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vegelady
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« on: January 03, 2010, 02:01:51 pm » |
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Cook Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes
Ingredients:
1 cup dried apricots, sliced, or 8 fresh apricots, cut in small wedges
1-1/4 cups sugar
Pudding:
7 egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar, plus additional for sprinkling
2 cups half-and-half or whole milk
2 cups cream
Grated zest of 1 orange
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1 Tablespoon kirsch (cherry brandy)
4 ounces good-quality almond paste, cut in pea-size pieces, optional
About 1 pound brioche, pain-de-mie or good day-old homemade white bread, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
(about 5 cups)
Directions:
In a small saucepan, simmer the apricots in 1 cup water and 1/4 cup of the sugar.
Poach the fruit until tender, about 12 minutes for dried, 5 for fresh. Drain the fruit, saving the liquid,
and set the fruit aside to cool.
Return the poaching liquid to the saucepan and add the remaining 1 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water.
Boil this mixture, and when it begins to brown, swirl the pan so that it caramelizes evenly.
Cook to a medium amber color. Very carefully pour the hot caramel into a 2-quart gratin dish or divide it
evenly among 6 small ramekins. Cool.
Whisk the egg yolks in a large bowl. Slowly add 1/3 cup sugar and mix well.
Whisk in the half-and-half or milk and the cream. Add the orange zest, salt, vanilla and almond extracts,
nutmeg, and kirsch. Gently fold in the poached apricots; the almond paste, if using; and the bread cubes.
Transfer the pudding mixture to the gratin dish or ramekins. Let rest at least 1 hour or refrigerate overnight.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Sprinkle a little sugar over the top of the pudding.
Place the gratin dish or ramekins on a baking sheet to catch any overflow. Bake until nicely browned, about
55 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Variation: Substitute prunes for the apricots and Armagnac for the kirsch.
Yield: 8 servings
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