Salted Caramel Bread Pudding with Bittersweet Chocolate ~ Topped with Homemade Whipped Cream

My daughter's mother-in-law gave me a fabulous jar of Williams-Sonoma Salted Caramel Sauce for the holidays and said she was anxious to see how I'd use it.  I knew immediately that I wanted to use it in a bread pudding!

Large morsels of bittersweet chocolate dot this decadent caramel pudding.  You may think that 1/2 c. of these morsels may not be enough for the recipe; but, believe me, it's just the right amount.  Homemade whipped cream perfectly mellows the rich pudding.

Serve this sinfully delicious caramel pudding for Valentine's Day, and you'll be sure to leave them swooning!

                                     
                                                  It's So Good...

                                       I Just Can't Stop Eating It!

Unorthodox Black Bottom Pie Shots

My son-in-law loves pie, especially creamy ones...as he said, "the creamier, the better!"  Therefore, my daughter threw him a brilliant pie party; and not one person brought a fruit pie...they were all creamy pies! 

I've been dying to give shot desserts a "shot", so the pie party was the perfect opportunity!  With the birthday boy in mind, I developed these vanilla and chocolate custard pie shots.  The effort is broken up, since the recipe is made in portions over a couple of days.  The custards require a little attention; but the homemade taste is well worth the effort, and I enjoyed the project!

The pie shots were a big hit; and it was a fun, wholesome party, kids and all!

So, here again, I share more than one recipe in one post....

                                          They're Pie In Shot Glasses!

                                               

Makes approx. 55-60 completed shots (using 1.65 oz. plastic shot glasses*)

The Chocolate Custard  (*For 1/2 recipe...see my Big, Fat Soft Pretzels w/Rich Chocolate Custard)

Ingredients

• 1 c. granulated sugar
• 1/4 c. plus 3 TB cornstarch
• 10 large egg yolks, room temperature*
• 3 c. half and half (milk and cream)
• 12 oz. premium semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 2 TB salted butter, room temperature
• 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. Hand whisk the sugar and cornstarch in a heavy-duty electric mixer bowl.  Using the mixer beater attachment, beat the egg yolks into the sugar mixture.
2. Bring the half and half to a simmer over medium-low to medium heat in a 2 1/2 qt. saucepan*, hand whisking occasionally to prevent scorching.  Remove from the heat.
3. Using the wire whisk attachment to your mixer, whisk on low speed, in a slow stream, the hot half and half into the egg yolk mixture. 
4. Return the mixture to the saucepan and hand whisk over medium-low heat until hot. Add the chocolate and butter and continue hand whisking constantly until smooth and thickened, about 2-3 minutes. 
5. Transfer the custard to a 1 1/2 qt. (ideally glass) bowl and whisk in the vanilla.  Cool, stirring occasionally.  Gently press plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the custard.  Cover the entire bowl with additional plastic wrap and refrigerate the custard overnight, so it will be cold and firm.

                                              They're Shots of Pie!

                                                                   
In case you're wondering about the lovely pie in the fluted white pie dish behind the pie shots, it's a bananas foster white chocolate-peanut butter mousse pie that my daughter made; and it was extremely popular with the group!


The Vanilla Custard (Recipe may be halved.)  Adapted from a recipe for Vanilla Cream Pie as found in the retro Better Homes & Gardens Encyclopedia of Cooking, Vol. 14.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 c. granulated sugar
• 1/4 c. plus 2 TB cornstarch
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 4 c. (1 qt.) whole milk
• 6 large room temperature egg yolks, slightly beaten*
• 1/4 c. (1/2 stick) salted butter, room temperature
• 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. In a 2 1/2 qt. saucepan*, sift together the sugar, cornstarch and salt.
2. Gradually whisk in the milk and mix well.
3. Over medium low heat, whisk constantly (to avoid scorching) until thick and bubbly. (Be patient, this will take a while...don't leave the stove...catch up on a TV show while you whisk!)
4. Cook and whisk 2 more minutes, then remove from the heat.
5. Whisk about 1/4 c. of the hot mixture into the slightly beaten egg yolks.
6. Immediately return to the heat and whisk constantly until thick and bubbly again. (Patience!)
7. Cook and whisk an additional 2 minutes, then remove from the heat.
8. Whisk in the butter, then the vanilla.
9. Transfer to a 1 1/2 qt. (ideally glass) bowl and cool, stirring occasionally.  Gently press plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the custard.  Cover the entire bowl with additional plastic wrap and refrigerate the custard overnight, so it will be cold and firm.

The Cookie Crumb Layer

• Just deposit one Nabisco Oreo pie crust* into a gal. size food storage bag and crush (not too fine) with a rolling pin, pestle or the side of a mallet. 

The Whipped Cream Topping (Recipe may be halved.)

• In a chilled mixing bowl, whip 2 c. (1 pint) whipping cream and 3 TB powdered sugar until stiff peaks form and the mixture holds its shape.  Refrigerate until ready to use.

                                                They're Pie Shots!                        

                                                 Have A Shot!

The Assembly

To neatly fill the shot glasses:  For each custard, either use a large pastry bag and large round tip, or cut a very small snip off one corner of a qt. size food storage bag.

For each shot glass

1. Fill about 1/3 full with the chocolate custard. (In order to not leave streaks on the inside of the glasses, it helped me to hold the cup at eye level and go straight down with the bag.)
2. Sprinkle about a scant 1/2 tsp. of the crushed pie shell over the chocolate custard.
3. Fill with the vanilla custard to about 5/8" from the top of the shot glass.
4. Using a pastry bag with a large star tip, fill the remainder of the shot glass with a swirl of whipped cream.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.  Keeps well in the refrigerator for about one week.

*Tips

• I used 1.65 fl. oz. (50ml) plastic shot glasses by Premier Style, available in 20/ea. pkgs., which I found at Publix grocery.  To give you an idea of what I bought, here's one source; however, Publix's price was very competitive.
• I prefer a glass-ceramic (Corningware) saucepan to make these custards, especially the vanilla, in order to avoid grey streaks that could form in the custards when whisking in a metal pan.
• Use the leftover egg whites for an angel food cake or freeze for later.
• You will have some crushed pie crust left over...just use it on your ice cream, yogurt, etc.
• You can crush chocolate wafers and use as an option, if you prefer...I simply found that the pie crust was more reasonably priced and just as tasty.
• You may have a little chocolate or vanilla custard left over (chef's reward!), depending on how you fill the glasses.

                                   The Birthday Boy Is In Pie Heaven!

      

                   One Friend's (Male, Of Course!) Contribution...Beer Pie!           

                           

                                                Pie...Lots Of Pie!                   

                               

The pie shots make a real conversation item.  There was a lot of debate at the party:  "Are they really pie?" I insisted:  "Of course they are...they're pie in shot glasses...they're shots of pie...they're pie shots! (The crust is in the middle.)"


                   Oh, The Grandson Had To Smell Each And Every One...

                                    
                                               Of His Dad's Pies!

Enjoy!

Printable Recipe

A Very Tall, Buttery Pound Cake ~ Mother Taught Me How

My mother would serve a piece of cake to you, then immediately rip it out of your hand so she could examine the texture...always a big concern of hers.  Now, my children complain they can't enjoy anything I make without my barraging them with questions about it...like mother, like daughter, I guess!  

I have a cute little story to share with you:  When we were young, we had a neighborhood grocery store.  My mother sent my sister (she was probably about seven or eight years old) to the store to get a pound cake.  She was gone quite a while; and when we checked on her, she was weighing every cake in the store to find one that weighed exactly one pound!  We submitted this story to the local newspaper's magazine section, and it was printed along with a cartoon drawing of her weighing the cakes...which we felt looked just like her, ponytail and all!

I adapted this pound cake from a recipe I found in the newspaper many years ago, and it has quite a history. The Reverend Beverly Asbury named his cake The Bishop Asbury Pound Cake.  There was a Bishop Francis Asbury; however, Reverend Beverly Asbury was unaware of any family connection.  This is as close as I've seen to a true pound cake, which would actually have one pound each of the main ingredients.  It's tender and buttery and definitely the tallest and richest pound cake I've made...so, if you want to wow everyone with your pound cake, this would be it!

                                                      Oh, Wow!

                         
                                          That's One Tall Cake!
                                          

Approximately 12 large servings

Ingredients

• Non-stick baking spray
• 1 lb. butter with salt (4 sticks - or - 2 cups), room temperature
• 4 c. sugar
• 2 c. eggs (about 10 large or 8 extra large), room temperature
• 2 TB fresh lemon juice
• 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1/8th tsp. ground mace spice
• 4 c. all-purpose plain flour, sifted (In the South, we use White Lily--it is ideal for creating light and fluffy baked goods, as it is milled from only 100% pure, soft, red winter wheat.)

                                           Oh, What a Pretty Texture!

                                          Mother Would Be Proud!

Directions

1. Grease and flour a 10" tube pan (not a Bundt pan...the batter will overflow) with the non-stick baking spray.  If you use a tube pan with a removable insert, please see my Very Happy Birthday Pound Cake with Rich Chocolate Frosting with photos on how to line the pan with wax paper.
2. Lay a sheet of aluminum foil on the rack below the one you will bake the cake on, just in case your pan leaks a little grease and/or cake batter.
3. Preheat the oven to 325º.
4. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.  Scrape the bowl.
5. Using a medium mixer speed, add the eggs one at a time just until the yellow disappears...be careful not to over mix!  Scrape the bowl again.
6. Add the lemon juice and vanilla.
7. Whisk the mace into the flour and incorporate about 1 c. of the dry ingredients at a time to the batter.
8. Scrape the bowl one last time and give the batter a little extra mix.
9. Pour the batter into the pan* and bake for approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted and the cake springs back when gently pressed with your finger.
10. Cool overnight.  (For a moist cake, Mother instructed me to cover it with a clean dish towel and let "sweat" while cooling.)
11. Gently run a very thin-bladed knife around the edges and tube of the pan, then invert the cake onto a serving dish.  Carefully remove the tube and wax paper, if used.

*Tip:  Mother taught me to achieve a pretty texture in a cake, run a knife in opposite directions through the batter; but since the pan I use for this cake has a removable tube, I don't run it all the way to the bottom of the pan. Also, when I use my pan with a removable tube, I skip the next step which would be to drop your filled cake pan(s) on the counter a few times to release air bubbles.  When I do drop any cake pan(s) with batter on the counter, I always land up with batter on my ceiling, or unpredictable places, but I surely do have a cake with a pretty texture!

Pound cakes are best when you let them rest a day or two, and they freeze great (which makes them even more moist)!  I like to serve this wonderful pound cake as shortcake with a premium vanilla ice cream and/or whipped cream with crushed strawberries or fresh, sliced peaches.  See my Black Forest Cherry Trifle for preparing the whipped cream.  For the strawberries, I just wash, remove the stems, slice, crush and serve with no added sugar!  Also, don't hesitate to enjoy this cake plain or toasted with a good cup of coffee. 

Having a good pound cake around is a Southern must...it's so versatile and perfect for drop-in guests!

                                                 Come On In...

                                          Have a Piece of Cake!


And Enjoy Mother's Day!


Printable Recipe