Bread pudding: dairy-free and delicious!

I’ve been doing some test baking here in the last couple of days, and we’ve been swamped with a surplus of gluten-free bread.  Lucky for me, I also had a yen for some bread pudding!

This recipe is pretty simple.  Take some bread (day-old is good!).  cut it into cubes and douse it with a basic custard combination until the bread has sopped up the works.  Bake in a low oven for about 40 minutes until the custard is set … and that’s it!  I’ve used coconut milk instead of cream, making it dairy-free, yet still very delicious!

The possibilities are endless — add some fruit if you want, add spices to the custard, or add a small dollop of rum or bourbon!  It’s your bread pudding, so go crazy!  If you want an extra creamy texture, bake it in a water bath, but in a pinch, it bakes just fine in a heavy casserole dish at 325 degrees.

Bread pudding: dairy-free and delicious!

Ingredients

  • 6 cups bread, cut into 3/4" cubes
  • 1 large apple, cut into 1/2" dice
  • 1/2 cup golden raisins
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 tin coconut milk
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp allspice
  • 1 Tablespoon bourbon (optional)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees
  2. Place the bread cubes into a greased 3 quart casserole dish with the apple and raisins. Toss gently to mix.
  3. Combine all the other ingredients in a medium bowl. Whisk until well combined. Pour over the bread cubes in the casserole dish, and let sit for 30 minutes while the bread cubes soak up the custard.
  4. Bake for 35-40 minutes at 325 degrees, until the bread pudding is just set in the centre.
http://realfoodmadeeasy.ca/2012/02/bread-pudding-dairy-free-and-delicious/

Vanilla-Coconut Ice Cream

This recipe came about due to a lack of dairy products in our fridge, and a late night craving for ice cream!

One of the advantages of having a stocked pantry is that there are plenty of canned goods and dry goods on hand — coconut milk being one those things that is usually stocked in both canned and powder form!

This is a pretty plain-jane recipe for a basic dairy-free ice cream — made into a custard and cooled before freezing.   For this recipe, it might be possible to freeze this and stir every 30 minutes or so during the freezing process, BUT it will not have that fabulous, creamy texture that comes from the contant stirring and introduction of air while this stuff is freezing.  It is not, however, a requirement to shell out hundreds of dollars for an ice cream maker — I have an inexpensive ice cream machine made by Cuisinart – it makes about 1 L at a time in a pre-chilled container, and does the stirring for me.

 

Vanilla-Coconut Ice Cream

Yield: approx. 1 Liter

Ingredients

  • 2 14 oz. tins coconut milk
  • pinch salt
  • 6 egg yolks
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 vanilla bean, split
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

  1. Combine coconut milk, salt and vanilla bean in a medium saucepan. In a separate bowl, whisk egg yolks and sugar together until very smooth and pale yellow in colour. Add egg yolk mixture to the saucepan and whisk to combine.e
  2. Place the saucepan over medium heat and continue to whisk while it heats.
  3. Stir constantly until the custard begins to thicken. It should reach no more than 180 degrees F and coat the back of a spoon.
  4. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Strain into a bowl to ensure the custard is smooth. Put the vanilla back in the custard while it cools (place plastic wrap over the custard while it cools to prevent a skin forming).
  5. The custard can be put in the fridge to cool overnight.
  6. Freeze in an ice cream maker as per the manufacturers directions. Once frozen, remove from the ice cream maker and place in an airtight container to store in the freezer.
  7. Before serving, let the ice cream sit at room temperature for 10 minutes to soften slightly.
http://realfoodmadeeasy.ca/2012/01/vanilla-coconut-ice-cream/