Bourbon Raisin Butterscotch Pear Bread Pudding

This Bourbon Raisin Butterscotch Pear Bread Pudding is a decadent and delicious adult treat. Make it kid-friendly by subbing apple juice.

When I was growing up, and thinking about it reasonably it’s probably still true today, cakes in South American all seemed to have liquor or liqueurs as flavoring. Even cakes made for a child’s birthday party were soaked in it! Young me hated them. 

Now I see the allure. As long as it’s not overdone, the alcohol adds a little punch of flavor, not unlike adding vanilla but more grown up. One of my favorite ways to add alcohol to a bake is by soaking raisins in it.

If you agree, you might want to bake my rum raisin banana muffins, my whiskey raisin oatmeal bars, or my rum raisin butter Bundt with rum honey glaze.

Once again, this is not a sponsored post but my key ingredient, the butterscotch pears, were a gift from Melissa’s Produce as part of a promotion for their Family Baking Challenge. Lots of great prizes to win including a KitchenAid mixer! You can find all the details on their website! 

Bourbon Raisin Butterscotch Pear Bread Pudding

I used our favorite bourbon – Bulleit - to soak my golden raisins but if you are not a bourbon fan, substitute your favorite tipple. If you need to keep this kid-friendly, use apple juice instead. As you will see in the photos, I used Sara Lee brioche. Substitute your favorite loaf. This recipe is adapted from one on the Melissa’s Produce website. 

Ingredients 

For the bread pudding:

1 cup, loosely packed, or 120g golden raisins

1/2 cup or 120ml bourbon 

2 large Butterscotch Pears (approx. weight = 780g)

Zest 1 small lemon 

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup or 57g butter, plus extra for the pan

3/4 cup or 150g granulated sugar, divided

6 cups or about 265g cubed stale brioche bread (This was 9 slices of the Sara Lee.)

4 eggs

1 cup or 240ml whipping cream 

1 1/2 cups milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Pinch salt

For serving: 

Whipping cream

Method

Warm the bourbon slightly in a microwave or small pot on the stove and then pour it over the raisins in a small bowl. Cover with cling film and set aside. 

Preheat your oven to 325°F or 163°C. The original recipe uses an 8x8 in or 20x20cm baking dish but you will see from the photos, I decided to use disposable aluminum pans to make sharing this delicious pudding easier, which means that I was effectively using an 8x10 in or 20x25cm pan. The bread pudding turns out slightly less deep but still wonderful. Butter whichever pan or pans you decide to use and set aside. 

Core and peel the pears then toss them in a large bowl with the lemon juice to stop them from turning brown.

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add a 1/2 cup or 100g of the sugar and stir until combined. Add the pear slices in an even layer. 

Cook, without stirring for 8 minutes until the sugar and fruit begin to caramelize. 

Flip the slices and cook for a further 5-8 minutes until both the fruit and the caramel are golden brown. Remove the pan from the heat. 

Meanwhile, prepare the custard by whisking the eggs in a large bowl, then adding the remaining 1/4 cup or 50g sugar, cream, milk, vanilla, lemon zest, cinnamon and salt.  Whisk again to combine. 

Drain the raisins and reserve the bourbon that wasn’t soaked up. Set aside a small handful for topping.

Spread half of the bread cubes into the prepared pan. Top with half of the raisins. Add a second layer with the rest of the bread cubes and top with the rest of the raisins.

Pour the custard mixture over the bread. Press down to make sure all cubes are soaked.  

Layer pear slices evenly over the top of the bread mixture. Top with remaining caramel from the skillet and the handful of reserved raisins.  

Bake for 55-65 minutes until fully set. Leave to cool for about 10 minutes. 

Pour the reserved bourbon over the top, if desired, and leave it to soak in. 

At our house bread pudding is always accompanied by a generous pour of whipping cream. 

Enjoy! 

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Spiced Persimmon Crème Brûlée

Sweet pumpkin persimmons add a delightful flavor to this spiced persimmon crème brûlée. Top with sliced persimmons and perhaps a few candied pecans for a deliciously memorable holiday dessert.

Who doesn’t love crème brûlée? Soft custard, just barely set, topped with crunchy sugar blasted into goldenness by a kitchen torch. I tell you, friends, these are the things dreams are made of! 

As I mentioned in my Winter Crunch grape muffin post, this is not a sponsored post but I was gifted the pumpkin persimmons by Melissa’s Produce. It was such a treat to open the box and see all of the wonderful goodies inside! 

If you haven’t heard about their Family Baking Challenge, let me fill you in. There are more than $5,000 in prizes to be won, including a KitchenAid mixer. Full details and sign up here: Melissa's Produce website. 

Spiced Persimmon Crème Brûlée

Like many families, we are a small household these days so I tend to downsize recipes to minimize waste and leftovers. The original recipe on Bigger Bolder Baking makes six whereas mine makes only four. My recipe calls for 2 pumpkin persimmons which weighed 8.75 oz or 248g, about 1 1/4 cups after peeling, coring and cubing.

Ingredients for 4 crème brûlée

For the custard:

2 sweet pumpkin persimmons, plus 1 extra for serving

1 1/4 cups or 295ml heavy cream

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ginger

Pinch fine sea salt

5 large egg yolks

4 tablespoons sugar

To serve:

extra sugar for the brûlée top

extra slices of pumpkin persimmon

Optional: candied pecans

Method

Peel, core and chop the pumpkin persimmons into small cubes. Aren't they a glorious color?

In a medium saucepan, heat the cream, persimmons, cinnamon and ginger over medium heat just to a simmer and then remove from the heat. 

Allow the persimmons to steep in the cream and infuse for 30 minutes.

Once the cream mixture has cooled, blend the mix either in a food processor or blender until the persimmon is really smooth.

In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks with sugar. Gently whisk the cream mixture into the yolk mixture.

Lay a cheesecloth (or fine cloth) over a sieve and pass the custard base through it to remove persimmon pulp. This step is important to ensure a silky smooth brûlée. This takes some time and effort because the custard is thick but do persevere. It’s worth it! 

Heat your oven to 300°F or 150°C. Place four 6-ounce crème brûlée dishes in a roasting pan; set aside. As you can see, my largest deep baking pan only fits three so I used two pans which can fit on the same oven rack. 

Pour the persimmon custard into the dishes and transfer to the oven’s middle rack. (I had two cups of custard so half a cup or 4 oz each.) Pour hot water into the roasting pan until it reaches halfway up the side of the dishes.

Bake until set but still a bit jiggly in the center — about 35-40 minutes. Cool completely. Cover and chill for up to 2 days.

To brûlée the tops: sprinkle 1 tablespoon sugar over the top of each. I like to use a small sieve to make sure it's sprinkles evenly. 

Caramelize the sugar using a kitchen torch OR place dishes on a baking sheet and broil on high, watching carefully until bubbling and golden brown.

Let rest until the sugar hardens to a crisp shell. Top with a couple of slices of pumpkin persimmon and,if desired, candied pecans.

Enjoy!

If you love persimmons, you might also like my ripe persimmon muffins and a brief explanation of persimmon varieties.

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Winter Crunch Grape Muffins #MuffinMonday

Winter Crunch grape muffins are baked until golden with those special grapes for a light and tender sweet treat perfect for breakfast or snack time.  

I must confess that I had never heard of Winter Crunch™grapes before they arrived, a gift of Melissa’s Produce, along with some sweet pumpkin persimmons and butterscotch pears. I was expecting the last two items since signing up to take part in the family baking challenge, but the grapes were a surprise.  

They are crunchy and sweet and it took a lot of self-control not to sit and eat the whole clamshell full before I could create something with them. This is not a sponsored post but I still wanted to take advantage of the gift by making something to share. 

According to the Melissa’s Produce website, “Due to their late harvest, these grapes develop an excellent sweet flavor tone that is juicy and delicious. Great sizing, sugar content and texture, this seedless grape variety tops the competition.” They are indeed lovely and a great bonus. 

Winter Crunch Grape Muffins

The grapes retain a bit of their eponymous crunch in these sweet muffins, even though I cut them into quarters. The reddish purple outsides contrast beautifully with the pale green insides. 

Ingredients for 6 muffins

1 1/4 cup or 156g all purpose flour

1/2 cup or 100g sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup or 120ml milk

1/4 cup or 60ml canola oil

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 large egg

1 generous cup or about 175g fresh Winter Crunch™grapes, cut in quarters

Method

Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C Generously grease the cups and top of 6-cup muffin pan or use paper muffin liners.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Stir in about two thirds of your quartered grapes, coating them well with the mixture. Set aside the other third for topping.

In another smaller mixing bowl, whisk together the milk, oil, vanilla and egg. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredient bowl. 

Gently fold the milk mixture into the flour mixture just until dry ingredients are moistened.

Divide your batter evenly between the six muffin cups. Top with the reserved grape quarters. I put some up and some down to show off the color difference. 

Bake for 20-25 minutes in your preheated oven or until muffins are turning golden.

Remove from oven and leave to cool on a wire rack for a few minutes before removing the muffins from the pan.

I couldn’t wait for these to cool completely and I’m so glad I didn’t. They are fabulous warm. 

This recipe can also be baked as a small coffee cake, if you don’t have a muffin pan.  Extend baking time by five to 10 minutes or, once again, until golden.  

Enjoy!

It’s the last Monday of the month so that means it is Muffin Monday. My blogger friends and I get together to share muffin recipes we hope you will love. Check them out below. 

• Banana Nutella Muffins from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Cranberry Orange Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Dutch Apple Pie Muffins from Making Miracles
• Olive Oil Gingerbread Muffins from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Sourdough Gingerbread Muffins from Zesty South Indian Kitchen
• Sugarplum Muffins from Palatable Pastime
• Winter Crunch Grape Muffins from Food Lust People Love

 

 #MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all of our lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday can be found on our home page.

Pin these Winter Crunch Grape Muffins!

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