Burnt Caramel Pudding Food

BURNT CARAMEL PUDDING

Steps:

• Heat oven to 300 F.Pour cream into a small saucepan. Split vanilla bean and scrape the seeds into the cream; toss the scraped pod in there, too. Turn the heat to low to gently warm the cream to just below a simmer. Remove from heat and set aside.
• Reserve 2 tablespoons of the sugar; pour remaining sugar and 1 1/2 tablespoons water into heavy-bottomed saucepan and set over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Then crank the heat to high and let the liquid bubble away. Don't stir, just swirl the pan occasionally, until it turns dark amber. This takes about 4 minutes, but watch closely because it happens fast. Moving quickly, fish the vanilla pod out of the cream and save for another use. Slowly stir the warm cream into the caramel. Let the mixture cool for about 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks with the remaining sugar and a pinch of salt in a medium bowl, until light and lemon colored.
• Whisk a little of the cream-caramel mixture into the egg yolks, to temper the yolks. Then add the yolk and cream mixture to the pot of cream and caramel. Strain the mixture into a pitcher or large measuring cup.
• Pour the mixture into four ramekins. If you like your caramel a bit salty, sprinkle a few extra grains of sea salt on top of each one. Place the ramekins in a shallow pan. Place the pan in the oven, and fill the outside of the pan with cold water, to halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake for about an hour to an hour and 15 minutes, until the custard is set in the middle.
• Remove the puddings from the oven, remove them from the water bath, and let cool completely. Chill for at least 6 hours, but it's best if you can chill overnight. Serve with whipped heavy cream, if you like.

BURNT ORANGE BREAD PUDDING

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9-by-5-inch glass loaf pan or an 8-inch square glass baking pan.
• Arrange the brioche on a wire rack to dry out. Crack the eggs into a mixing bowl and whisk until blended. Add the sugar and whisk until smooth. (Whisk really well or you'll get scrambled eggs when placed in the oven.) Add the milk, vanilla and salt and whisk until completely blended. Pour the custard through a fine-mesh sieve into another bowl. Whisk in the citrus zest.
• Place the brioche in the prepared pan, cutting to fit as needed. Pour the custard evenly over the bread, filling the dish to the top. You may not be able to add all of the custard at this point. Let the mixture sit for 15 minutes, so that the bread can absorb the custard.
• Just before baking, top off the dish with more of the remaining custard if the previous addition has been completely absorbed. Cover the dish with foil and bake until it has just set (no color is necessary), about 1 hour 15 minutes for a loaf pan and 35 to 45 minutes for an 8-inch square pan. To test for doneness, uncover the dish, slip a knife into the center and push the bread aside. If the custard is still very liquid, cover the dish and return the pudding to the oven for another 10 minutes. If only a little liquid remains, the pudding is ready to come out of the oven. The custard will continue to cook after it is removed from the oven and it will set up as it cools.
• Let cool for about 10 minutes before serving. You can serve the bread pudding by slicing it and removing each slice with an offset spatula, or by scooping it out with a serving spoon. Divide the bread pudding among plates. Add a scoop of ice cream. Top with Burnt Oranges and drizzle with Caramel Sauce. Top with a dollop of whipped cream.
• Preheat the grill to medium. Dust the orange wedges with sugar. Grill until char marks appear, 2 to 3 minutes on each side.
• In a medium, heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, 1/2 cup water, the corn syrup and salt. (Use a good-size pan because the caramel will boil vigorously and the volume will increase dramatically as soon as the hot cream is added.) Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Let the mixture boil, without stirring, until amber colored. Watch the sugar mixture carefully as it cooks to avoid burning the sugar. From the time the mixture started to boil, it takes over 15 minutes to reach an amber color. Remove from the heat. The mixture will continue to cook off the heat and become darker, so make sure to have the cream close by.
• Carefully and slowly add the warm cream to the caramel. The mixture will boil vigorously at first. Let the mixture simmer down and then whisk until smooth. Add the lemon juice and vanilla.
• Cut the butter into 1-inch chunks and add to the caramel sauce, one piece at a time, whisking constantly after each addition. Whisk the caramel periodically as it continues to cool. Pour the caramel sauce into an airtight container such as a glass jar and store in the refrigerator. This will keep for up to a month.

SALTED CARAMEL BANANA PUDDING PIE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Put the vanilla wafers in a food processor and pulse until the cookies are finely crushed. Reserve 1/2 cup to layer in and to top the pie. Pour the remaining crumbs in a 9-inch pie plate. Pour the melted butter over the top and, using a spoon or your hands, combine the ingredients. Press the mixture in the bottom and up the sides and onto the lip of the pie plate. Bake until lightly browned, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove to a wire rack and cool completely, about 30 minutes.
• Peel and slice the bananas, adding them to a bowl. Stir the salt into the caramel sauce and toss the banana slices with the salted caramel. Arrange some banana slices evenly over the bottom of the crust. Spread half of the warm Vanilla Pudding over the bananas, top with some more crushed vanilla wafers (reserving some for garnish) and more caramel-coated bananas. Spread the remaining Vanilla Pudding over the top.
• In a large bowl, whip the cream until stiff peaks are just about to form. Add the almond extract and sugar and beat until peaks form. Make sure not to overbeat, or the cream will become lumpy and butter-like. Spread the whipped cream over the pie. Just before serving, garnish with a caramel swirl and the rest of the crushed vanilla wafers.
• Combine the sugar and 1/3 cup water in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan. This is the only time you can stir the sugar. If you stir it while it's cooking, it turns to rock candy. Place the saucepan over medium to low heat until the sugars start to dissolve, 5 to 10 minutes. Then turn the heat up to medium-high and cook until the sugar starts to caramelize, 5 to 7 minutes. Do not stir while this is happening. You've got to watch the pot, because it goes from caramel to burnt really quickly. And be careful, the mixture is extremely hot!
• Turn off the heat and stand back to avoid splattering. Slowly add the cream. Don't panic - the cream will bubble violently, and the caramel will solidify. Just give it more time to liquefy again-trust me!
• Simmer over low heat, stirring constantly, until the caramel dissolves and the sauce is smooth, about 2 minutes. Allow the sauce to cool to room temperature, at least 4 hours. It will thicken as it sits.
• 3 cups.
• In a bowl, whisk together the sugar and flour until all of the lumps are gone. Once it is a fine powder, whisk in the egg yolks and whole eggs and continue whisking until a smooth paste is formed. Slowly whisk in 1 cup milk, and once this is incorporated add the remaining 1 cup milk. Transfer the mixture to a saucepan and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until it reaches the thickness of chilled pudding, 10 to 15 minutes. (Mixture will just begin to bubble and will be thick enough to hold soft peaks when the whisk is lifted.) Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.