• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

By Root 1095 0

and salt, and blend on high speed for another 2 or 3 minutes or until creamy and free of lumps, scraping down the sides of the blender as needed with a rubber spatula. Pour pumpkin mixture over bread, and gently fold in, coating evenly.

4. Pour bread pudding into prepared baking dish. Place a layer of plastic wrap over the top, and press down. Let sit for 30 minutes for bread to absorb liquid.

5. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

6. Carefully place the baking dish in a larger and deeper dish, and fill the larger dish half full of hot water. Bake for 45 to 60 minutes or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes before serving.

BAKER’S BONUS

Fresh homemade bread makes great bread puddings, but if you have some dry, leftover bread hanging out in your freezer, even better.

Cherry Clafoutis

A classic French flanlike pudding, this baked casserole is full of fresh cherries and toasted almonds and topped with a sweet brown sugar streusel. The custard filling is smooth and silky with a touch of almond flavoring.

Yield:

1 (9×9-inch) pan

Prep time:

30 to 45 minutes

Bake time:

45 to 50 minutes

Serving size:

1 portion

2 cups pitted and halved fresh

cherries

½ cup toasted slivered or sliced

almonds

½ vanilla bean

½ cup soft silken tofu

Ener-G Egg Substitute for 2 large

eggs

1 cup soy, rice, or almond milk

½ tsp. pure almond extract

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

¾ cup unbleached cane sugar

¾ cup plus 2 TB. light brown sugar,

firmly packed

⅔ cup plus 1 TB. unbleached all-

purpose flour

Pinch salt

1 TB. nonhydrogenated vegan

margarine, softened

2 TB. vegan confectioners’ sugar

(optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly coat a 9×9-inch baking dish, or a similar-size casserole dish, with cooking oil spray.

2. In a small bowl, combine cherries and almonds. Sprinkle on the bottom of the prepared baking dish.

3. Scrape seeds out of vanilla bean, and discard pod. Set seeds aside.

4. In a blender, add soft silken tofu, egg substitute, soy milk, almond extract, and vanilla extract, and blend on high speed for 1 or 2 minutes or until mixture is smooth and frothy. Add unbleached cane sugar, ¼ cup light brown sugar, ⅔ cup unbleached all-purpose flour, salt, and vanilla bean seeds, and blend for 1 or 2 minutes or until smooth with no lumps.

5. Pour custard gently over cherries and almonds, being careful not to disturb fruit. Bake for 30 minutes.

6. In a small bowl, using a fork, or your fingers, combine remaining 2 tablespoons light brown sugar, 1 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour, and vegan margarine.

7. Remove clafoutis from the oven, and sprinkle streusel on top. Return to the oven, and bake for 15 to 20 more minutes or until light brown and slightly puffed and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Clafoutis will fall during cooling time; this is normal.

8. Cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Dust with vegan confectioners’ sugar (if using), and serve warm.

Variation: For Blueberry Clafoutis, substitute 2½ cups of fresh (not frozen) blueberries for the cherries.

BATTER UP!

To cut open a vanilla bean, lay it flat on a cutting board. Slice the bean open lengthwise from one end to the other being careful not to slice through it. This will expose thousands of tiny seeds you can scrape out and into pot. Don’t waste the pod! Soak it in the soy milk, too. Discard the bean when you’re done.

Apple Brown Betty

This Apple Brown Betty has a crispy, crunchy breadcrumb topping inside the apple filling and outside in the streusel-like topping.

Yield:

1 (9×9-inch) pan

Prep time:

30 minutes

Bake time:

48 to 60 minutes

Serving size:

1 portion

3 slices Basic White Bread or

Whole-Wheat Bread (recipes in

Chapter 7)

4 Cortland, Granny Smith, Empire,

Gravenstein, or other hard crisp

apples, peeled, cored, and sliced

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

½ cup light brown sugar, firmly

packed

¼ cup thawed or frozen apple juice

concentrate, not diluted

4 TB. nonhydrogenated vegan