Disney's Ohana Bread Pudding

Bread pudding was first known as "poor man's pudding" because leftover stale bread was softened with a little water, sugar, and spices. However nothing feels poor about this bread pudding.Warm from the oven, smelling of butter and cinnamon, sweetened with a caramel-like banana sauce and topped with vanilla ice cream.

Disney's Ohana Bread Pudding

Recipe adapted from Disney's Polynesian Resort

Breading Pudding

8 cups french bread (at least one pound loaf)

5 eggs

3 cups whole milk

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 1/2 cup sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cut bread into 1 1/2 inch cubes, place on a cookie sheet and bake until lightly toasted, about 12-15 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.

Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees F. Grease a 10-inch cake pan with butter or shortening.

In a bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients. Add the bread and gently stir until it is coated with the milk mixture. Place mixture in cake pan and bake for 1 hour. Let stand 10 minutes, serve warm with ice cream.

Banana Foster Sauce

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup corn syrup

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 cup heavy cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp rum extract

1 cup banana slices (about 4 bananas)

Directions

Combine both sugars, corn syrup, butter, spices, and half of the heavy cream in a large pan. Bring to a boil and slowly add remaining heavy cream keeping mixture at a steady boil.

Candy will brown slightly; cook 3 minutes until candy forms into a firm ball in cold water. Remove from heat and add extracts. Add sliced bananas. Serve warm.

Macerated Strawberries

I didn't bake anything in April! Not one thing! I made these macerated strawberries about six or seven times though!

First, wash your strawberries very well, and even let them sit in water for 10 minutes to hydrate the skins.

Cut them into fourths and...

Sprinkle with granulated sugar until evenly coated. Optional: lightly squeeze a lemon to add a little juice.

Let sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. The longer the better.

I like reddiwip more than cool whip. Or you can make delicious cream yourself!

The berries will become juicy, soft, and sweet!

I love berries!

Whipped Cream – Two ways

Fresh, homemade sweetened whipped cream is far superior to cool whip or reddiwhip. It takes literally 10 seconds to make, so don’t eat that junk anymore.

You can make an easy, quick version in your blender to top off that ice cream or pie you’re about to eat:

 

Blender Recipe

1 cup heavy or whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 tablespoons powdered sugar (the fresher the better)

Stir all ingredients in your blender and then blend for 10 seconds. Eat immediately, leftovers will melt but will still taste good!

Junior’s Decorator’s Whipped Cream

This recipe is from Junior’s Cheesecake Cookbook. The cream is stabilized with gelatin, making it easier to work with because it’s firmer- perfect for piping. You can use heavy or whipping cream, they usually taste the same but whipping cream tends to hold its shape a little better.

1 teaspoon unflavored granulated gelatin
1 tablespoon cold water
1 cup cold heavy or whipping cream
1 tablespoon sugar (I like to use 3 tablespoons powdered sugar instead)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract


Place the gelatin in a small heatproof bowl. Stir in the cold water, and let stand until it thickens- this usually takes about one minute. Cook the gelatin in the microwave on high for about 30 seconds until liquidy and melted. (Yes, it will smell.)

In a medium sized bowl, whip the cream with an electric mixer on high until it thickens and soft peaks just to begin to form. With the mixer still running, add the sugar and beat just until the cream stands up in peaks. Beat in the vanilla and melted gelatin until the cream stands up in peaks. Don’t over mix or the cream will curdle and look lumpy. Refrigerate for 30 minutes but not more than 1 hour. Use to fill or frost a cake. (I’ve used it immediately without chilling and it still stands up fine).

Tip: Only fill your pastry bag half full. This makes it easier to control while piping. Squeeze a little cream back into the bowl to get rid of pockets of air.  

Raspberry Sauce

I make this for ice cream, cheesecake, chocolate cake, pound cake- anything really. Its full awesomeness is tasted when paired with white chocolate. Especially white chocolate ice cream or white chocolate cheesecake. Its that sweet and tart thing.  

I’ve made it plenty of times without the jam, still tastes great, just a little more tart. You don’t have to thaw the frozen berries. This recipe makes a thin sauce, but if you would like it thicker and gooey, combine a teaspoon of cornstarch to a teaspoon of cold water in a separate small bowl. Then add this to the recipe and cook until bubbly. I’ve also tried using frozen strawberries- just as good.

Raspberry Sauce

1 (12 oz.) bag of frozen raspberries
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons cornstarch mixed in 1 teaspoon cold water

In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring frozen berries to a slight simmer, DO NOT MIX (keep the fruit together as much as possible). Strain out seeds with a fine mesh sieve. Return sauce back to stove and add sugar and vanilla, simmer for a minute until dissolved. Add cornstarch mixture, simmer for one minute until thickened. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Store in refrigerator.