Chicken and Egg - Janice Cole [68]
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To make the bread pudding: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter an 11-by-7-inch glass baking dish or coat with nonstick cooking spray. Whisk the eggs, ¾ cup sugar, vanilla, and nutmeg together in a large bowl until smooth. Add the half-and-half and whisk until blended.
Spread half of the bread in the baking dish and sprinkle with ½ cup of the cranberries. Top with the remaining bread. Scatter the pears over the bread and sprinkle with the remaining ¾ cup of cranberries and the walnuts. Pour the cream mixture over the bread and fruit, pressing with a spatula to moisten all of the bread. Let sit for 15 minutes. Sprinkle with the 2 tablespoons sugar. Place the baking dish in a shallow roasting pan or broiler pan and fill the pan with enough hot water to come about 1 inch up the sides of the dish.
Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out moist but with no milky residue. Remove from the water bath and cool on a wire rack.
To make the sauce: While the bread pudding is baking, melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Whisk in the sugar, half-and-half, and egg yolk and whisk constantly over medium-low heat until slightly thickened and just beginning to simmer. The sauce should coat the back of a spoon. (Do not let the sauce boil or it may curdle.) Remove immediately from the heat and pour into a bowl. Stir in the bourbon.
Serve the warm sauce over the warm or room-temperature bread pudding. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
NOTE
Toast the walnuts at 350°F for 6 to 8 minutes or until pale brown and fragrant.
SERVES 12
BREAD PUDDING
4 eggs
¾ cup sugar, plus 2 tablespoons
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 cups half-and-half
3 ½ cups cubed challah, brioche, or another rich egg bread or firm white bread (¾-inch cubes)
1 ¼ cups dried cranberries
2 Bartlett, Anjou, or Bosc pears, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
1⁄3 cup coarsely chopped walnuts, toasted (see Note)
BOURBON SAUCE
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
¾ cup sugar
¼ cup half-and-half
1 egg yolk, beaten
1 tablespoon bourbon, or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Pumpkin Spice Cake with Salted Caramel Sauce
There’s so much to like about this cake, from the fragrant warm spices and moist pumpkin flavor to the velvety-rich sauce. But maybe the best part is that the cake is actually better the day after it’s baked. The flavors mellow and blend more completely while the cake stays moist throughout, making it perfect for do-ahead entertaining.
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To make the cake: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Generously grease a 12-cup Bundt pan with shortening or coat with nonstick cooking spray. Lightly flour, tapping out the excess. (Or coat with a baking spray with flour.)
Whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, cloves, nutmeg, allspice, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.
Combine the granulated sugar and oil in a large bowl with an electric mixer at low speed, using the paddle attachment if available, until the sugar is moistened. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after adding each egg. Beat in the pumpkin. Slowly beat in the flour mixture, beating just until blended and smooth. Pour into the Bundt pan.
Bake for 55 to 60 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Invert the cake onto the wire rack and remove the pan. Cool completely.
To make the sauce: Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the brown sugar, cream, and corn syrup. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and boil for 3 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring occasionally. Stir in the salt.
Sprinkle the cake with powdered sugar before serving,