Tag: Pudding

Raisin-Meringue Bread Pudding

Raisin-Meringue Bread Pudding

by Andi Cohen-Rabiner ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

A Recipe from Better Homes & Gardens Dessert Cookbook (1968)

About the Recipe

The other day, I got some dinner rolls from the grocery store for free. It was one of those specials – buy some meat and we’ll give you the sides! So I bought the meat. And I got the sides. But we don’t really do dinner rolls in my house. So I asked the internet – what should I make?

The answer was resoundingly bread pudding! So then I asked again – which bread pudding?

And the internet picked… Raisin-Meringue! Reader – it’s delicious. Some quick notes to help you make a successful bread pudding:

  1. I used a little more bread than the recipe called for. Probably closer to 3 cups, rather than just 2. It was necessary.
  2. This is so so raisiny. Now don’t get me wrong, I love raisins. But even for a raisin-lover like me, this was a bit much. I’d cut it down to a cup and a half of raisins, and you’ll still be fine.
  3. Separate your eggs when they’re cold, and let the whites come to room temp for the best, most-fluffy meringue. I separated them when I was ready for the yolks, and about 10 minutes out from the pudding being done I whipped up the whites. That worked well.
  4. No one ever was sorry that they added too much orange zest to a meringue.

Enjoy!

The Recipe!

Ingredients:
2 cups milk
2 cups (+ see note) 1-inch day-old bread cubes
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 t salt
2 T melted butter or margarine
1 t vanilla
2 beaten egg yolks
2 cups seedless raisins, dark or light
* * *
2 egg whites
3 T granulated sugar
3/4 t grated orange peel

Directions:

Pour milk over bread cubes. Add next 6 ingredients; toss lightly to blend. Spread in greased 8x8x2-inch baking dish. Set dish in shallow pan on oven rack. Pour hot water around dish 1 inch deep.

Bake in moderate oven (350*F) 50 minutes. Remove from oven; spread with Orange Meringue. Then bake 10 minutes longer, or till meringue is lightly browned. Makes 8 servings.

Orange Meringue: Beat egg whites till fluffy. Gradually add the granulated sugar; beat till soft peaks form. Fold in grated orange peel. Spread on baked pudding.

Double-Rich Fudge Pudding

Double-Rich Fudge Pudding

by Andi Cohen-Rabiner ♥ 2 Comments

A Recipe from Cooking Magic: Elegant Desserts (1954)

About the Recipe

As it so happens, a close friend came for dinner last night. A close friend who, in addition to my husband and my son, happens to love chocolate. I was paging through my cookbooks looking for something new to try, and I kept coming back to this recipe. It looked just interesting enough to give a go. And what can I say other than – it was totally worth it.

The title of this dessert is a bit misleading. What you end up with is this kind of a brownie, chocolate cake on top with a rich, chocolate sauce on the bottom. The acidic sour milk in the recipe means that the cake bit is super crumbly and rich. Truly, this is a decadent dessert to finish off any meal.

A few quick tips and tricks:

  • Let it sit for a little while after coming out of the oven. That will allow the chocolate sauce at the bottom to soak back into the cake a little bit. It also gives it some time to thicken as it cools.
  • That little scoop of something creamy on top is critical to cut the chocolate a bit. I used vanilla ice cream, but whipped cream or even a good vanilla frozen custard would work as well.
  • The pecans are absolutely necessary in this one. You could substitute with walnuts, but that nutty surprise expands the flavor profile and elevates the dish.
  • Be patient while you’re baking and make sure the top is set. At 50 minutes in my oven (which tends to run a little cold), the top was still a bit wobbly. I ended up baking it for 60 minutes overall.

Overall, this recipe is definitely a keeper. Great for sharing, and the perfect end to any meal.

About the book

This Cooking Magic binder was one of the first things in my collection. I can’t even remember where I found it, but it’s a lovely collection of booklets from the Culinary Institute of America, all published in the 1950’s and ’60’s. When these binders were released, there was a set of two of two of them – one red with a white spine and the other white with a red spine. They sold for 99 cents, and each outlined which 12 booklets should go inside.

The booklets inside are perfect mid-century books. There are delightful illustrations, and fairly easy to follow recipes. I often see them sold separately from one another, and if you see one I highly recommend grabbing it.

The Recipe!

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups sifted cake flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
1 oz. chocolate
2 T butter or margarine
2 T vinegar
6 T milk (enough to 1/2 cup liquid with vinegar)
1 t vanilla extract
1 cup salted pecan halves
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 1/2 cups boiling water
2 oz. chocolate

Directions:

Grease a deep 8-inch round cake pan. Sift together flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Melt and set aside 1 oz. chocolate and butter.

Measure the vinegar into a measuring cup and add the milk. Stir milk-vinegar mixture (soured milk) into melted chocolate mixture with the vanilla extract. Add chocolate-milk mixture, all at one time, to dry ingredients. Stir until thoroughly blended.

Add pecan halves. Blend just until pecan halves are evenly distributed. Turn batter into pan. Sprinkle the brown sugar over the batter and set it aside.

Combine the boiling water and chocolate. Stir until chocolate is melted and thoroughly blended with water. Pour over top of batter. 

Bake pudding at 350*F 45-50 minutes. Serve warm with heavy cream, whipped cream or vanilla ice cream

Note:

This dessert separates into a rich cake with a creamy chocolate sauce underneath.