Bread Pudding with Whiskey Sauce

This year was my husband's golden birthday and I wanted to make him something special. I made him parmasean-crusted pork chops and whipped sweet potatoes. For dessert I made bread pudding with whiskey sauce. I have never made bread pudding before, but I knew he loved it and I thought it would be a good suprise. And I was right! He loved it! The only change I made was that I threw in a handful of raisins.

Bread pudding with whiskey sauce by Cherry195 posted on allrecipes.com
Ingredients

2 eggs, beaten
3 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup white sugar
1 (1 pound) loaf French bread, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 cup chopped pecans


1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup whiskey

Directions

1.Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch pan.

2.In a large bowl, stir together eggs, butter, vanilla and milk. Gradually add 1/4 cup sugar and mix thoroughly until sugar is dissolved.

3.Place bread cubes in bottom of prepared pan. Pour liquid over bread, fully saturating all bread. Sprinkle pecans on top.

4.Bake in preheated oven for 60 minutes, until golden. Meanwhile, combine 1/2 cup white sugar, 1/2 cup butter, cream and whiskey in a small saucepan. Warm over low heat, stirring constantly, until sauce is gently boiling. Pour sauce over baked bread pudding and serve.

Thanksgiving cranberries

Ever since I was little, it was always my job to make the cranberries for Thanksgiving. When I was young, my grandma would help me grind the berries in an oldfashioned meat grinder that we would clamp onto the table. It eventally evolved into me using my mom's old salad shooter (which was suprisingly more difficult to use than the grinder.) This year, I made them in the food processor and it was awesome! The texture was very uniform. I tossed the berries in with some white and brown sugar, juice from an orance, and half the orange (insides and out).

I also made an apple cranberry tart. I liked that the tart used apples instead of oranges, it was a nice change. I made extra topping and was happy I did (but I like extra crumbly toppings on most things). It was a great tart that everyone liked. I will be making it again in the future.

Apple Cranberry Tart Country Woman November/December 1995 and on tasteofhome.com
Ingredients:

1-1/4 cups unsweetened apple juice or cider, divided
1-1/3 cups sugar
3 medium tart apples, peeled and cubed
1 package (12 ounces) fresh or frozen cranberries
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
Pastry for single-crust pie (10 inches)

TOPPING:
1/3 cup chopped pecans
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
12 pecan halves

Directions:
In a large saucepan over medium heat, bring 3/4 cup apple juice and sugar to a boil, stirring occasionally. Add apples and cranberries; return to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 5-8 minutes or until apples are tender and berries pop,. Whisk flour and remaining juice until smooth; stir into cranberry mixture. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Cool to room temperature.

Fit pastry into an 10-in. fluted tart pan with removable bottom, or press into the bottom and 1 in. up the sides of a 10-in. springform pan. Line pastry with double thickness of heavy-duty foil.

Bake at 450° for 5 minutes. Remove foil; bake 7-10 minutes or until pastry is nearly done. Cool. Add apple mixture. Combine first four topping ingredients; sprinkle over filling. Arrange pecan halves on top. Bake at 375° for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Yield: 12 servings.

Creamy Chocolate Frosting

This was the best chocolate frosting that I have made! It was so delicious and creamy. It had a nice texture and frosted well. I used it on the sour cream chocolate cake from the last post. (Personally, I liked the frosting better than the cake.) I think it will be great on lots of different things and I think it will be a new standard for me.

Creamy Chocolate Frosting posted by Tracy Larsen on allrecipes.com
Ingredients

2 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar
6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
6 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons evaporated milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
1.In a medium bowl, sift together the confectioners' sugar and cocoa, and set aside.

2.In a large bowl, cream butter until smooth, then gradually beat in sugar mixture alternately with evaporated milk. Blend in vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy. If necessary, adjust consistency with more milk or sugar.

Sour Cream Chocolate Cake

I thought this cake was okay but my husband loved it. I thought it was a little dry, but I suspect that was because I cooked it a little too long. I made it in 3 layer pans (instead of 2) so I cooked it for about 27 minutes. Next time I will cook it a little less. I didn’t use the frosting recipe that came with the cake.

I had some trouble with this cake. It was very delicate. After I took the cakes out of the pans I was moving them and tore one in half. So I tried to frost it back together and it didn’t work out. I put it in the middle of the non-ripped layers. It pulled apart and it stuck out about half an inch beyond the other layers. Plus, the frosting I used to “glue” it back together ran down the side leaving holes where the crack was. The worst part was I was making the cake to take to a party and I was so sad that it was so ugly. Fortunately, it was a Halloween party so I made it an “intentionally” ugly cake. I crushed up some chocolate sandwich cookies and pressed it into the frosting all over the cake so it looks like dirt. Then I decorated it with gummy worms and slugs. My husband put a couple of worms coming out of the hole on one side. It turned out not looking so terrible, but it still wasn’t attractive. Plus, the gummies didn’t taste very good with the chocolate frosting.

Sour Cream Chocolate Cake posted by Marsha Lawson on allrecipes.com
Ingredients

1 cup baking cocoa
1 cup boiling water
1 cup butter, softened
2 1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream

FROSTING:
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

Directions
1.Dissolve cocoa in water; let stand until cool. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Add vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream, beating well. Add cocoa mixture; beat well.

2.Pour into three greased and floured 9-in. round baking pans. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.

3.In a heavy saucepan, melt chocolate chips and butter over low heat; stir until smooth. Remove from the heat; cool for 5 minutes. Place in a large mixing bowl; add sour cream and vanilla; beat until blended. Add confectioners' sugar; beat until light and fluffy. Spread between layers and over top and sides of cake. Store in the refrigerator.

Apple Tart

This was the first tart that I ever made and it turned out really well. It was really pretty. As I mentioned in the other tart recipe, the crust is great and very easy. I would recommend using pie weights to avoid bubbles. My tart pan was smaller than the one the recipe called for so I used less apples and had a little filling left over. When I made the glaze, I didn’t use the orange juice concentrate.

Apple Tart by Paula Deen on foodnetwork.com
Ingredients

Crust:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
2 tablespoons sour cream

Filling:
About 6 medium apples, peeled, pitted, and sliced
3 large egg yolks
3/4 cup sour cream
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Glaze:
1/2 cup apricot preserves or jelly
1 tablespoon frozen orange juice concentrate
Mint, for garnish

Whipped topping, for garnish

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

To make the crust:
Place the flour, butter, and sour cream in a food processor and pulse to combine. When the dough has formed a ball, pat with lightly floured hands into the bottom and sides of an ungreased 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom and 1/2-inch sides, or a round au gratin dish. Bake for about 18 minutes, until the crust is set but not browned. Let cool while preparing the filling.

Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F.

To make the filling:
Peel and thickly slice the apples. Arrange the apple slices in overlapping circles on top of the crust, until it's completely covered. Overfill the crust, as apples will shrink during cooking.

Combine the egg yolks, sour cream, sugar, and flour and beat until smooth. Pour the mixture over the apples. Place the tart pan on a baking sheet and bake for about 1 hour, until the custard sets and is pale golden in color. Cover with an aluminum foil tent if the crust gets too dark. Transfer the tart pan to a wire rack to cool. When cool, remove the side wall of the pan.

To make the glaze:
Combine the preserves or jelly and orange juice. Spread with a pastry brush over the top of the warm tart. Serve the tart warm, at room temperature or chilled. Garnish with fresh mint.

Blueberry Creme Brulee Tart

I LOVE Paula Deen and how she uses sour cream in so many delicious ways. I found this recipe to be appealing because I always have wanted to try to make creme brulee for my husband, but it seems like so much work to do. This was a nice (and rather easy) take on it.

The crust for the tart is perfect and very easy. I would recommend using pie weights. I didn't the first time and got a huge bubble in the crust. I didn't make the sugared berries because blueberries weren't in season when I made it.

I had a little trouble with the custard. I think I let it sit too long before I poured it in the tart pan so it sort of separated into a frothy layer and a thick, creamy layer. Unfortunately, I ended up with more foam in the tart. It still tasted good, but I definitely think there is room for improvement.

My husband loved this recipe, despite the custard trouble, and had lots of fun torching the top to caramelize it.

Blueberry Creme Brulee Tart by Paula Deen on foodnetwork.com
Ingredients


Crust:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
2 tablespoons sour cream

Filling:
2 cups heavy cream
4 large egg yolks
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup blueberry preserves
Sugared Blueberries, recipe follows

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Place the flour, butter, and sour cream in a food processor and pulse to combine. When the dough has formed a ball, pat with lightly floured hands into the bottom and sides of an ungreased 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom and 1/2-inch sides. Bake for about 20 minutes, until the crust is set and only lightly browned if at all. Let cool while preparing the filling.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

In a heavy-bottomed medium nonreactive saucepan, heat cream over medium-low heat for 15 minutes, stirring to ensure it does not burn; do not let boil.

Add 1/4 cup heavy cream to beaten eggs. Mix together. Slowly add hot cream to mixture and add 1/2 cup sugar. Mix thoroughly.

Gently spread the blueberry preserves over the bottom of the baked and cooled tart shell, in a thin layer. Gently pour the custard over the preserves. Bake for 40 minutes or until the mixture is almost set in the center (it should still wiggle when shaken). Let cool to room temperature and then refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 24 hours.

Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup sugar in a thin, even layer over the baked custard filling. To caramelize the sugar, light a propane torch and hold it so the flame just touches the surface. Start at the center and spiral out toward the edges of the tart shell. If the sugar begins to burn, pull the torch away and blow on the sugar to extinguish the flame. Top with sugared blueberries. Pop out bottom of pan and serve.

Sugared Blueberries:
1 cup large fresh blueberries
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 cup sugar
Lightly brush the blueberries with corn syrup and roll in sugar. 

Chocolate Malt Cake

I got the recipe for this delicious cake from Bella Lately's blog. I would definately recommend this cake. It is deliciously chocolate and moist. While it seems that there is a lot of malt in the cake and frosting, it is certainly not overpowering. Even my husband (who says he didn't think it sounded good) loved the cake. I was a beautiful cake and I decorated it with malted milk balls.

Chocolate Malt Cake by Bella Lately

Makes 1 (9-inch) cake
2 1/4 c. all purpose flour
1 1/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. unsweetened cocoa
1 1/2 tspn baking soda
1 tspn baking powder
1/2 tspn salt
1 c. milk
1 c. malted milk powder
1 c. vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 c. sour cream
1 tspn vanilla extract

Chocolate Malt Icing (recipe follows)

Garnish: malted milk balls (and I used silver dragees to make it more Christmas-y ;) )

•Preheat oven to 350. Butter & flour 3, 9-inch, baking pans.

•In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

•In a small bowl, combine milk and malted milk powder, stirring to dissolve. Add milk mixture, oil and eggs to flour mixture, beating at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Add sour cream and vanilla, beating just until combined.

•Pour batter evenly into prepared pans and bake for 20 minutes. Let cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove cakes from pans and let cool completely on racks.

•Ice and garnish w/malted milk balls if desired

Chocolate Malt Icing
Makes 4 cups
 1 c. butter, softened
1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 c. heavy whipping cream
1/2 c. malted milk powder
5 c. powdered sugar
•In a large bowl, beat butter and cocoa powder at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy.

•In a small bowl, combine cream and malted milk powder, stirring to dissolve. Add cream mixture to butter mixture, beating at low speed to combine. Gradually beat in powdered sugar until smooth.