Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Spiced Apple Bread Pudding - Gluten Free

Spiced Apple Bread Pudding
with Bourbon Whiskey Sauce

So I've been playing with my new toy recently(Bread machine-yes they are making a comeback,) and trying to perfect my gluten free bread recipe. I made four loves yesterday, three of them pretty good which allowed me to have the best damn burger since going sans gluten(lettuce wraps just don't cut it.) I obviously needed to do something with all of this extra bread, so I decided to throw together a bread pudding. I used some of each of the three good loaves which turned out nice, because they each had slightly different tastes and textures. now I am not going to go through all of the GF bread recipes here, but I am more than happy to share them with anyone who makes a personal request.

I don't know why, but I have always been fond of bread pudding, and I would get bummed every time I'd see it on the desert menus while dining out. Although I have come across a few decent commercially available GF breads, I've yet to make that sweet succulent treat that has eluded me for years. So with no further ado and a glut of gluten free bread I will embark on this worthy pursuit now.

Bourbon Whiskey Sauce
1/2 cup Butter
1 cup Sugar
1/8 tsp. Cardamom
1 Egg
3/4 cup Bourbon Whiskey(from Kentucky for the purists)

Melt butter in heavy sauce pan over low heat. Add the sugar and cardamom, and whisk until well blended. Whisk in the egg and continue stirring until thickened. Pour in the whiskey and stir well until the sauce is smooth and translucent. Remove from heat but cover to keep warm.


Spiced Apples
3-4 Apples, peeled cored and sliced
1/4 cup Sugar
2 tsp Starch(I use tapioca, but corn is okay too)
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Allspice
dash of Cayenne Pepper
dash of Sea Salt
1 Tbsp Butter, cut into four squares
1 Tbsp Fresh Lemon Juice

Put all ingredients in a heavy sauce pan, stir well to evenly distribute the ingredients. Heat covered over medium high heat until mixture begins to boil. Stir well and reduce heat to low and simmer while you are assembling the bread pudding.


Bread Pudding
6-7 cups Gluten Free Bread, cubed(don't use dense breads like those made of rice but absorbent types)
3 cups Milk
3-4 Eggs(3 for loose pudding and 4 for firm)
1.5 cup Sugar
2 Tbsp Vanilla
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 cup Golden Raisins
3 Tbsp Butter, melted
1/2 cup Pecans, toasted and chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Soak the bread cubes in milk in a large bowl. In separate bowl, beat eggs, sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon until well mixed. Pour egg mixture into the large bowl with the bread and milk, and mix gently. Carefully fold in the raisins. Coat a 13x9 baking dish with the butter and pour in the bread mixture. Spoon the spiced apples evenly over the top of the bread mixture, gently pressing some of the slices into the pudding mixture while leaving some floating on top. sprinkle the pecans over the top and place in preheated oven for 40 - 50 minutes or until the center springs back when pressed down with spoon.

Like all good desserts, this is very rich and small pieces are advisable. You could omit the raisins and nuts if you like but why go half way, desserts are for splurging occasionally(to distract us from our mundane lives? LOL) Anyway, only make this for rare special occasions(like Wednesday's,) and you should be fine.

As always, Enjoy, God Bless, and keep it SAUCY!!!