food. The flavors of autumn are spicy and robust, warm and comforting. It is a great time to try new combinations and new spices and ingredients. Try switching Chinese Five Spice powder for the cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, or apple pie spice in your favorite recipe. The addition of star anise to the rest of the “normal” autumn ingredients can push it over the top. Brown the butter rather than just melting it, use bourbon or brandy instead of water or milk in cake…there are a lot of ways to taste Fall!

I just want to take a minute and talk about things that look real but aren’t. The image above is a bowl I found at a local thrift shop. I was pretty excited because I love Depression glass and I want more pink than I have now. I use it for a number of things; decor, table setting, and photography props for my blogs.

Anyway I brought it home and when I compared it to my vintage Depression glass it was not the same. It lacks color, luster, and weight. The differences aren’t obvious until you get it next to the real thing. This was a knock-off, made in the past 10 years from an old mold. It looks the same but it isn’t.

There are a lot of things in life that are like that. Ethics, beliefs, people; we think we are getting the real thing and end up with a pale imitation. We need to be careful in our own lives to always be real.

But we do the same with food. Artificial flavors, artificial colors, skimmed milk….It isn’t until we taste the real food that we realize that we have been duped into eating a poor imitation for years and years. Next week on Baking Delights it is going to be pumpkin week. I will be previewing some of the posts tomorrow, but I want to say that this year, in this season of bounty begin to try the real. Instead of buying canned beets buy fresh and roast them rather than boiling. Buy a pie pumpkin and make your own puree (and I am going to show you how to do that),  spend some time at the Farmer’s Market or other source and buy local, buy fresh, and buy real. The flavor is intense and you will discover a whole new level of taste-bud nirvana.

Ready for a little surfin’? Here’s some recipes to get you in the mood for Pumpkin Week!

• Pumpkin Spiced Cream Cheese Breakfast Rolls from Picky Palate
• Pumpkin Hazelnut Donuts from Canelle et Vanille
• Roasted Butternut Squash, Sweet Potato and Maple Soup from Evil Shenanigans
• Brown butter is the new black, or at least the new vanilla. Check out this list of brown butter links from CakeSpy.
• Impossible Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes from Baking Bites
• Neopolitan Pound Cake from Culinary Concoctions by Peabody (totally not pumpkin, spice, or autumn, but amazing none the less!)
• Sweet Potato, Corn, and Jalapeno Bisque from Everybody Likes Sandwiches
• Maple Pecan Ice Cream from Closet Cooking
• Pumpkin Butter from Fun Foods on a Budget
• Sugar Pumpkin, Feta, and Cilantro Quesadillas from Epicurious

Just a reminder to check out Baking Delights Flickr group. There is some amazing imagery there ….add yours to it so it will be MORE amazing!

image:marye audet

surfing image: Cori who is an amazingly talented blogger and photographer!

Post from: Baking Delights

These are perfect for a breakfast, brunch, or snack. Moist, dense and spicy; pumpkin muffins are autumn in a hand-held package.

Next week is PUMPKIN WEEK on Baking Delights! If you ever wondered:

• How to turn a whole pumpkin into a pie
• Which pumpkins can be used for cooking
• What can I make besides pie with pumpkin..
• How can I use the seeds?

As well as some awesome recipes, including something special I am developing as we speak…well you will definitely want to check back. Between now and then, though, here is a pumpkin recipe to whet your appetite!

Yes..these really were that rich color!  If you would rather a bread than muffins try this Pumpkin Pecan Quick Bread.

Pumpkin Browned Butter Muffins

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2/3 cup butter
• 3 eggs
• 2 cups  pumpkin puree (homemade is best but canned will work..not pre -prepared pie filling)
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground chipotle, optional (but awesome)
• 2 tablespoons finely minced candied ginger, optional
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup chopped nuts, optional
• Cinnamon and sugar mixture for sprinkling the tops

1. Preheat oven to 400F
2. Melt butter over medium heat, stirring constantly. Stir until it reaches a golden brown color – remove from heat and set aside to cool
3. Place silicon muffin cups in muffin pan or grease muffin tins lightly
4. Mix dry ingredients and set aside
5. Beat sugars and eggs until light and fluffy
6. Slowly add cooled browned butter
7. Beat in pumpkin puree
8. Stir in dry ingredients until well blended
9. Quickly stir in nuts and candied ginger
10. Spoon into muffin cups and sprinkle tops with cinnamon and sugar
11. Bake for 20 minutes or until done
12. Cool slightly before removing from the pan

Makes 12-16 depending on size

images:marye audet

Post from: Baking Delights

The thing is that I have been getting behind on grocery shopping. We have pretty much had to make do with the scraps and bits left on the empty pantry shelves. In fact, the refrigerator echoed the other day. I swear it did. No reason for me not to go, just still run down from the surgery and then the potassium issues. I am so blessed with work right now that it is easy to get behind on things like groceries! That is how I found myself with a group of intense faces in front of me and a clock behind me that said “SUPPERTIME!”

Oops.

Grabbed a can of pumpkin and the thing of flour and started throwing things together and this is what happened:

Look at the colors in that! The dish is Autumn personified. I love it. I wanted a smoky flavor that would reflect all that is Fall. Spicy, earthy, and easy. I think I got it. And this is my entry to Presto Pasta Nights, hosted this week by Sara of I’m a Food Blog

Applewood smoked bacon, onions, roasted red peppers, chipotle, and smoked olives are sauteed in olive oil and finished with just a splash of maple syrup. Diced fontina gets sprinkled on top and the whole thing takes less than 30 minutes.

The roasted red peppers were commercial, as were the smoked olives. I got mine at the grocery store but if you can’t find them I think Amazon carries them. I also found these chipotle smoked olives which sound amazing.

You can make these a day ahead and store them in the refrigerator for a really quick meal.

Need a menu? Try this:

• Pumpkin Gnocchi with Smoky Chipotle Sauce
• Baguette
• Sauteed Lemon Brussels Sprouts with Pistachio
• Pecan Praline Cheesecake

I hope you like this as well as I do.

Pumpkin Gnocchi

• 1 (15 oz.) can solid pack pumpkin or two cups of homemade pumpkin puree, drained
• 1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
• 3 cups flour or enough to make a soft dough
• Pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Mix together until you get a soft, kneadable dough. You want it to be the texture of soft Play-do.
2. Cut in about 5 or 6 parts and roll each part out into a 3/4 inch thick rope
3. Slice in pieces about 1/2 inch thick
4. You can use a fork to make a design, or not as you wish
5. Spoon gnocchi into water that is at a slow boil
6. Cook until done, it will come up to the surface and float there. Just take that batch out with a slotted spoon and add the next batch until all are cooked.
7. Toss with Smoky Chipotle Sauce

Smoky Chipotle Sauce

• 1/2 cup smoked green olives, sliced
• 1/2 cup roasted red peppers, chopped
• 6 slices of applewood smoked bacon
• 1 tsp of dried chipotle, more or less to taste
• 1 onion chopped
• Pinch of cinnamon
• 1/4 cup olive oil, smoked olive oil if you have it
• 2 tbs of maple syrup (more or less to taste)
• 4 oz fontina, diced

Directions:

1. Simmer everything but the maple syrup and fontina in a pan on low heat until the onions are cooked
2. Stir often, don’t let anything caramelize
3. Stir in the maple syrup and simmer for another minute or two. Taste and adjust seasonings
4. Pour over cooked gnocchi and toss
5. Sprinkle with fontina

Serves 6-8

Post from: Baking Delights

Ready?

Let’s go…

Recipe Girl:Pumpkin Dulce de Leche Pie

Culinary Concoctions by Peabidy: Mini Pumpkin Turtle Cheesecakes

Abby Sweets:Pumpkin Creme Brulee

(are you seeing a pattern here?)

Bunny’s Warm Oven: Chipotle Rice Casserole (grin)

Elle’s New England Kitchen:Peanut Butter Pretzel Cookies

Picky Palate:Milky Way Cookies…(did she know they were my favorite candy?)

Cafe LynnyLu:Espresso Caramels

Engineer Baker:Apple Spice Mini Cakes

Now, y’all know there is nothing that I like better than a really adorable cake.  Right?

Glass Slipper Cakery: Cheese and Wine Cake

Courtney and I share a comfort food…. Coco Cooks:Spiced Apples

Don;t forget about the flickr group for Baking Delights!  Also..don’t forget to check back on monday to find out the details of the big Hershey’s giveaway..

have a great weekend!

Image:Brie….(c) Marye Audet 

Post from: Baking Delights

Some people love summer. To me autumn is the best because the pace slows down, in my mind anyway, and it seems a time to savor the moments spent with loved ones. I always imagine myself and my husband seated in a romantic New England Inn, this time of year. I know that it is unrealistic with our lives to expect it to happen, but the imagining is wonderful. I imagine we have been strolling through crimson woods, talking and at last, when the purple dusk just starts to envelope the world we go in to sit in front of a crackling fire, dining on roast chicken, wild rice pilaf, brioche, baby beets….and this dessert.
Even though we can’t have the actual experience, I can share this fantasy with my family through the magic of the wonderful flavors of fall!

Maple Leaf Cookies:

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup Grade B maple syrup
1 large egg yolk
teaspoon salt
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 c walnuts, finely ground but not paste

cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy and beat in maple syrup and egg yolk until mixture is combined well. Sift together salt and flour over mixture, add walnuts,  and fold in thoroughly. Chill dough overnight.
Let stand at room temp a few minutes to soften. Roll out dough 1/8 inch thick on a floured surface and with a 3-inch floured maple-leaf cookie cutter cut out cookies. Lay on silpat covered baking sheet, sprinkle with red, yellow, and orange sugar crystals or edible glitter, and bake at 350F for 12 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.
Cool. Run “veins” of royal icing in autumn colors decoratively on cookie. Set aside.

Pots de creme

1 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup half & half
3/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin
7 large egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 325°F.

Whisk together cream, milk, syrup, and pumpkin in a heavy saucepan and bring just to a simmer over moderate heat.
Whisk together yolks, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a bowl.
Add hot pumpkin mixture to yolks in a slow stream, whisking constantly. Pour custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a large measuring cup, then divide among custard cups . Bake custards in a bain marie (hot water bath- take a large pan, fill with hot water to come up halfway on the sides of the custard cups), covered tightly with foil, in middle of oven until a knife inserted in center of a custard comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Transfer custards to a rack to cool completely. Chill, covered, until cold, at least 2 hours.

To serve place the pots de creme in the center of a plate, with the maple leaf cookie next to it. If you really want to go all out serve with a pot of hot maple flavored coffee with plenty of cream…if you have access to the maple flavored beans.

Post from: Baking Delights

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Squares

2 cups flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
1 t. baking soda
¾ t. salt
1 cup unsalted butter, room temp.
1¼ cups sugar
1 egg
2 t. vanilla
1 tsp maple flavor
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 pkg. white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Grease a glass or metal 13 x 9 pan.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, pie spice, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar on med. high speed
until smooth, beat in egg and vanilla until combined.
Beat in pumpkin puree (mixture may appear curdled).
Reduce speed to low and mix in dry ingredients until just combined.
Fold in chocolate chips.
Spread batter evenly in prepared pan.
Bake until edges begin to pull away from sides of pan
and toothpick comes out with just a few crumbs attached, 35 to 40 minutes.
Cool completely in pan.

Post from: Baking Delights