TWD – Fresh Mango Bread
Kelly of Baking with the Boys selected Fresh Mango Bread for the May 19th edition of Tuesdays with Dorie. I was real excited about this choice, this bread has always interested me because, well, mango bread is not something you see every day. Or ever.
This bread is spiced perfectly with ginger and cinnamon and has big chunks of mango and raisins. It’s similar to a banana bread but soooo much better.
I bought a mango but it go too ripe so I ended up using pre-cut mango chunks instead. I switched out light raisins for dark, dark brown sugar for light, and left out the lime zest because I simply forgot to put it in. I made a full recipe and baked for about one hour and 30 minutes. Stirring up this batter really hurt my arms, it was some THICK stuff. I felt totally weak and made a vow to do my 30 Day Shred video for more than just one day (have I done it for more than that first day?…. no). I used a foil tent the entire baking time so the top didn’t get too brown – better safe than sorry, and also followed the instructions about double lining the pans so the bottom didn’t brown too much either.
I had a piece soon after taking it out of the oven but, in my opinion, you really need to leave this bread alone for an entire day wrapped in plastic wrap. It was good that first day, but the second day it was perfection. The flavors and textures needed time to develop.
Also, the top gets kind of crispy which is one of my favorite things to have happen in baked goods. Can you tell I liked this bread? I really did. I even talked about it with a friend the next day and since I bake a lot more now than I ever have, I don’t talk much about individual recipes anymore outside of this blog.
Thanks to Kelly of Baking with the Boys for choosing this week’s recipe. Head on over here to view the recipeor you can check out Dorie Greenspan’s Baking: From my home to yours on page 45. Next week, it’s Chipster-Topped Brownies chosen by Beth of Supplicious.
TFF: Coconut Bread with Sweet Pineapple Butter
In Tyler Florence’s book Real Kitchen, in the section on side dishes he makes a comment that chefs know a lot of people order entrees based just on what side dish comes with it. I’ll agree with that but I also take it one step further because a lot of times in restaurants I’ll order dinner just based on sauce or condiment alone. Something with a raspberry reduction or maybe a chipotle mayonnaise? I’m there! Something in a lemon ginger cream sauce? Ohhh, baby! I don’t even care if the stuff comes on top of something I don’t really like.
So the same thing happened when I saw this Coconut Bread with Sweet Pineapple Butter. All I saw was “Sweet Pineapple Butter” and I knew I was making it. I’m not a big coconut fan, but it didn’t matter.
This is an easy bread to throw together. All the basics plus coconut milk, toasted shredded coconut, lemon zest, brown sugar and vanilla. The pineapple butter is just pineapple and butter mixed together. A little dusting of confectioners sugar and it’s done. Easy, and seriously good.
I halved the recipe and baked in two mini loaf pans, they only took about a half hour to be done. The coconut flavor was nice, the bread was moist but that pineapple butter is really where it’s at. I was slathering the stuff on thick thinking “I really shouldn’t be doing this….” but I kept doing it anyway. 
You can go here here to see the recipe. Coconut Bread with Sweet Pineapple Butter is my seventh post for Tyler Florence Fridays, a group with the freedom to make any recipe of Tyler’s that they choose and then share their experiences every Friday.
Fresh Ginger and Chocolate Gingerbread
This past New Year’s Eve, I felt something different than I usually do on New Year’s Eve. I felt hopeful. 2009 has not disappointed me yet, it’s starting off great. I already started working on my resolutions the second week of December so I didn’t have the dreaded January 2nd failure. I’ve successfully given up the French Vanilla Cappuccino and Hot Chocolate from the machine at work that was making me kind of tubby. I started running again (though actually mostly walking from all the knee, ankle and leg pain I experience). I quit smoking. I’m happy right now.
Life is good.
So is this Fresh Ginger and Chocolate Gingerbread.
Fresh ginger, dried ginger (and even candied stem ginger if you choose) team up with bittersweet chocolate, molasses and spices with a chocolate-coffee icing spread over the top. The final result is the moistest, most grown up version of gingerbread I’ve ever made. I highly recommend trying this one out. If you really like the taste of ginger, wait until the day two to eat the cake, the flavors are much more pronounced.
Sherry of Sherry Trifle selected Fresh Ginger and Chocolate Gingerbread for the January 27th edition of Tuesdays with Dorie. Please stop by Sherry Trifle here to check out the recipe or see pages 212-213 in Dorie Greenspan’s book Baking: From my home to yours.
Coming up next Tuesday is Dorie Greenspan’s World Peace Cookies chosen by Jessica of cookbookhabit.
Bananas Foster Bread Pudding… Hold me back!
I’ve had bananas on the brain recently. It started with the Banana Sour Cream Pancakes I recently made. From those I still had some bananas left that were needing to be used so I got to looking around for a new recipe to try out.
Back in November I won The Art and Soul of Baking by Cindy Mushet in a cookbook giveaway. For the last couple of months I have done a lot of looking through this book but hadn’t made a thing. I figured it was high time I got around to trying something out.
The Bananas Foster Bread Pudding seemed to be the perfect choice. It’s an easy recipe with some toasted challah, a banana custard, and butterscotch-rum sauce. Absolutely delicious! The banana flavor was really pronounced and the sauce was amazing. The only thing I wished was that I had actual banana slices to add on top, that would have made this even better.
If the rest of Cindy Mushet’s cookbook produces results like this one, I’m in trouble! Look at the size of the piece I ate all by myself. I’m not ashamed… well, maybe just a little. 
I won The Art and Soul of Baking cookbook from Matt’s Kitchen who is actually having another giveaway right now for Bon Appetit’s newest release: Fast, Easy Fresh. Stop by here to check it out.
Bananas Foster Bread Pudding
The Art & Soul of Baking by Cindy Mushet
Ingredients
Bread Pudding:
1 loaf (1 to 1 1/2 pounds challah, brioche or other rich, dense bread) I used challah
2 ripe bananas
2 large eggs
4 large egg yolks
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 cups heavy whipping cream
2 cups whole milk
Butterscotch-Rum Sauce:
2 sticks (8 oz) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons dark rum
1 tablespoon banana liqueur (or use additional rum)
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extra
Preheat oven to 325. Butter or oil a 9 by 9 by 2-inch square cake pan.
Bread: Cut the crusts away from all sides of the bread. Cut into one inch cubes, spread cubes on baking sheet and toast in the oven for 20 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool. Measure 6 cups of bread cubes and place them in the cake pan.
Custard: Peel bananas and break them into chunks. Place in food processor and puree until very smooth. In a medium bowl, whisk eggs, egg yolks, and sugar until blended. Add banana puree and vanilla and whisk until blended. Add cream and milk and whisk until blended.
Soak Bread Cubes: Pour custard over the bread cubes in the baking pan. Cover with plastic wrap and press down gently so all bread cubes are soaked with custard. Set aside for 30 minutes, pressing down every couple of minutes so the top bread cubes are covered with custard.
Bake: Remove plastic wrap and bake for 45 to 60 minutes until the top is browned and the custard is set. Remove from oven and transfer to a rack to cool.
Make the Sauce: Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat. Add brown sugar and cinnamon and raise heat to medium. Bring to a boil, whisking frequently. Cook for 2 minutes at a boil, whisking constantly until the mixture is thick and smooth. Remove from heat and – away from the flame! – add the rum, banana liqueur, and vanilla. Return to heat and boil for 1 more minute, whisking. Use sauce while warm.
Serve the bread pudding warm, cut into squares and topped with vanilla ice cream and butterscotch-rum sauce. Then promise yourself you’ll go to the gym tomorrow.
Pappa Al Pomodoro
Pappa al Pomodoro is a Tuscan bread and tomato soup. I’ve been eyeing this recipe up ever since I got Ina Garten’s new book Back to Basics. I love tomatoes, I could eat them everyday and I pretty much do. And I love bread. That was almost a guarantee that I would love Pappa al Pomodoro.
The ingredient list for this soup is pretty minimal. It calls for fennel which I’ve never actually used fresh before. It smells just like licorice. The prep work isn’t too bad. It’s a lot of chopping and cubing, but there’s plenty of stages where things cook at different times so you have lots of time to get it all done as you’re going through. This may be one of the first times I’ve been in the kitchen cooking completely relaxed and in control, usually I’m a disorganized mess. I’m just not as comfortable with cooking as I am with baking… yet.
I did change a few things. I couldn’t bring myself to use so much olive oil so I cut both quantities in half. I’m really sensitive to salt so I cut that in half as well. I had to use bacon since my local grocery store didn’t carry pancetta. I ran out of basil leaves while making the garnish so dried basil went into the actual soup. (Tip: If you’re using dried basil instead of fresh… 1 cup fresh would equal maybe 1/4 to 1/3 dried according to the other cooks on the ‘net).
This was very good. After some whisking, the bread dissolved and you get a thick, rich tomato soup. The garnish served as a nice texture difference as well as giving an additional flavor from the bacon (in my case). Some reviews I read said this version was bland which kind of threw me for a loop. I definitely didn’t think it was bland, but everyone’s tastes are different I guess.
Thanks go out to Natalie of Burned Bits for choosing this soup for the second December Barefoot Bloggers selection. Make sure you stop by Natalie’s blog to see what she thought of her choice.
Ina Garten’s Pappa Al Pomidoro
Cookbook: Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics
Show: Barefoot Contessa Episode: Bread Winner
Ingredients
1/2 cup good olive oil
2 cups chopped yellow onion (2 onions)
1 cup medium-diced carrots, unpeeled (3 carrots)
1 fennel bulb, trimmed, cored, and medium-diced (1 1/2 cups)
4 teaspoons minced garlic (4 cloves)
3 cups (1-inch) diced ciabatta cubes, crusts removed
2 (28-ounce) cans good Italian plum tomatoes
4 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
1/2 cup dry red wine
1 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
For the topping:
3 cups (1-inch) diced ciabatta cubes
2 ounces thickly sliced pancetta, chopped
24 to 30 whole fresh basil leaves
3 tablespoons good olive oil, plus more for serving
Salt and pepper
Click Here For Directions
Kugelhopf
Sometimes, a recipe will sneak up on you. You make sure you have all the ingredients way ahead of time, then you put off making said recipe until the last minute. Then you read over the directions and realize what you’re making requires 1.5 hours of rising time, two hours of slapping down dough every 30 minutes, overnight chilling and then three hours of rising time once chilled overnight. Geez!
It’s my own fault though that I didn’t read this recipe that closely beforehand. And that I didn’t catch what should have been the instant trigger… “yeast”. So, I hate to say it, but I was waking up for a few minutes at a time last night all night long playing around in this dough. I even set the alarm for 3 am to have proper rising time before baking this morning before leaving for work. What can I say? I was dedicated to Yolanda of The All-purpose Girl‘s choice of Kugelhopf for this week’s Tuesdays with Dorie recipe. I was getting it done. And on Tuesday.
My thoughts: The mixer does all the work for you so making up the dough is easy. I added an extra egg white by mistake, but don’t think it mattered all that much. The dough came out really soft and stretchy. Then you had to wait, wait, wait. I had no issues really with the rising, although it didn’t rise as much as I expected it would.
The taste: This was one of those baked goods I really need to watch myself with. It’s subtle with the sweetness so you don’t have the “Too sweet, ugh I’m sick!” reaction kick in to make you stop eating. It’s easy to have a little, then a little more, then a little more. I thought I was tired of raisins right now, but the raisins were good in this. The texture of the Kugelhopf was really interesting. It was kind of bready, kind of cakey, and the top with the butter and sugar soak was…. I’m really drawing a blank here on how to describe it, I want to just say “different”. But that’s not a good description. Oh well.
I don’t know if I’d go out of my way to make this again since I’m a much bigger fan of shorter preparation times, but I thought this cake was worth the wait in the end. Thanks, Yolanda for choosing it, I would have never made this myself. Make sure you stop by here at The All-purpose Girl to see the recipe and what Yolanda thought of her choice.
Next week is Arborio Rice Pudding White, Black (Or Both) as selected by Isabelle of Les gourmandises d’Isa. Awesome, I have made this before and it’s soooo good! I can’t wait for next week!
Barefoot Bloggers: Jalapeño Cheddar Cornbread
It’s Barefoot Bloggers time again! For the fourth selection, Sabrina and Alexander of Cooking with the Kids have chosen Jalapeño Cheddar Cornbread. I thought this was an interesting choice for the group. Definitely a recipe I have overlooked in the Barefoot Contessa at Home book and one I probably never would’ve made on my own.
The recipe is simple and straightforward. I made 1/3 of the recipe, and after a long day, I have to say my mathematical skills were really failing when it came to scaling down some of the ingredients. 
I added extra cheese because I figured everything is better with extra cheese. I also used canned jalapeños and dried chives in place of the fresh scallions. Instead of using two bowls like Ina says, I just dumped all the ingredients into one and stirred with a *plastic* spoon instead of wooden. Yeah, that’s right, I’m a rebel.
On a side note… does anyone have one of those Aero Gardens? Every once in a while, I consider getting one because A: I don’t think an actual garden would work that well in my backyard and B: I almost always use dried herbs instead of fresh because I usually can’t justify the cost of fresh herbs. Especially when I end up using just a little bit and then throwing the rest away.
Anyway, the cornbread smelled great once out of the oven. I let it cool off for a bit and then cut myself a small slice. The texture was really light. On first taste, I don’t know if I would call it Cornbread if I was eating it without knowing what the name of it was. It was more of an almost spongy, cakey texture. Though the second day, eating it at room temperature, it was more like a cornbread I guess. The jalapeños gave it a nice kick, but it wasn’t too spicy. I’m glad I tried this out, I could see myself making it again.
Thanks to Sabrina and Alexander of Cooking with the Kids for picking a great recipe. Be sure to stop by their blog and check out how things went with their Jalapeño Cheddar Cornbread. Then head on over to the Barefoot Bloggers blogroll to see how the other members did. The Barefoot Bloggers group is up to 87 members now. If you’ve been thinking about joining but haven’t yet for some reason, what are you waiting for?
Next time, the recipe selection comes from Ashley of The Spicy Skillet.
Jalapeño Cheddar Cornbread
Book: Barefoot Contessa at Home
Show: Barefoot Contessa – Episode: The Cat’s Away
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons baking powder
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 cups milk
3 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted, plus extra to grease the pan
8 ounces aged extra-sharp Cheddar, grated, divided
1/3 cup chopped scallions, white and green parts, plus extra for garnish, 3 scallions
3 tablespoons seeded and minced fresh jalapeño peppers
Check out the directions here!
Pecan Honey Sticky Buns – TWD
This week’s Tuesday with Dorie selection was Pecan Honey Sticky Buns chosen by Madam Chow of Madam Chow’s Kitchen.
I was happy to make these. I’m not the biggest pecan fan but I thought they tasted really good. Very easy to put together once the brioche dough is ready to go. And they roll up so nice and cute too. Look…
A little closer look…
It seems to take forever from the time you start this recipe until you actually get to taste it because of the dough rising and chilling time. AND then an hour and a half of rising time before you can bake after you have rolled and cut the buns. They are so worth the wait though.
I used some of the leftover glaze that I made for the Brioche Raisin Snails. Very nice addition although certainly not necessary.
Mmm Hmmm…
Stop by Tuesdays with Dorie to check out all of the marvelous TWD bakers blogs to see how theirs turned out. Next week’s selection is French Chocolate Brownies chosen by Di of Di’s Kitchen Notebook. See you next Tuesday!
This post is dedicated to my KitchenAid mixer for working overtime this week on the brioche. Love you KitchenAid, you are the best $125 deal I’ve ever gotten!
Pecan Honey Sticky Buns
Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan
Blast From TWD Past – Brioche Raisin Snails
Since making the Brioche for the Pecan Honey Sticky Buns leaves you with extra dough, this was the perfect time to go back and get to one of the recipes that was selected for Tuesdays with Dorie before I joined the group. My intention is to eventually get through all the completed recipes I missed before I began with Bill’s Big Carrot Cake. One down, only sixteen more to go!
Brioche Raisin Snails were originally chosen by Peabody of Culinary Concoctions by Peabody for the week of March 18th. Check out Peabody’s post from back then here to see how her Tangerine Glazed version of Brioche Raisin Snails turned out.
Now, this recipe is kind of involved. There are a lot of things going on between making the brioche, the pastry cream, the glaze and igniting the raisins but this was a fun one to do. My favorite part was seeing the ingredients for the pastry cream change form from liquid whisked up eggs and milk to a solid cream. It seemed to happen in one second. Like magic.
On first taste you may not “get” these. I took my first bite and thought “eh, whatever”. But then, over the next few bites I really started to like them. The taste was subtle and not overly sweet. I finished the first one, tried one of the Pecan Sticky Buns and then had to go back for another one of these snails to taste it some more. Then I felt sick.
When I got up this morning I was craving one. Seriously, look at them… I couldn’t deny myself. Could you? (um, if you can somehow, don’t say anything about my lack of willpower. please? k, thanks!)
Brioche Raisin Snails
Dorie Greenspan’s Baking: From My Home to Yours
