Brandy Pudding Food

BRANDY BREAD PUDDING

Steps:

• Cover raisins with brandy or water.
• Set aside.
• Melt butter or margarine.
• Break up bread, set aside.
• Combine brown sugar, cinnamon, allspice.
• Reserve 3 tablespoons of this mixture for topping.
• Pour melted margarine on before you toss the bread crumbs. Your sugar mixture will stick better that way.
• Toss bread with remaining sugar mixture.
• Place 1/2 of bread mixture in a lightly greased 1 1/2 quart baking dish.
• Drain raisins, place 1/2 raisins over bread crumbs.
• Repeat layers.
• Combine egg, salt, and vanilla in a bowl.
• Beat for 1 minute.
• Add milk slowly.
• Pour over mix in dish.
• Let stand for 5 minutes.
• Sprinkle reserved sugar mix on top.
• Bake at 325F for 45 to 50 minutes.

FIGGY PUDDING

Steps:

• For the figgy pudding: Combine the dried figs and raisins with the brandy in a small bowl and let sit 30 minutes to plump the fruit. Strain, then reserve the brandy and fruit separately.
• Meanwhile, grease a 1.6-liter covered pudding pan generously with butter.
• Whisk the eggs together with the milk and sugar in a medium bowl.
• Whisk together the flour, breadcrumbs, baking powder, allspice, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg in a separate large bowl.
• Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until well combined. Stir in the soaked fruit and orange zest. Add the batter to the prepared pan, tapping the pan gently on the counter to settle the batter, and smooth the top.
• Put a metal trivet or aluminum foil ring in the bottom of a large stockpot. Put the pudding pan on the trivet and add enough boiling water to come halfway up the sides of the pan. Set the pot over high heat and bring to a simmer, then cover and simmer over low heat for 1 hour. Turn off the heat and let sit for 20 minutes.
• For the brown sugar sauce: Meanwhile, combine the cream and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil and cook, stirring frequently, until reduced by half, the bubbles become the size of quarters and the sauce starts to pull away from the side of the saucepan, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter. Keep warm.
• Carefully remove the pudding pan from the pot using oven mitts. Remove the lid and let cool another 15 minutes. Run a small offset spatula around the sides of the pan to release the pudding, then use a skewer to poke about a dozen holes in the cake. Pour the reserved brandy over the top of the cake, then allow it to sit and soak in until the cake cools completely. Invert onto a serving platter and serve immediately with the sauce and whipped cream or store the cake at room temperature wrapped in plastic.

TRADITIONAL FRUITY AND SPICED BREAD PUDDING - WITH BRANDY!

Steps:

• First marinate the fruit & peel in the brandy - set aside.
• Tear the bread into even sized pieces and soak in the milk for about 30 minutes.
• Pre-heat oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
• Melt the butter in the microwave or a small saucepan.
• In a large roomy bowl, mix the sugar, beaten eggs, melted butter, spices, orange & lemon zest together, then add the brandy-soaked fruits & mix well again.
• Tip it all into the milk soaked bread.
• Mix it all together - and then pour into a well buttered baking dish.
• Sprinkle demerara sugar on top & add some grated nutmeg if you wish.
• Bake for 1 hour, or until the bread pudding is well puffed up, crispy and golden brown. It will sink on cooling, but that's fine!
• Cut into squares - serve warm with cream, ice-cream or custard.
• As a final flourish - you can also grate some orange zest over the cream etc!
• N.B. You can also make this with Brioche or any type of Bread product, as long as it it not too savoury.

CHOCOLATE BRANDY PUDDING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 180 C.
• Lightly grease 8 ramekins.
• Melt cho and butter in bowl over pot of simmering water.
• Set aside when combined and melted.
• Using electric beaters beat sugar and eggs and yolks together till pale.
• Fold choc mixture into egg mixture alternately with flour.
• Spoon pudding into ramekins, cook 15 minutes till just set.
• Set aside for 15 minutes then pour a little brandy over each pudding.
• Dust with cocoa and serve with ice cream.

CAPE BRANDY PUDDING

Steps:

• Pour boiling water over dates, set aside to soften.
• Add bicarb, butter and sugar and blend well.
• Sift dry ingredients together and fold into the date mixture.
• Add egg and walnuts and mix.
• Lightly grease a microwave pan and bake for 5 -6 minutes on 100% power.
• For the syrup combine sugar, water and butter in a glass bowl and microwave on 100% power for 1 - 2 minutes until boiling point.
• Stir in vanilla and brandy.
• Pour hot syrup over warm tart.
• Serve with cream.

CARIBBEAN CHRISTMAS PUDDING WITH BRANDY BUTTER

Steps:

• For Brandy Butter:
• Using electric mixer, beat butter until smooth. Beat in sugar. Gradually beat in brandy. (Can be prepared 1 week ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before serving.)
• For pudding:
• Mix currants, candied cherries, prunes, orange peel, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt in large bowl. Pour rum over and stir to blend. Let stand 30 minutes.
• Mix breadcrumbs, sugar and flour in medium bowl. Add to dried fruit mixture and stir to blend. Cover and let stand at room temperature overnight.
• Generously butter 2-quart pudding mold with lid. Mix almonds and baking powder in medium bowl. Whisk melted butter, eggs, milk, vanilla extract and almond extract in large bowl. Stir in almond mixture. Stir butter mixture into dried fruit mixture. Spoon batter into prepared pudding mold. Smooth top. Cover pudding mold with lid.
• Place pudding mold on rack in large pot. Add enough boiling water to pot to come halfway up sides of mold. Cover pot and steam pudding over medium-low heat until tester inserted into center comes out clean, adding more boiling water to pot if necessary, about 2 hours. Transfer mold to rack and cool 5 minutes. Turn out pudding. (Can be made 1 week ahead. Cool. Wrap tightly in plastic and refrigerate. To reheat pudding, unwrap and return to buttered mold; cover mold. Place mold on rack in large pot. Add enough hot water to pot to come halfway up sides of mold. Cover pot and steam pudding over medium-low heat until heated through, about 45 minutes. Transfer mold to rack. Let stand 5 minutes. Turn out pudding.)
• Transfer pudding to platter. Serve warm with brandy butter.

CHRISTMAS PUDDING WITH BRANDY SAUCE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the first 12 ingredients. Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight., In a large bowl, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs. Combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, cloves and nutmeg; add to the creamed mixture alternately with orange and cherry juices, beating well after each addition. Stir in the fruit mixture., Pour into two well-greased 8x4-in. loaf pans. Cover with foil. Place on a rack in each of two stockpots. Add 2 in. of boiling water to each stockpot; cover and boil gently for 2-1/4 to 2-3/4 hours or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, adding water as needed. Let stand for 5 minutes before unmolding., Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine the brown sugar, butter, egg yolk, half-and-half and salt. Bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until thickened. Cool to room temperature., In a large bowl, beat whipping cream until stiff peaks form. Fold whipped cream and brandy into brown sugar mixture. Serve with pudding.

DRUNKEN BRANDY-PEACH BREAD PUDDING

Steps:

• TO MAKE THE BREAD PUDDING: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9 by 13-inch baking pan with butter or cooking spray. Mix the granulated sugar, half-and-half, and cinnamon in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir occasionally until the sugar dissolves. (No need to boil the mixture.) Remove the saucepan from the heat.
• Whisk the 3 eggs in a bowl until the whites and yolks are combined. Pour about 1/4 cup of the hot cream mixture into the eggs, whisking as you pour. (This tempers the eggs, which keeps them from curdling when they are mixed into the hot cream mixture.) Pour the tempered egg mixture into the cream mixture left in the saucepan and whisk until the sauce is smooth.
• Gently combine the bread cubes and peaches in a large bowl. Spoon into the prepared pan. Pour the sauce over the peach-bread mixture and let sit for about 30 minutes to let the sauce soak into the bread. Sprinkle the pecans on top.
• Bake until the pudding is firm and lightly browned on top, about 1 hour. Cut into squares and serve warm or at room temperature with warm Peach Brandy Sauce.
• TO MAKE THE PEACH BRANDY SAUCE: Melt the butter and brown sugar together in a saucepan set over medium heat. Remove the mixture from the heat. In a bowl, whisk the 1 egg with a fork. Temper the egg by adding about 2 tablespoons of the butter-sugar mixture to the egg and whisk constantly until the egg is incorporated. Pour the tempered egg mixture into the saucepan with the remaining sugar-butter mixture and whisk until the sauce is smooth. Add the salt and whisk in the brandy. Keep the sauce warm until ready to serve. Pour it over the bread putting as soon as it comes out of the oven.
• do it early
• The bread pudding can be made up to 12 hours in advance, covered, and refrigerated. Warm in a 300°F oven. The sauce can be made up to 48 hours in advance and refrigerated until ready to use. Reheat it in a heavy saucepan set over low heat until it is warm but not hot; or microwave it on medium power in a microwave-safe container until warm, about 1 to 2 minutes.