Thursday, July 18, 2013

bread and butter pudding with chocolate ganache

There were times when I had to make a dessert that could feed 8-10 people, and I needed to make something that was not only tasty, but also only using the simplest ingredients. The dessert also had to be easy and quick to make. A lot to ask for, I know, but after cooking a dinner for so many, the last thing I wanted to do was to have to fuss over dessert.

The dessert that I would definitely turn to is a simple Bread and Butter Pudding. 

It is such a simple dessert to make, yet it can be dressed up with a drizzle of chocolate ganache, or served with a scoop of ice cream. 


The stars of this super delicious dessert are bread and milk. Since I was given a variety of milk by the good people at Greenfields Milk to do a review, I thought this was the perfect recipe to showcase what wonderful food one can make with milk.

What I love about the milk from Greenfields is that they use 100% real fresh milk from their own cows, with no additives, permeate, preservatives, hormones, antibiotics or flavouring. The taste of the milk remains natural.

Greenfields Milk is packed, produced, pasteurised and packed within their integrated diary farm with 6,000 Holstein cows. The milk from Greenfields contains the necessary nutrients such as calcium and vitamins and it also undergoes a special ultra pasteurization and homogenization process to kill bacteria, all the while preserving its freshness and nutrition. It is a good as milk can get!

To make a bread and butter pudding, I started by slicing my stale brioche into thick slices, and then cutting each slice into quarters. If you do not have brioche, you can use any bread, even the common sliced bread. If you do use sliced bread, cut each piece into two triangles and stack them in the baking dish with the pointy end at the top. That would make a pretty pudding when baked.



The bread was placed into a 9x13 baking dish which had been generously greased with butter.


Then I placed the milk (Greenfields milk is available in full cream, skim, low fat versions. But take note to use full cream only for this recipe, or a mix of full cream milk and cream, please!!), eggs, sugar, vanilla extract, cinnamon and salt into a big bowl, and whisked until everything was mixed.


The custard was poured onto the bread - be sure that the custard gets into every nook and cranny. The pudding was covered with cling film and placed in the fridge for a couple of hours so that the bread could soak up the custard.


You can also make the pudding to this stage and place it in the fridge for up to 24 hours before baking it.

Before baking the pudding, I sprinkled the cinnamon sugar on the bread. You can also add knobs of butter on the bread, but since the pudding was already so rich, I skipped this step.

Then the pudding was baked for about 45 to 55 minutes, depending on how hot your oven can get. I baked mine for 50 minutes. Once a toothpick that has been inserted into the pudding emerges clean, and the tips of the bread are starting to toast, the pudding is done.


I let the pudding rest for about 15 minutes before I served it.

In the meantime, I made a quick chocolate ganache to go with the pudding.

In a saucepan, I heated cream, butter and corn syrup until the mixture came to a boil.


This was poured onto the chocolate which had been placed in a bowl.


I stirred until the chocolate had fully melted, before drizzling it onto the pudding.


I served my pudding with Vanilla Bean ice cream.


But it is good even on its own.

RECIPE
BREAD AND BUTTER PUDDING (SERVES 8-10)
Adapted from recipe by The Kitchn

Ingredients:

For the pudding
10 cups stale bread, brioche, or any other bread, cut into bite sized pieces
5 cups Greenfields Fresh milk (or a mixture of milk and cream)
6 large eggs
1 cup caster sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt

Add-ons (Optional):
1/2 cup Raisins or Sultanas or any other dried fruit
1/2 cup Chocolate chips
1/2 cup toasted nuts


For the cinnamon sugar 
2 tbs caster sugar
1 tbs cinnamon

Method:
1. Butter the inside of your baking dish and arrange the bread pieces inside. If you're using raisins, nuts, fruit, or any other pudding ingredients, sprinkle them over the bread so they are evenly distributed.
2. Whisk together Greenfields milk, eggs, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, salt, and any extra flavoring ingredients you're using.
3. Slowly pour the Greenfields milk mixture over the pudding, making sure it gets into all the nooks and crannies. Cover the casserole and refrigerate for at least one hour or overnight to fully absorb the custard.
4. Pre-heat the oven to 160° with a rack in the middle of the oven. Set the pudding on the counter while the oven is pre-heating to take some of the chill off.
5. Sprinkle any toppings over the pudding and bake uncovered for 45 - 55 minutes. The pudding is done when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean and the tips are starting to toast.
6. Let stand for at least 10 minutes before serving.
Note: Leftovers will keep refrigerated for up to a week.

Chocolate Ganache (Serves 8-10)
Adapted from Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey by Jill O'Connor

Ingredients:
225g finely chopped semi-sweet chocolate
30g unsalted butter
2 tbs light corn syrup
1 cup heavy cream

Method:
1. Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl.
2. Combine the cream, butter and corn syrup in a saucepan.
3. Stir over medium-high heat until butter is melted and the mixture comes to a boil.
4. Just as the bubbles start to rise, pour mixture over the chocolate.
5. Stir until chocolate is smooth and creamy.

Greenfields Milk also tastes fabulous on its own. If you are diet conscious but need that regular dose of calcium for your bones from fresh milk. You can opt for their High Calcium Skimmed Milk, with only 0.1% fat from fresh milk or their High Calcium Low Fat variant with 1.3% fat from fresh milk. So you can enjoy all the goodness from great tasting milk without the guilt!




Greenfields Milk is available in full cream, Chocolate Malt, High Calcium Skimmed Milk and High Calcium Low Fat versions. Sold at most supermarkets at $5.95 for 2 Litre bottle (All except FairPrice), $3.25 for a 1 litre pack (available at all supermarkets) and $1.50 for a pack of 200mL Greenfields Milk (only available at 7-11)

Disclaimer: This is a post for a product experience trial, sponsored by Greenfields. While I was compensated for this post, all opinions expressed here are my own.



2 comments:

  1. Looks yummy! Why do you always make baking look so easy, Diana? =) Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  2. That's cas it is really easy Summer!!! Try one day :)

    ReplyDelete