Christmas Cranberry Bread Pudding

Mmmmm, bread pudding. I recently fell in love with the stuff when we frequented one of our favorite pubs after a long day of moving, and I rewarded myself with some apple bourbon bread pudding. Divine. Little did I know, that there is also savory bread pudding, which I happened to get at the Kingfish Cafe when friends were in town. Bread pudding: so many possibilities, so little time.

Even though we are working on limiting our carbohydrate intake, along with red meat, sodium, blah blah, I think this is worth taking a little time off from your regimen. Plus, the weather has been 'decent' here recently, so I've been running it off, I hope! This recipe came straight from the depths of my brain. I had some leftover cranberry walnut bread from Trader Joe's that we had at Thanksgiving, as well as some crusty whole grain stuff, so I thought why not. The result is pure happiness. I hope you agree.

Ingredients:

About 3 cups of crusty, roughly chopped, preferably day old bread, (whole grain or sweeter bread is good with the tart cranberries)
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1 c. heavy cream, 1/2 c. Pumpkin Spice Silk Soy Milk
3 eggs
1 1/2 c. fresh cranberries
1/2 c. dried cranberries
1/2 c. walnuts, chopped
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ground ginger

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Then, butter a pie pan lightly, making sure to include the edges. Dust flour over surface of pie pan. In a separate bowl, mix cream, soy milk, and spices together. In the pie pan, spread around the chopped bread pieces, making sure all surfaces are filled. Then, evenly sprinkle granulated sugar and cranberries over the bread. Pour your cream/soy milk/spice mixture and cover the bread and berries evenly. Let soak for about an hour in the refrigerator. Then place in the oven for about 35-40 minutes, checking at 30 minutes, and removing from heat when edges are golden brown. Just to be sure, jostle the pan a bit and make sure that the pudding is one mass, rather than the liquid separating from the bread- if the bread has been soaked properly this should not occur. Let cool for about 5-10 minutes and enjoy with a scoop of ice cream or some tea! It's perfect for a Christmas Morning breakfast.

In other news, this is my SIXTIETH blog post! I can hardly believe it. This blog has been super fun to have and I feel very creative with it. Photography and cooking is such a good outlet for me, and I love sharing my thoughts on it. Hope you are all getting in the holiday spirit! We put our Christmas tree up yesterday and it brings such cheery warmth to my heart. Just like this bread pudding does!

Pumpkin Mac & Cheese

Are you noticing a theme here?

Pumpkin, perhaps? Yes, it's an addiction. Just make this and you'll be even more of an addict. That's right, no cure for you!

Autumn Cake

I'm back!

And I have news! We've moved! From Eastern WA, back to Seattle. Things are cheery, and autumnal, and our new little home is so cozy! My apologies for not blogging in days and days, but for those of you that may have moved across the state in less than two weeks, you can relate. But we're here, and to celebrate, my first baked treat was an entirely self-developed new recipe. I'm sure there are variations out there, and the concept of a Pumpkin-Apple Spice Cake is not new. But I thought I'd mix things up with a cranberry compote. It put me in the mood for Thanksgiving and all the foodie wonderfulness that is to come. 

Yesterday afternoon, after a busy day, I found myself in our new kitchen, that I painted a bright, Martha Stewart "cardamom" upon moving in, and wanted something warm, cream cheese-y, and pumpkin-y for dessert. While we've been enjoying fall produce, such as squash, kale, and swiss chard, there is nothing like some pumpkin flavored dessert to make you want to curl up and listen to the rain (which we have a lot of!)

So, here it is. Since I was so totally engrossed in cake development, I did not write down as I went, but I promise, it's accurate. Hugs, and Happy Fall!

Ingredients:

Cake:

8 oz. organic pumpkin, either cooked and blended yourself, but not pumpkin pie filling (Gross!)
1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce
2 tsp. cinnamon 
3 tbsp. softened butter
1/2 c. brown sugar
2 eggs

1.5 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 c. white flour

Frosting:

5 oz. reduced fat cream cheese
3 tbsp. butter, room temp.
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp. cinnamon/brown sugar mixture
1/3 c. powdered sugar

Compote: 

1.5 c. fresh or frozen cranberries (for frozen, let sit in a bowl of warm water for ten minutes to soften)
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1/2 c. water

Method:

Cake:  

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Add butter and sugar in a bowl, and using your stand or hand mixer, beat on medium for one minute. Add spices and mix for thirty seconds, following with baking powder, vanilla, and flour. Mix until well blended. Butter and flour 9x9 square cake pan and place in oven for about 30-35 minutes, until sides turn a little darker than center.

Frosting:

While the cake is baking, start your frosting. Put all ingredients in your bowl and mix gently for about 2 minutes. Place in refrigerator to chill.

Compote:

If you want your compote to be a warm topping after you've frosted your cake, wait until your cake has cooled and has been frosted to begin making it. Otherwise, if you don't care, and just want to eat your cake as soon as possible, warm compote or room temperature compote, make it any old time you want to. To start, cook up some simple syrup; combine sugar and water in a shallow pan over medium-high heat, and allow it to come to a simmer. Add cranberries and bring to a slow boil. When cranberries begin to soften, crush them gently with a spoon, allowing the juice to release. Bring heat down, and allow to simmer for about 5-7 minutes. 

When it cools, it will become a jelly, and is equally delicious on toast, or alone. 

Assemble this dessert by removing cooled cake from the pan, and placing it on a cake tray. Frost evenly and allow to set for a bit. Then, slice, and pour your warm, cranberry goodness all over it. And then, enter a food coma, and fall asleep. 

Happy Wednesday

Good Morning and Happy Over the Hump Day!

 

Don't these look amazing?? I don't think my nearly packed up kitchen will produce them, but you can find the recipe here.

 

In other news, I have Pumpkin Mac n' Cheese to tell you about...