Aug 1 2011

Marvin’s Peachy Bread Pudding

Posted by missamy in Baking, Step-by-Step Recipes

Tasty Kitchen is such a fun online community. Discovering delicious recipes is great, but what makes it even better is making new friends. Each time I find a recipe here on Tasty Kitchen, it’s as if a new friend has invited me into their kitchen, into their home, for a peek into their lives through my taste buds. That’s pretty cool, I think.

Take Marvin, for example. Marvin and I have been friends for a while now (he just doesn’t know it). I’ve had his recipes bookmarked, and know all about him and his wife, Jane, on their blog. They’re a talented couple of artists from Texas. Marvin doesn’t know me from Adam. But I know him. I know him and his Peachy Bread Pudding.

Marvin is the type of guy you’d want as a next door neighbor. The neighbor you casually drop in on because maybe the wafting aroma of his Peachy Bread Pudding or Sausage and Potato Bake caught you up in a trance that propelled you to his front door with the excuse of needing to let him know that in a few months you’d be going out of town for a day and … “What’s that Marvin? Is that bread pudding I smell?” Yep, he’d make a darn good neighbor I say. Maybe one day we’ll meet in person, and I can thank him for sharing his delicious version of Peachy Bread Pudding. But until then, knowing him through Tasty Kitchen will do just fine. Just fine indeed.

Wanna get to know Marvin a little better too? Let me show you his Peachy Bread Pudding, and y’all will become the best of friends in no time. It’s a really marvelous dish by Marvin. The sauce alone is a keeper to serve with many other desserts. Just perfect! Let’s get to it.

For the bread pudding you’ll need: eggs, melted butter, vanilla, half and half or milk, sugar, fresh peaches, sourdough bread and pecans.

To make that yummy sauce, you’ll need: butter, sugar, vanilla, an egg, and rum.

To prepare the bread pudding for baking, add the three eggs to a large bowl.

Next goes in the melted butter, vanilla, half-and-half (or milk). Combine those well first, then add the sugar.

Add the sugar slowly, stirring as you go until the sugar is dissolved.

Now, the lovely peaches (nectarines will do too!). Mix it up. And finally, the bread.

Gently push the cubed bread down into the mixture so it can soak up all the goodness, like little sponges. Let it soak for about 30 minutes.

It’s not shown here, but butter the dish you’ll be baking the bread pudding up real good, ya here? It helps to avoid sticking and adds some more flavor, too.

After the bread has soaked, spread the mixture into your baking dish and sprinkle with the chopped pecans. Bake uncovered for 50-60 minutes.

While the bread pudding is baking, put together the sauce. In a pan, cream together the softened butter and sugar. Add the vanilla, egg, rum and combine well.

Over low-medium heat, stir for about 5 minutes until sugar has dissolved and the sauce is smooth. Like I said before, this sauce is something you’ll want to remember for other desserts. It would be the perfect complement to pound cake, or as an ice cream topping. Seriously tasty!

Back to the oven. You’ll want to check the bread pudding for doneness in the center with a knife. If it comes out clean, she’s done; if not, keep her cooking. I had to add about 10-15 more minutes to the baking time.

What a beautiful golden brown. And, oh, the aroma!

Serve warm, with some of the sauce drizzled over the top.

The perfect bite!

I was never a bread pudding fan, but that Marvin changed my mind with this one. He’s a good friend to have. Thanks Marvin!

Printable Recipe

Peachy Bread Pudding

by marvin on September 24, 2010 in Desserts

5.00 Mitt(s) 8 Rating(s) 8 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5

Description

Bread pudding with fresh peaches, and rum sauce.

Ingredients

FOR BREAD PUDDING:
3 whole Eggs
3 Tablespoons Butter, Melted
2 Tablespoons Vanilla
2-½ cups Half-and-Half Or Milk
2 cups Sugar
2 cups Fresh Peaches, Pitted And Diced
1 pound Sourdough Bread, 1" Cubed
½ cups Pecans, Chopped (optional)
_____
FOR RUM SAUCE
½ cups Butter
1 cup Sugar
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 whole Egg
3 Tablespoons Rum, Or To Taste

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

In a large bowl beat 3 eggs, add 3 tablespoons melted butter, 2 tablespoons vanilla, and 2 1/2 cups half and half. Add 2 cups sugar slowly, stirring until it is dissolved. Add peaches and bread, mixing well. Allow mixture to soak into bread 30 minutes.

Spread a bit of butter in a 9 X 13 X 2-inch pan or dish. Pour in the bread mixture, and sprinkle on pecans if using. Bake uncovered 50 to 60 minutes, or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.

For rum sauce:
Cream 1/2 cup butter with 1 cup sugar. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla. Stir in 1 egg, then add rum. Stir over low heat for about 5 minutes. Serve warm over individual servings of pudding.

_______________________________________

Amy Johnson is a blogger who writes about food, travel, the home (both inside and out), and various observations and random musings about anything and everything. Visit her blog She Wears Many Hats for a dose of deliciousness, practicality, hilarity, or just plain fun. She lives in South Carolina with her husband and two children.

Jul 29 2011

Peanut Butter Stuffed Hot Fudge Cupcakes

Posted by HowSweetEats in Baking, Step-by-Step Recipes

I think it’s true what they say: you can never go wrong with peanut butter and chocolate. It’s the combination that I consoled myself with after my first high school heartbreak (think a spoon in the jar and a sprinkling of chocolate chips) and the way we celebrated our marriage (think the best cheesecake in the universe, sliced doubly thick) on our honeymoon.

It’s a comforting combination, a delicious one, and sometimes even a healthy one. Dark chocolate has loads of antioxidants, and peanut butter? Well, we have our healthy fats. Trust me. I can justify just about anything.

A few months ago I made this cupcake and it has since become my go-to cupcake. It’s the cupcake that my family asks for on birthdays, the one that my brother dubbed “the best he’d ever had,” and the one that I happily suggest when I’m quizzed about fabulous dessert recipes.

It’s slightly more time consuming that your run-of-the-mill cupcake with a glob of frosting, but I promise it is completely worth it.

Here’s what you need: milk, eggs, heavy cream, sour cream, vanilla extract, peanut butter, flour, baking soda, butter, cocoa powder (I use the dark stuff), powdered sugar, and brown sugar. Lots of cream going on here. That only means one thing: deliciousness.

First up, I make the hot fudge. I find that if I get this out of the way, it has time to sit and thicken while I make the cupcakes. You can use a double boiler, but this time around I simply combined everything in a small saucepan and let it work its magic. Super easy!

Combine the sugar, cocoa, salt, and flour in the saucepan. Separately, bring your milk or water (I always use milk, but water is fine) to a boil, then add it to the flour and cocoa mixture and stir, stir, stir over low heat. Do not look up, pass go, or collect $200. Just keep stirring until the fudge thickens.

One it gets thick, remove it from the heat and stir in your butter and vanilla. Then set it aside and let it cool down to thicken a bit more.

Now it’s time to start the cupcakes. My favorite part about these cupcakes is that you only have to use one bowl to bring them together. No mixer necessary. First, sift together your flour, cocoa, salt, and baking soda and set them aside.

Next, in a large bowl, mix your egg and brown sugar together until no lumps remain.

Stir in your heavy cream and milk, mixing continuously.

Now add in your butter and vanilla. Keep mixing away!

Add in your dry ingredients slowly while you continue to mix. Make sure you get out all of the lumps. And make sure you take a taste. Deeeelish.

Your batter should be thick and chocolaty now. Even though you want to shovel it into your face, stir in a little sour cream. This takes it over the edge.

Next, line a cupcake tin with liners.

Using a 1/4 cup measure, pour the batter into each liner. I like to spray my measuring cup with non-stick spray beforehand so the batter slides right out.

Into the oven they go!

After baking, I let my cupcakes sit for about 5 minutes, then remove them from the tins and let cool on the counter. This well help them cool a little quicker and we want them to be completely cool before frosting.

While the cupcakes are cooling, you can make your frosting or do the dishes. I always choose the first option.

Combine softened butter and peanut butter in the bowl of your electric mixer and beat until fluffy, about 5 minutes. You gotta scrape down the sides every so often, too.

Add in your powdered sugar bit by bit and stir on low speed, gradually increasing to high speed. I’m warning you: this frosting is like a drug. Stay away. Far, far away. (At least until after you’ve frosted your cupcakes.)

Once your frosting is made and your cupcakes have cooled, it’s time to stuff the ‘cakes. I find that the easiest way to do this is to fill a pastry bag with frosting and simply plunge it down into the cake. If you don’t have a pastry bag (the disposable ones are the best!), you can also use a spoon. All you have to do is remove a tiny circle from the top of the cupcake until you reach the middle, and spoon some frosting in. Then replace the top that you cut off. Easy!

I fill a bag with frosting, stick it in the cupcake, squeeze …

And voila! Instant stuffing. Mmmm.

Next, I frost the top. Again, if you’re not using a pastry bag, just frost the cupcake the way you normally would.

Now comes the fun part. Line up your cupcakes on parchment paper or aluminum foil and throw that hot fudge sauce you made a few hours ago all over the top. You be the artist.

Oh, look! Another fun part. You get to eat one. No one can pass this up.

Dig right in and savor it. Chocolate and peanut butter work miracles, I tell you.

I hope you try these cupcakes and love them as much as we do! The hot fudge can be stored in your fridge for later use—like spoon dipping. It comes in handy at midnight. Just sayin.’

Printable Recipe