Mousse desserts are typically made where whipped cream is folded with another ingredient to flavour it, like melted chocolate to make chocolate mousse, or lemon curd to make a lemon mousse.

Technically this kind of dessert doesn't require any gelatin, but gelatin helps to stabilize the mousse, especially if you want to make it ahead of time and store it for a day or two.

The beauty of this pumpkin mousse recipe is that it's easy to make and it's gluten free. And it only uses a little over a cup of canned pumpkin, so if you have any leftover from making other pumpkin desserts this season, use it to make mousse! If you prefer to make your own homemade pumpkin purée to use in this recipe instead of canned, make sure to strain out the excess water because homemade pumpkin has a higher moisture content, which could throw off the mousse recipe.

The usual fall baking inevitably will obviously include a pumpkin pie made with cream (instead of evaporated milk), maple apple pie and mini pumpkin pie tarts, and maybe some baked pumpkin donuts and an apple butter pie, time permitting. And, though I love them all, I felt like making something a little different, so I made a pumpkin mousse with a splash of rum in it.

Mousses can be made from the simplest of ingredients: cream, sugar, gelatin, and, in this case, a purée of roasted pumpkin. Since I was pairing the pumpkin mousse with crumbled chocolate spice cookies, I decided to flavour the mousse with just some spiced rum and vanilla (as per this recipe). This mousse is light and doesn't feel heavy, so great to serve after a big meal. 

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Pumpkin Mousse

This pumpkin mousse is made with whipped cream and a splash of rum. It's a fun fall dessert that's also gluten-free.

Course Dessert

Cuisine French

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes minutes

Chill time 4 hours hours

Total Time 4 hours hours 15 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Calories 407kcal

Author Janice Lawandi

Equipment

• 5-quart KitchenAid Artisan mixer

Ingredients

• 15 mL spiced or dark rum
• 5 mL Knox unflavoured gelatin powder
• 310 mL whipping cream (35 % fat) divided
• 100 grams granulated sugar
• 310 mL pumpkin purée
• 5 mL pure vanilla extract
• Chocolate spice cookies or some sweetened and spiced whipped cream, optional

Metric - US

Instructions

• Sprinkle the gelatin over the rum in a small teacup. Set aside for 5 minutes while you continue with the recipe.
• In a small saucepan, combine one third of the heavy cream and the sugar. Stir on medium-low heat to gently warm the cream and dissolve the sugar. You can tell when the sugar is dissolved by the sound and the feel of the spoon while stirring the bottom of the saucepan. When the sugar is dissolved, add the rum and gelatin mixture, and stir until the gelatin dissolves and disappears.
• Remove the mixture from the heat, add the pumpkin purée and the vanilla. Stir (or whisk gently if necessary) to combine, and be sure to get rid of any lumps. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve into a medium bowl. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
• When the pumpkin mixture is cool, whip the rest of the cream in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Fold the pumpkin mixture into the whipped cream, divide the mixture among 4 glasses, Mason jars, or teacups. Refrigerate them to set, at least 3 or 4 hours before serving.
• Serve the mousse with chocolate spice cookies, or crumble them over top before serving. You could also top each with a dollop of whipped cream.

Nutrition

Calories: 407kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 18g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 106mg | Sodium: 36mg | Potassium: 220mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 28g | Vitamin A: 13201IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 72mg | Iron: 1mg

This recipe comes directly from Laura Calder. I only slightly changed her method.

The post Gluten-free pumpkin mousse appeared first on The Bake School.

Pots de crème should be your go-to dessert when you need a make-ahead dessert that is easy, gluten-free, and that everybody enjoys! Here’s how to make baked pots de crème with dark chocolate.

Ingredients

Pots de crème are made with simple ingredients and you may have already everything you need in your fridge and pantry! Here’s what you need:

• dairy—I used a combination of whipping cream (35 % fat) and whole milk (3.25 % fat) to create a decadent chocolate dessert
• eggs—you can make pots de crème with whole eggs or egg yolks. I prefer to use large egg yolks, yielding a more decadent chocolate custard
• sugar—I used granulated sugar because it doesn't add taste that could interfere with the flavour of the chocolate
• dark chocolate—I used Ocoa, a 70 % dark chocolate from the brand Cacao Barry
• garnish—I like to decorate these with whipped cream and grated chocolate, but you can serve them plain.

Please see the recipe card for the ingredients and exact quantities.

Substitutions and Variations

• Nutty: You can make these with hazelnut butter, peanut butter, or even sesame butter (tahini) or almond butter, mixing 30 mL (2 tbsp) into the chocolate base. I tested this recipe with tahini and it was delicious!
• Non-dairy pots de crème: I have tested this recipe with coconut milk in place of the cream and milk. You want to end up with around 10–15 % fat if possible (whether using dairy or non-dairy substitutes).
• Chocolate: Use good quality dark chocolate, but this recipe will also work with milk or white chocolate.
• Sugar: I used granulated sugar so the flavour won't interfere, but you could also consider something like coconut sugar
• Garnishes: I love to serve pots de crème topped with lightly sweetened whipped cream and grated chocolate. If making these with a nut butter, consider garnishing with chopped toasted nuts (or sesame seeds) that match the nut butter (or seed butter) you used!

How to Make Pots de Crème

There are two ways of making chocolate pots de crème:

1. Cooked on the stove: making a crème anglaise (custard sauce) cooked on the stove to thicken it, then melting the chopped chocolate in the custard sauce before transferring to jars to chill.
2. Baked in the oven: essentially making a chocolate ganash with the hot cream and chopped chocolate, then adding the egg yolks before transferring to ramekins to bake the pots de crème in a bain-marie in the oven.

For this recipe, we will be using the baked method. If you'd prefer the stovetop method, follow the method outlined in this milk chocolate pots de crème recipe.

Step 1: Start by combining the cream, milk, and sugar (image 1). Heat it on the stove until it's almost boiling (95 °C or 203 °F) while you chop the chocolate (image 2), then pour it over the chopped chocolate in a heat-proof bowl (image 3). You can use an immersion blender to help smooth out the ganache (image 4).

Step 2: Add the egg yolks (image 5) and mix them in before straining the mixture to remove any lumps (image 6). Divide the chocolate custard between six ramekins in a 9x13-inch (23x33 cm) Pyrex baking dish (image 7), then add boiling water until it reaches halfway up the ramekins (image 8).

Step 3: If air bubbles or foam forms on top of the chocolate custard pots (image 9), use a blow torch to pop the bubbles by quickly and swiftly passing the flame over the surface of each (image 10).

Step 11: Evenly space the ramekins in the bain-marie to ensure that they have water between them (image 11) and bake until jiggly but set (image 12). Let them cool then chill them in the refrigerator for 4 hours or overnight before serving cold.

Serving Suggestions

You can serve pots de crème plain, but lightly sweetened whipped cream makes a great garnish. It's especially lovely with dark chocolate pots de crème, which balances out the deep chocolate flavour of the custard.

I also like to serve pots de crème with a little dry cookie or biscuit on the side (like graham crackers, shortbread cookies, or a plain cutout sugar cookie). These jam-filled shortbread cookies would pair nicely with this chocolate dessert too.

Other Pots de Crème to Try

If you enjoy pots de crème, try them with other types of chocolate to make white chocolate pots de crème or milk chocolate pots de crème.

If you tried this recipe for dark chocolate pots de crème (or any other recipe on my website), please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you!

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Dark Chocolate Pots de Crème

Learn how to make baked dark chocolate pots de crème with this easy recipe.

Course Dessert

Cuisine French

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour

Servings 6

Calories 433kcal

Author Janice Lawandi

Equipment

• 9x13 baking pan
• Hand blender

Ingredients

• 250 mL whipping cream (35 % fat)
• 250 mL whole milk (3.25 % fat)
• 6 large egg yolk(s)
• 50 grams granulated sugar
• 175 grams dark chocolate (70 % cocoa content) chopped
• sweetened whipped cream

Metric - US

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 325°F (165 °C).
• In a medium saucepan, combine the cream, milk, and sugar, heating it up almost to a boil (95 °C or 202 °F).
• Chop the chocolate and place it in a large heatproof bowl.
• When the milk mixture is steamy, pour the hot milk over the chocolate. Let it sit 1 minute, then whisk it slowly until the chocolate is melted and the ganache is smooth. You can use an immersion blender to smooth it out. then pour this mixture over the whisked egg mixture to temper them.
• Add the egg yolks and mix them in until the chocolate custard is smooth.
• Strain the mixture into a large, 4-cup (1 L) measuring cup or a bowl with a spout preferably. Then divide the chocolate custard between 6 ramekins.
• Place the ramekins in a 9x13-inch (23x33 cm) pan and fill the pan with hot water so that it reaches at least halfway up the ramekins.
• Bake the custards for 40 minutes or until the centers are completely set. Cool to room temperature, then chill before serving.
• Serve plain or topped with sweetened whipped cream with a little grated chocolate or a few berries.

Notes

• For the dar chocolate, I used Cacao Barry Ocoa 70 % dark chocolate.
• If you notice air bubbles on the surface of the chocolate custard in the ramekins before baking, use a blow torch to pop them. Pass the flame over the surface of each to quickly pop them before baking.
• Variations:
  • Nutty: You can make these with hazelnut butter, peanut butter, or even sesame butter (tahini) or almond butter, mixing 30 mL (2 tbsp) into the chocolate base.
  • Non-dairy pots de crème: I have tested this recipe with coconut milk in place of the cream and milk. You want to end up with around 10–15 % fat if possible (whether using dairy or non-dairy substitutes).
  • Chocolate: Use good quality dark chocolate, but this recipe will also work with milk or white chocolate.
  • Sugar: I used granulated sugar so the flavour won't interfere, but you could also consider something like coconut sugar.
• Garnishes: I love to serve pots de crème topped with lightly sweetened whipped cream and grated chocolate. If making these with a nut butter, consider garnishing with chopped toasted nuts (or sesame seeds) that match the nut butter (or seed butter) you used!

Nutrition

Calories: 433kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 34g | Saturated Fat: 19g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 248mg | Sodium: 42mg | Potassium: 333mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 19g | Vitamin A: 957IU | Vitamin C: 0.3mg | Calcium: 125mg | Iron: 4mg

The post Dark Chocolate Pots de Crème appeared first on The Bake School.

This easy pots de crème recipe uses a stovetop method so it is a no-bake dessert that you can make ahead and chill until you are ready to serve it.

The chocolate dessert called "pots de crème" gets its name from the fact that it is served in jars, like pudding. It's similar to chocolate ice cream, made with chocolate, milk and cream, and thickened with egg yolks. The base can be cooked on a stove, like a crème anglaise, or baked in a water bath (bain-marie).

Ingredients

• milk—use whole milk (3.25 % fat) preferably
• cream—use whipping cream (35 % fat) for this decadent dessert for the smoothest, creamiest texture
• eggs—use large egg yolks
• sugar—use granulated sugar because it will not interfere with the taste of the chocolate
• chocolate—pots de crème can be made with white, milk, or dark chocolate. For this milk chocolate version, I used a chocolate with 41 % cocoa content and that is not overly sweet. I used Alunga chocolate from Cacao Barry, a milk chocolate for dark chocolate lovers.

Please see the recipe card for the exact ingredients and quantities.

The key to simple desserts like this is good quality ingredients, specifically the best chocolate for baking, in this case, the best milk chocolate, which is the star of this dessert recipe. For this recipe, I used Cacao Barry Alunga 41% milk chocolate, which is referred to as milk chocolate for dark chocolate lovers and makes the most unctuous milk chocolate desserts.

Want to grab a bag to see for yourself? If you are located in Quebec, check with your local IGA stores because they should carry it! Or, if you are elsewhere in the world, I recommend ordering online from Vanilla Food Company. They will ship it to you and they have a great selection of Cacao Barry chocolates for you to bake with and enjoy.

Substitutes and Variations

• Chocolate—use a really high quality milk chocolate that you enjoy the taste of for this chocolate dessert since the chocolate is the star and the main flavour. You can make this recipe with any milk chocolate, but you can also make pots de crème with dark chocolate if you prefer.
• Spices, herbs, or tea—infuse the cream/milk mixture with tea or other herbs and spices (like we did for the Earl Grey hot chocolate or the Earl Grey chocolate truffles)
• Vanilla—enhance the chocolate with a little vanilla extract or infuse the crème anglaise with a vanilla bean
• Booze—flavour the custard with a little alcohol after you take it off the stove, like Kahlùa, Grand Marnier, or Amaretto—pick one that pairs well with the chocolate you chose
• Orange—add the zest of an orange to the milk and cream to infuse the crème anglaise with orange flavour and this dessert will taste like a Chocolate Orange
• Dairy-free—I have made dark chocolate pots de crème with coconut milk so you can use your favourite non-dairy milk and cream substitutes, replacing one for the other.

How to Make Pots de Crème on the Stove

Step 1: Combine the eggs with the sugar in a medium bowl (image 1) and whisk them together until the mixture is lightened in colour and very airy (image 2).

Step 2: Meanwhile heat the milk and cream in a saucepan (image 3)on the stove. When the cream is hot, pour it over the whisked egg yolks to temper them (image 4).

Step 3: Transfer the hot custard back to the saucepan (image 5) and cook until the crème anglaise has thickened on low, stirring with a wooden spoon continuously (image 6).

Step 4: Chop the milk chocolate (image 9)and place it in a 4 cup (1 L) measuring cup with a spout and pour the crème anglaise over the chocolate (image 10). Let the mixture stand for 1–2 minutes so the heat transfers to the chocolate, then stir to melt it and combine the chocolate custard into a smooth mixture. You may use an immersion blender to ensure the texture is smooth (image 11) but this will form bubbles, which is not what we want. This is not a chocolate mousse, and should be more like a decadent pudding.

Step 5: Pour the chocolate crème anglaise into jars (image 12). Bang the jars a couple of times to help the bubbles rise to the top. If you notice any air bubbles on the surface, you can use a blow torch (image 13) to quickly pop them (don't linger while torching the surface because you may burn the chocolate!).

Chill overnight before serving.

Crème Anglaise Tips

While it's easy to tell if a pastry cream is done cooking because it will come to a boil, crème anglaise is less obvious. Pastry creams are cooked at a higher temperature and cooked for a brief amount of time, whereas crème anglaise is cooked low and slow. Here's how to tell if your custard sauce is done cooking:

• it will coat the back of a wooden spoon
• the temperature will be around 83 °C
• the foam that may have formed on the surface initially will have disappeared
• when you stir the mixture and lift your spoon out, the custard sauce will almost immediately stop moving.

Garnishes for Pots de Crème

Pots de crème are often served ungarnished, as is, because they are so decadent and intense, they don't need any garnishes. Still, you can jazz them up and make them even better with a few simple toppings:

• Lightly-sweetened whipped cream
• Crumbled cookies (like homemade graham crackers) or even graham cracker crust crumbs—for a little whimsy, you can also top them with toasted marshmallows to mimic s'mores!

Remember, when I made s'more bars years ago? Those were so fun! These s'more chocolate pots de crème are another fun take on the classic summertime dessert. I guess you could call these indoor s'mores recipes because that's what they are: versions of s'mores you can make in the oven or on the stove (with the help of a kitchen torch)!

Pastry Tip: Getting Rid of Bubbles in Custards, Puddings, or Pots de crème

Air bubbles in puddings or pots de crème aren't that big a deal, but let's discuss. Visually, they aren't ideal. More importantly, if you are planning on storing these pots de crème for a few days, air bubbles may reduce the shelf life of the dessert. So, if you find you have a lot of bubbles on the surface of the pots de crème BEFORE they set, you have a few options to get rid of them:

1. Tapping the jar on the counter a bunch of times can push the bubbles up to the surface
2. Spinning the jar can help pop them (this works for cake batter in cake pans too!)
3. Pop them with your finger (if spinning doesn't work)—I have very mixed results with this and I find it frustrating to do
4. Pass the mixture through a strainer (this does work quite well sometimes)
5. If there are a lot of bubbles on the surface, use a blow torch VERY GENTLY. Just move the torch back and forth very briefly over the surface, never stopping in any one place. The heat of the torch *should* do the trick of popping the bubbles on the surface.

This has to be done when the custard is hot before it has a chance to cool down or set. The faster you do these steps the better because the chocolate will set as the dessert cools down.

Other Pots de Crème Recipes

Pots de crème can be made with any chocolate. Try these baked white chocolate pots de crème, which you can top with whipped cream or even a scoop of sorbet or granita, or this decadent sesame-flavoured dark chocolate pots de crème recipe made with tahini.

If you tried this recipe for milk chocolate pots de crème (or any other recipe on my website), please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you!

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No-Bake Milk Chocolate Pots De Crème (Stovetop Method)

Easy milk chocolate pots de crème made just like s'mores with a graham cracker cookie crumb crust and marshmallows on top

Course Dessert

Cuisine American, French

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Chill time 4 hours hours

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Calories 635kcal

Author Janice Lawandi

Equipment

• 125 mL jars
• OXO balloon whisk
• Kitchen torch

Ingredients

• 250 mL whole milk (3.25 % fat)
• 250 mL whipping cream (35 % fat)
• 5 large egg yolk(s)
• 50 grams granulated sugar
• 175 grams milk chocolate (41 % cocoa content)

Metric - US

Instructions

• Heat the milk and the cream in a large saucepan.
• Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks with the sugar to lighten them. Chop the chocolate and place it in a separate large bowl. Place a strainer over the bowl with the chocolate. 
• When the milk is very hot (almost boiling), take it off the heat and pour it over the whisked eggs and whisk to temper the eggs. Transfer back to the saucepan and heat on medium–low, whisking constantly.
• When the mixture has thickened and reaches a temperature of about 80–83ºC (175–180ºF), take it off the stove and immediately pour through the strainer.
• Let the mixture sit for 2 minutes, then stir slowly to melt the chocolate and form an evenly mixed chocolate custard. Be sure to scrape the bottom! You may want to use a hand blender to smooth it out but this might result in air bubbles.
• Divide mixture between 6 glasses or jars. Place in the fridge and let chill for 4 hours or overnight.

Notes

• For the milk chocolate, I used Cacao Barry Alunga 41% milk chocolate.
• Tricks for checking if your crème anglaise is done cooking
  • it will coat the back of a wooden spoon
  • the temperature will be around 83 °C
  • the foam that may have formed on the surface initially will have disappeared
  • when you stir the mixture and lift your spoon out, the custard sauce will almost immediately stop moving.
• Flavour options:
  • Spices, herbs, or tea—infuse the cream/milk mixture with tea or other herbs and spices (like we did for the Earl Grey hot chocolate or the Earl Grey chocolate truffles)
  • Vanilla—enhance the chocolate with a little vanilla extract or infuse the crème anglaise with a vanilla bean
  • Booze—flavour the custard with a little alcohol after you take it off the stove, like Kahlùa, Grand Marnier, or Amaretto—pick one that pairs well with the chocolate you chose
  • Orange—add the zest of an orange to the milk and cream to infuse the crème anglaise with orange flavour and this dessert will taste like a Chocolate Orange
• Dairy-free options—I have made dark chocolate pots de crème with coconut milk so you can use your favourite non-dairy milk and cream substitutes, replacing one for the other in this recipe and it will work.
• You can serve pots de crème plain or garnish with crème chantilly or toasted marshmallows. You can also serve them with cookies or sprinkle them with crumbled graham cracker crumb crust. 

Nutrition

Calories: 635kcal | Carbohydrates: 76g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 36g | Saturated Fat: 20g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 234mg | Sodium: 187mg | Potassium: 220mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 54g | Vitamin A: 1017IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 116mg | Iron: 2mg

This post is sponsored by Cacao Barry. I was compensated monetarily and with product.

The post No-Bake Milk Chocolate Pots de Crème (stovetop method) appeared first on The Bake School.

White chocolate pots de crème are very easy to make! This custard-based dessert has the same components as a crème anglaise (custard sauce) but is mixed with white chocolate and baked in a water bath to create a dense, creamy white chocolate pudding.

Ingredients

• cream—use 35 % whipping cream to make a creamy, decadent white chocolate dessert
• milk—use whole milk (3.25 % fat content) to ensure the dessert is full-bodied and creamy
• sugar—use granulated sugar because you don't want to add flavour
• white chocolate—use the best white chocolate you can buy. Opt for Cacao Barry Zéphyr if you can, or Lindt Excellence white chocolate.
• eggs—specifically egg yolks from large eggs are used. Make sure to use the correct size to ensure you have enough thickening power for the custard base.

Please see the recipe card for the exact ingredients and quantities.

Substitutions and Variations

• Spices, herbs, or tea—infuse the cream/milk mixture with tea or other herbs and spices (like we did for the Earl Grey hot chocolate or the Earl Grey chocolate truffles)
• Vanilla—enhance the white chocolate with a little vanilla extract or infuse the crème anglaise with a vanilla bean. Vanilla bean paste will also work in this recipe and the flecks of the vanilla seeds would be lovely (though many will settle on the bottom)
• Booze—flavour the custard with a little alcohol after you take it off the stove, like Kahlùa, Grand Marnier, or Amaretto—pick one that pairs well with the chocolate you chose
• Citrus—add the zest of citrus fruit to the milk and cream to infuse the crème anglaise with citrus flavour. I have tested this recipe with lemon zest and lime zest and the flavour was lovely! Orange would also be excellent
• Dairy-free—I have made dark chocolate pots de crème with coconut milk so you can use your favourite non-dairy milk and cream substitutes, replacing one for the other.

How to Make Pots de Crème with White Chocolate

Step 1: Heat the milk, cream, and sugar on the stove (image 1) while you chop the white chocolate (image 2). Pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate in a bowl or measuring cup (image 3) then stir to melt it and mix it all together until smooth.

Step 2: Add the egg yolks to the white chocolate ganache (image 4) and stir them in. Make sure the mixture is properly mixed before straining into a measuring cup or a bowl with a pouring spout (image 5).

Step 3: Divide the white chocolate pots de crème custard base between four ramekins placed in a 9x9 baking dish (image 6). Add boiling water to the baking dish (image 7).

Step 4: The water will reach halfway to three-quarters up the ramekins (image 8). Bake the white chocolate pots de crème in the oven until set but jiggly. They will form a skin on the surface (image 9). This is normal.

Step 5: Immediately transfer the ramekins to a cooling rack to prevent the pots de crème from overcooking (image 10).

Tip: Baked white chocolate pots de crème will have a skin on the surface of them from where the cream dried out from the heat of the oven. This is normal. To avoid it, you can try partially covering the baking dish with foil, poking lots of vents to allow steam to escape. Or, better yet, switch to a no-bake pots de crème method based on a crème anglaise cooked on the stove. You can use the same ingredients below and the quantities and simply switch up the technique.

Serving Suggestions

You can serve these white chocolate pots de crème plain, but I always like to at least garnish with a dollop of sweetened whipped cream. Another option is a scoop of sorbet or even some homemade granita.

And you can always serve these with crumbled graham crackers or graham cracker crust.

Pots de Crème FAQs

Other Pots de Crème Recipes to Try

If you aren't a fan of white chocolate, try these dark chocolate pots de crème made with a combination of 70 % dark chocolate and flavoured with tahini or these decadent creamy no-bake milk chocolate pots de crème made with 41 % milk chocolate and cooked on the stovetop instead of in the oven!

If you tried this recipe for white chocolate pots de crème (or any other recipe on my website), please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you!

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White Chocolate Pots de Crème

White chocolate pots de crème recipe makes the creamiest smoothest dessert.

Course Dessert

Cuisine French

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes minutes

Total Time 55 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Calories 467kcal

Author Janice Lawandi

Ingredients

• 250 mL whipping cream (35 % fat)
• 83 mL whole milk (3.25 % fat)
• 50 grams granulated sugar
• 100 grams white chocolate
• 4 large egg yolk(s)

Metric - US

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 325ºF (165 °C). In a small saucepan, heat together the whipping cream, the milk, the lime zest, and the sugar. When the mixture is very hot and steamy, pour it over the chopped white chocolate. Let the mixture stand for 1 minute, then carefully stir with a wooden spoon until you have a smooth, glossy, white chocolate sauce, then stir in the egg yolks.
• Divide the mixture between 4 ramekins placed in a 9x9 brownie pan. Pour boiling water between the ramekins and the pan until the water comes halfway up the sides. Carefully transfer the pan to the preheated oven. Bake the pots de crème until they are set but still jiggle in the middle, about 45 minutes.
• Carefully take the pan out of the oven, and take the ramekins out of the water bath. Set them on a cooling rack and let them cool completely before transferring them to the refrigerator to chill overnight.
• Serve the white chocolate pots de crème topped with sorbet, granita, or whipped cream.

Notes

• Flavour options:
  • Spices, herbs, or tea—infuse the cream/milk mixture with tea or other herbs and spices (like we did for the Earl Grey hot chocolate or the Earl Grey chocolate truffles)
  • Vanilla—enhance the white chocolate with a little vanilla extract or infuse the crème anglaise with a vanilla bean. Vanilla bean paste will also work in this recipe and the flecks of the vanilla seeds would be lovely (though many will settle on the bottom)
  • Booze—flavour the custard with a little alcohol after you take it off the stove, like Kahlùa, Grand Marnier, or Amaretto—pick one that pairs well with the chocolate you chose
  • Citrus—add the zest of citrus fruit to the milk and cream to infuse the crème anglaise with citrus flavour. I have tested this recipe with lemon zest and lime zest and the flavour was lovely! Orange would also be excellent
• Dairy-free—I have made dark chocolate pots de crème with coconut milk so you can use your favourite non-dairy milk and cream substitutes, replacing one for the other.
• Serve this white chocolate dessert topped with whipped cream, sorbet, or watermelon granita.

Nutrition

Calories: 467kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 36g | Saturated Fat: 21g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 273mg | Sodium: 56mg | Potassium: 183mg | Fiber: 0.1g | Sugar: 30g | Vitamin A: 1226IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 141mg | Iron: 1mg

The post White Chocolate Pots de Crème appeared first on The Bake School.

Lemon mousse is an easy gluten-free dessert that is light and fluffy. The method is simple to throw together: equal parts lemon curd and whipped cream (whipped to medium-soft peaks) are folded together, spooned into serving cups, and refrigerated overnight to set. Personally, I like to serve it with fresh berries (whatever I can find) and crumbled graham cracker crust. It's easy and it's yummy.

Sometimes, you may opt to stabilize the mousse with gelatin (like with this pumpkin mousse), but in this case, I don't think it's necessary. If you want to store it for longer than a day or use it as a filling for a dessert, you may add gelatin to stabilize it and avoid water separating out.

You can serve this lemon mousse with homemade graham crackers or if you want to keep the dessert gluten-free, gluten-free cookies. You can also bake a graham cracker crust (without any filling) to then crumble on top of the jars of mousse for a cute dessert. 

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Lemon Mousse

Course Dessert

Cuisine French

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Calories 396kcal

Author Janice Lawandi

Ingredients

Graham cracker crumble

• 65 grams graham cracker crumbs
• 15 grams granulated sugar
• 35 grams unsalted butter melted

Lemon mousse

• 250 mL whipping cream (35 % fat) cold
• 250 mL lemon curd preferably homemade
• 170 grams fresh raspberries for garnishing

Metric - US

Instructions

For the crumble

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment.
• Serve with crumbled graham cracker crust and fresh raspberries.
• Combine the graham cracker crumbs with the granulated sugar.
• Add the melted butter and stir til the crumbs are evenly coated and clump nicely when squeezed together.
• Transfer crumbs to the baking sheet in a mound, pressing and spreading it out evenly (don’t worry if it doesn’t reach the edge). You are making a giant flat cookie here basically..
• Bake for 10 minutes, and let cool before crumbling over the lemon mousse.

For the lemon mousse

• In a medium bowl, whip the cream to medium soft peaks.
• A a dollop or two of the whipped cream and add it to a small bowl containing the lemon curd. Stir to mix well and lighten the curd.
• Add the lightened curd to the bowl of whipped cream and fold it in.
• Transfer the lemon mousse to serving dishes and refrigerate overnight.
• Serve with raspberries and graham cracker crumble

Nutrition

Calories: 396kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Cholesterol: 70mg | Sodium: 213mg | Potassium: 93mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 31g | Vitamin A: 768IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 43mg | Iron: 1mg

The post Lemon mousse (gluten-free) appeared first on The Bake School.

Trifle is the best dessert to serve at a holiday party because you can make it ahead of time, and it feeds a crowd easily! Some like to include a layer of fruit-flavoured Jell-O or a jelly of sorts. My family prefers to make it with layers of sponge cake, custard, whipped cream, and fruit. This gelatin-free trifle is a festive treat!

Christmas Trifle Ingredients

You probably have most of the ingredients you need to make this holiday trifle. Here’s what you’ll need:

• milk—use whole milk (3.25 % fat) for both the pastry cream and the sponge cake
• butter—either salted or unsalted will work in the cake, but if you use salted, omit the salt
• vanilla—pure vanilla extract and vanilla bean paste make this dessert special. Use the vanilla bean paste in the whipped cream topping so you can see the lovely flecks of seeds. Use the vanilla extract in the cake batter and pastry cream
• eggs—use large eggs and egg yolks
• sugar—use granulated sugar, not brown sugar because we don't want the sugar to impart a flavour in any of the components
• flour and cornstarch—use bleached all-purpose flour, though unbleached will also work in this recipe
• leavening—use baking powder, not baking soda in the cake. Read about baking powder versus baking soda if you aren't sure of the difference between these two leavening agents
• salt—use Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt
• ground nutmeg—I like to freshly grate nutmeg whenever I can for the best flavour, though you can get away with ground nutmeg
• alcohol—classic trifle recipes usually feature sweet Sherry wine (like Bristol Cream), but we are using spiced rum to complement the nutmeg and give the pastry cream and trifle a taste similar to eggnog
• whipping cream—use a high-fat whipping cream or double cream with at least 35 % fat
• icing sugar—you may need to sift it before using it to make sure there are no lumps in your whipped cream
• white chocolate shavings—I get white chocolate curls already done and ready to use at my local bakery. So much easier than making your own!

See the recipe card for exact ingredients and quantities.

Substitutions and Variations

There are a few simple components to make when creating a trifle. Here are a few shortcuts and substitutions that you can take along the way:

• For the cake, I make my mom's hot milk cake from scratch, the same cake that she used to make all her trifle desserts. Feel free to buy a sponge cake from your local bakery if that is easier! You could also try using lady fingers like in a classic tiramisu.
• For the cranberries, I used fresh cranberries, but you can also use frozen cranberries. Don't defrost them. Alternatively, you could use fresh raspberries, but skip the poaching step as they quickly turn mush. Amarena cherries would also be excellent in this dessert. Strain them before assembling the trifle. You may use some of the syrup from the jar to soak the cake layers (taste it first and adjust it with sugar, water, or rum if needed).
• For the alcohol, I used spiced rum, but you can also try brandy or dark rum. You can also skip the alcohol in this recipe entirely. The taste will be a little different, though.

How To Make It

For this recipe, you will need a sponge cake. I always make my mom's hot milk sponge cake, as she did whenever she made trifle. I baked it in a 9-inch springform pan. The recipe is included below, but please read all about the hot milk sponge cake if you need the step-by-step photos. The cake must be made in advance and cooled completely before slicing it into layers and assembling the trifle.

Step 1: Make the pastry cream first. Heat the milk with part of the sugar and freshly grated nutmeg (image 1). Meanwhile, whip the egg yolks with the sugar, flour, and cornstarch (image 2). Pour the hot milk over the whipped egg yolks to temper the eggs (image 3), then pour the mixture back into the saucepan and cook the pastry cream until it boils and has thickened (image 4).

Step 2: Take the hot pastry cream off the stove, add the vanilla and rum (image 5), then strain the pastry cream onto a plastic-wrapped lined quarter sheet pan (image 6). Smooth it out before topping it with more plastic wrap and chilling overnight (image 7).

Tip: Chilling pastry cream on a sheet pan is a trick I learned in pastry school! It chills much faster, especially given how much this recipe makes. Faster chilling means safer chilling for pastry cream, which spoils quickly if you aren't careful.

Step 3: Combine the sugar and water for the cranberries in a medium saucepan (image 8) and heat it on the stove until the mixture is clear and the sugar dissolved (image 9). Add the cranberries (image 10) and poach them until they are just starting to burst (image 11). Remove them from the heat and store them in a sealed container in the fridge until cold.

Step 4: When you are ready to assemble your trifle, transfer the pastry cream to a large bowl and whisk it until smooth and loose (image 12). Strain the cranberries (image 13) to separate them from the poaching syrup, then add a little rum to a portion of that liquid (image 14) to use as your trifle-soaking liquid. Whip the cream until thick before sweetening with icing sugar and a little vanilla bean paste (image 15).

Step 5: Slice your sponge cake into layers (image 16) (or into small chunks). Add a single layer of the strained cranberries at the bottom of your trifle dish (image 17), then smooth a thin layer over them to anchor them and level the bottom (image 18) before gently pressing half the cake over the base (image 19).

Step 6: Brush the cake with enough syrup that it is soaked through from edge to edge (image 20), then top with half the cranberries (image 21), half the pastry cream (image 22), and half of the whipped cream (image 23).

Step 7: Repeat the layering process with the second layer of cake, the syrup, the cranberries, the pastry cream and the whipped cream. Save a few cranberries as garnish if you can! Refrigerate the trifle until it's time to serve it (at least a few hours).

Tip: Reserve a few poached cranberries to use as garnish to decorate the top of the assembled trifle!

Step 8: garnish the trifle with white chocolate curls, poached cranberries and freshly grated nutmeg before serving (image 24).

I get white chocolate curls from my local bakeries and chocolate shops. You could also shave a bar of white chocolate using a peeler but the effect won't be quite the same.

Note: You can also make individual trifles in wide-mouth Mason jars if you prefer. You'll get about a dozen mini trifles with this recipe.

Top Baking Tip—Make Trifle Ahead

You can make the components of this dessert ahead of time. Even though English trifle recipes may seem complicated with too many steps, spread the work over a few days so it's not overwhelming! You can do most of the steps a few days before assembling and serving. Here's the breakdown of the schedule:

• up to one month ahead: make the warm milk sponge cake and freeze it. Defrost it in the fridge a day before you plan on assembling the trifle
• two days before serving: make the eggnog custard and the poached cranberries
• a few hours or up to one day before serving: assemble the trifles
• just before serving: garnish the trifle with white chocolate curls, any remaining poached cranberries, and freshly grated nutmeg.

Other Eggnog-Flavoured Desserts

The custard layer is a classic pastry cream flavoured with nutmeg and rum. It tastes just like eggnog! Looking for an even easier eggnog treat? Try these:

• eggnog bundt cake with eggnog in the cake batter and topped with a crunchy rum glaze
• eggnog milkshake, which is ready in minutes
• quick and easy homemade eggnog that doesn't need to age for months before drinking!

If you tried this Christmas Trifle recipe (or any other recipe on my website), please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you!

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Christmas Trifle

Learn how to make the best Christmas trifle for the holidays with layers of rum-soaked sponge cake, eggnog pastry cream, cranberries, and whipped cream. This festive, make-ahead holiday dessert is stunning and a real treat!

Course Dessert

Cuisine British

Prep Time 2 hours hours

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Chill time 4 hours hours

Total Time 7 hours hours

Servings 12

Calories 593kcal

Author Janice Lawandi

Equipment

• OXO balloon whisk
• 5-quart KitchenAid Artisan mixer
• 9-in springform
• Mini offset

Ingredients

For the poached cranberries

• 400 grams granulated sugar
• 500 mL water
• 680 grams fresh cranberries or frozen

For the eggnog custard

• 750 mL whole milk (3.25 % fat)
• 150 grams granulated sugar
• 3.75 mL ground nutmeg
• 6 large egg yolk(s)
• 24 grams bleached all-purpose flour
• 24 grams cornstarch
• 45 mL spiced or dark rum
• 7.5 mL pure vanilla extract

For the sponge cake

• 125 mL whole milk (3.25 % fat)
• 15 grams unsalted butter
• 5 mL pure vanilla extract
• 2 large egg(s)
• 200 grams granulated sugar
• 125 grams bleached all-purpose flour
• 5 mL baking powder
• 2.5 mL Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt

For the trifle syrup

• 60 mL spiced or dark rum
• 188 mL cranberry syrup from poaching the cranberries (chilled and strained)

For the whipped cream

• 500 mL whipping cream (35 % fat) 1 cup
• 50 grams icing sugar

Optional garnishes

• White chocolate curls I got the white chocolate curls at my local bakery
• ground nutmeg

Metric - US

Instructions

Poach the cranberries (up to 2 days before assembling and serving)

• In a large saucepan, combine the water and sugar. Bring to a simmer, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
• When the sugar is completely dissolved and the syrup is hot, add the cranberries and poach them until soft (the skins will begin to burst, but shouldn't turn. tomush!).
• Take the pan off the heat and let it cool down. Transfer to an airtight container and store in the fridge.

Make the eggnog custard (up to 2 days before assembling and serving)

• Have a strainer ready and a plastic wrap-lined baking sheet nearby.
• Whisk together the milk, nutmeg, and half the sugar over medium-high heat.
• Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks with the rest of the sugar until lightened and pale, then add the flour and cornstarch. Whisk to combine everything and get rid of the lumps. The mixture should be smooth.
• When the milk is steamy and hot, pour it over the egg mixture and whisk to temper the yolks. Pour everything back into the saucepan.
• Heat the custard, whisking constantly, until it boils, then boil for 3 minutes.
• Remove the mixture from the heat and stir in the vanilla and the rum.
• Strain the custard over the plastic wrap-lined baking sheet and smooth into a thin layer. Top with another layer of plastic wrap, directly in contact with the pastry cream. Wrap tightly. Cool completely in the fridge.

Make the sponge cake (up to a month ahead of time)

• Preheat the oven to 350ºF (175 °C). Grease the bottom of a 9-inch (23 cm) springform pan and line it with a round of parchment paper.
• Warm the milk with the butter to melt them together in the microwave or a small saucepan. Add the vanilla and set this aside to cool.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (I have also done this successfully with the paddle attachment or in a bowl with an electric hand mixer), beat the eggs and sugar until they are light and fluffy and creamy coloured (this takes a good 5 minutes of beating), then add in the salt.
• Sift the flour and baking powder into a separate bowl.
• Add the flour mixture, alternating with the warm milk mixture, beginning and ending with the flour.
• Transfer the cake batter to the prepared pan and bake until golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. This takes 30 to 35 minutes.
• Unmold after 10 minutes onto a wire rack to cool completely. Carefully run a thin, serrated knife or a pairing knife between the pan and the cake to loosen it. I leave the cake out overnight on a wire rack before assembling. It may dry out a little on the edges, but this means it will absorb the syrup more easily!

Make the trifle syrup

• Strain the poached cranberries over a bowl, saving the syrup and the cranberries.
• Combine 188 mL (¾ cup) of the reserved cranberry syrup with 60 mL (¼ cup) rum.

Whip the cream

• Whip the cream to soft peaks then add the icing sugar before you finish whipping.

Assemble the trifles (4 hours to 1 day before serving)

• Split the cake into two layers using a large serrated bread knife.
• Transfer the chilled custard to a bowl and whisk vigorously to loosen it up and smooth it out before using it to assemble the trifles
• Assemble the trifle in a large glass trifle dish that has at least a 9-inch (23 cm) diameter and 4-inch (10 cm) height.
• Scatter a few poached cranberries on the bottom of the dish and top with a few dollops of pastry cream, smoothing it out. This is to create an even base if your dish is rounded on the bottom.
• Place one layer of cake, gently pressing it into place to anchor it. Brush generously with approximately half the syrup (or as much as the cake can soak up).
• Scatter roughly half the poached cranberries in a single layer and top with half of the pastry cream, smoothing it out from edge to edge.
• Spread half the whipped cream over the top in an even layer.
• Repeat the steps, laying down the second cake layer, brushing with syrup, then topping with cranberries (reserving a few to use as decoration), pastry cream, and whipped cream.
• Store the trifle in the fridge until you are ready to serve it (at least 4 hours).
• To decorate the trifle, scatter the reserved poached cranberries and white chocolate curls on top and grate a little nutmeg.

Notes

• Tips and tricks:
  • For this recipe, I used large Canadian eggs.
  • Chilling pastry cream on a sheet pan is a trick I learned in pastry school! It chills much faster, especially given how much this recipe makes. Faster chilling means safer chilling for pastry cream, which spoils quickly if you aren't careful.
  • I used a 9-inch springform pan for the cake because my trifle dish has a 9-inch diameter. Feel free to bake this recipe in a different-sized pan to accommodate your trifle dish! Adjust the baking time accordingly.
  • When assembling the trifle, reserve a few poached cranberries to use as garnish to decorate the top to make it pretty!
  • You can assemble this Christmas trifle in a large trifle dish (with a volume of at least 4 L) or smaller wide-mouth Mason jars (500 mL) for individual desserts. This recipe will make about a dozen individual trifles, but have extra jars on hand, just in case.
  • I get white chocolate curls from my local bakeries and chocolate shops. You could also shave a bar of white chocolate using a peeler but the effect won't be quite the same.
• Substitutions:
  • This recipe calls for Diamond Crystal fine Kosher salt. If using regular table salt, add half the amount or the recipe may be too salty!
  • You can replace the cranberries with Amarena cherries soaked in syrup. Strain them and use them directly when you are assembling the trifle. You may use the syrup to soak the cake layers. Taste it first and adjust it with alcohol, water, or sugar.
  • You can make the sponge cake as written or use a store-bought plain sponge cake if you are short on time.
• Make ahead instructions and tips:
  • Cake: after it's cooled completely, wrap it tightly with plastic wrap, then foil, and freeze it for up to a month. Defrost in the fridge two days before serving.
  • Pastry cream and poached cranberries: make them up to 2 days before you plan to serve the trifle. Store in the fridge until ready to use.
  • Whipped cream: prepare it before assembling the trifle. It's not as stable unless you add gelatin.

Nutrition

Calories: 593kcal | Carbohydrates: 90g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.04g | Cholesterol: 183mg | Sodium: 60mg | Potassium: 269mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 74g | Vitamin A: 971IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 160mg | Iron: 1mg

Egg Farmers of Canada offered me financial compensation to develop a recipe with Canadian Grade A eggs. As always, please know that I wouldn’t work with a sponsor or product if it wasn’t worth it. And since I cannot live without eggs (or eggnog custard), this just makes sense!

The post Christmas Trifle appeared first on The Bake School.

Maple is one of my favourite flavours, and maple syrup is actually produced locally in most parts of Quebec (bonus). The image of me piping maple mousse into my mouth probably would not surprise anybody who knows me. After all, I will forever be remembered as the girl who at an entire maple syrup pie after having consumed a sugar shack meal smothered in maple syrup.

The funny thing about maple syrup is that it has a very sweet, earthy flavour that reminds me of fall, yet it is solely produced in spring in this area. Maple syrup is made from the sap of the maple tree. In spring, the sap rushes up from the roots to feed the budding branches that swayed dormant all winter. The flavour of the syrup (the concentrated sap) reflects its origins, with woodsy, earthy notes. Maple syrup is heaven if you ask me. I love it so much, if ever I had to move somewhere without it, I would oblige friends and family to ship it to me periodically.

For this challenge, I paired the maple mousse with slightly salty maple cookie cups. I made the cookie cups by baking the cookies over an inverted mini-muffin tray (two cookies per cup). The slight saltiness of the cookie really adds to the dessert. The cookie recipe is tweaked from Martha Stewart, and the maple mousse, from the Daring Kitchen. I let the cookies brown in the oven to bring out the nutty flavors of the butter and also to provide a better contrast with the pale maple mousse. If the combination of maple cookies with maple mousse seem like too much too you, I'd make chocolate cookie cups to pair with the maple mousse. The bitterness of the cocoa would provide a nice contrast for the sweet maple mousse. Of course, since I am a lover of all things maple, the more maple, the better.

Turn maple cookies into cookie cups by baking the cutout shapes of cookie dough over inverted muffin pans to make a cup shape that you can fill with maple mousse.

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Maple Mousse

Maple mousse makes a great filling for tarts and also a great dessert to serve in jars with crumbled cookies on top.

Course Dessert

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes minutes

Total Time 35 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Author Janice Lawandi

Ingredients

• 250 mL pure maple syrup I used medium grade maple syrup
• 4 large egg yolk(s)
• 12.5 mL Knox unflavoured gelatin powder
• 60 mL skim milk (fat free)
• 360 mL whipping cream (35 % fat)

Metric - US

Instructions

• Bring the maple syrup to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Remove the saucepan from the heat.
• To a bowl containing the egg yolks, slowly add a few spoonfuls of the boiled syrup while whisking constantly (this is to temper the eggs). Then add the tempered egg mixture to the saucepan, whisking constantly to heat through without cooking the egg yolks. Set aside for later.
• Pour the skim milk into a small heatproof bowl and sprinkle the gelatin on top. Let stand for 5 minutes to bloom.
• Place the bowl of bloomed gelatin over a pan of simmering water and gently heat to dissolve. Add the dissolved gelatin mixture to the syrupy-egg mixture and stir to combine. Set aside.
• Whip the cream to stiff peaks, then take a few scoops of the whipped cream and add it to the syrupy-egg mixture (to lighten it before mixing with the cream). Now add that lightened syrupy-egg mixture to the whipped cream, and fold to combine. Don’t worry if you have to be a little rough. You want the mousse mix to be smooth and light.
• Chill for 1.5 hours until set enough to pipe into your edible cookie cups.

The post Maple mousse in maple cookie cups appeared first on The Bake School.

Rice pudding is considered a very old-fashioned recipe. There are a few variations in the ingredients and the cooking methods that allow for some wiggle room, which is probably why rice pudding has withstood the test of time. At some point, rice pudding was so trendy in my city that there were rice pudding shops that were opening up in the downtown core. They would scoop rice pudding the way ice cream parlour's scoop ice cream. It was a thing!

Everybody knows what goes into rice pudding, namely rice, milk, and sugar. Old-fashioned rice puddings often include raisins or currants. They plump up as the rice pudding thickens, turning what can be sad, shrivelled old grapes into plump little morsels. Yum! Though the ingredient list is seemingly simple, there is room for a ton of variation.

1. The rice can be either cooked or uncooked, and it can be short to medium grain, like Calrose, Arborio, or sushi types of rice, or it can be long grain, like basmati or fragrant jasmine rice
2. The milk can be any milk, whether that be skim milk or whole milk, some will go so far as a combination of cream and milk to up the fat content, leading to a creamier pudding. Even a non-dairy milk alternative would work. Try coconut milk, for example! 
3. The sugar can range from white sugar, to alternative sugars like maple syrup, honey, etc.

Some rice puddings may include a few egg yolks. That will give your rice pudding a more unctuous texture, a more golden colour, and the yolks will help thicken the pudding, just like yolks help thicken the pastry cream filling for crêpes and passion fruit curd in these matcha tarts . I used this technique for the homemade tapioca pudding.

The rice you use will dictate how much milk you need. If you're making a batch of rice pudding from leftover rice, you hardly need any milk. Equal parts of milk to cooked rice works great.

On the other hand, if you're making a batch from uncooked rice, you'll have to use a lot more liquid to cook the rice, double or triple the volume in fact. If you're making rice pudding from uncooked brown rice, it could even take you four or five times the liquid.

Unlike the golden milk rice pudding that is cooked on the stove from leftover cooked short-grain Calrose rice, the recipe below is for oven-baked rice pudding made from uncooked Arborio rice. It's flavoured with vanilla bean, but a suitable substitute would be vanilla bean paste or even vanilla extract, and also crushed cardamom seeds, which add so much flavour.

Some will start baked rice pudding on the stove, briefly, just long enough to dissolve the sugar and to heat the mixture through before popping the pan in the oven to gently simmer and cook the rice. I find that extra step on the stove is tedious and it doesn't seem necessary. I stir the rice pudding periodically as it bakes so that it doesn't all stick to the bottom. That's it! 

Serve rice pudding with jam for an easy comforting dessert. I have served it with a quick rhubarb compote, but it would taste great with any homemade jam (like plum jam or rhubarb jam (no pectin)). The only difference is fruit compotes usually have less sugar than jam. You could also top the pudding with cooked fruit, like roasted rhubarb, wine poached pears, or even this dried fruit compote.

For the rhubarb compote, or any other rhubarb recipes, if your rhubarb is more green than pink, feel free to add in a few raspberries to boost the colour. I did it here and also for this raspberry rhubarb upside-down cake. This trick works well and the raspberry adds a lot of flavour too!

If it's summer, or you can't be bothered with baking or cooking a batch of rice pudding, there's always this rosewater chia pudding to get you through that is an even easier no-bake dessert.

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Baked Rice Pudding with Cardamom and Rhubarb

This rice pudding recipe is baked in the oven and made from uncooked rice for a hands off approach to rice pudding that's easy to make and you can serve it with jam or homemade rhubarb compote

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour

Servings 4

Calories 405kcal

Author Janice Lawandi

Equipment

• Wooden spoon
• Ceramic baking dish

Ingredients

Rhubarb compote (optional)

• 100 grams granulated sugar
• 7 Fresh raspberries fresh or frozen, optional but gives compote a lovely pink colour if your rhubarb is more green
• 225 grams fresh rhubarb (or frozen), chopped

Baked rice pudding with cardamom

• 750 mL whole milk (3.25 % fat)
• 140 grams arborio rice
• 50 grams granulated sugar
• 5 mL vanilla bean paste split in half lengthwise
• 2.5 mL ground cardamom crack the pods open to reveal the seeds

Serving suggestions

• whole milk (3.25 % fat) or 35 % cream, to drizzle on top before serving

Metric - US

Instructions

Pink rhubarb compote

• In a small saucepan, heat the rhubarb, sugar, and raspberries over medium-low heat, covered.
• When the mixture begins to simmer, uncover, and stir with a wooden spoon.
• Continue cooking (about 15 minutes), stirring often, until the rhubarb breaks down into a lovely compote.

Baked rice pudding

• Preheat the oven to 300 °F (150 ºC). Butter a very deep 7-inch diameter baking dish (like this one on Amazon). You want the baking dish to be able to contain over 1 litre of volume. Measure to be sure you have enough room to move the dish when it's full, without spilling.
• Combine the milk, rice, sugar, vanilla bean paste, and cardamom in the prepared baking dish. Stir with a wooden spoon.
• Cover the dish with foil and bake for 1 hour.
• Remove from the oven to uncover and stir because the rice sinks to the bottom and you want it to cook evenly, then cover again and bake for another 30 minutes.
• After 1.5 hours of baking, remove the pan from the oven to stir. Taste to check that the rice is al dente and properly cooked.
• Once the rice pudding is thick and the rice is cooked, you can remove from the oven to serve. At this point it will be creamy. Or you can crank up the oven to 425 ºF to thicken the rice pudding further. It will develop a skin on top that will brown and the rice will absorb any remaining liquid. That's the point!
• To serve, spoon the rice pudding into bowls with rhubarb compote, and drizzle with milk or cream.

Nutrition

Calories: 405kcal | Carbohydrates: 78g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 19mg | Sodium: 84mg | Potassium: 436mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 48g | Vitamin A: 361IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 260mg | Iron: 2mg

The post Oven baked rice pudding with jam appeared first on The Bake School.

I love to bake with coffee because you can use it to flavour so many different treats, like slice-and-bake cocoa coffee cookies, coffee frosting for chocolate drop cookies, Swedish cardamom buns (which I made with coffee as a nod to Turkish coffee), coffee banana smoothie, and coffee buttercream frosting for chocolate cake.

What you need to make this coffee-flavoured bread pudding

• coffee beans that you will grind or coffee grinds
• granulated sugar
• bread—I used a "carré blanc" which is a basic white milk bread, but brioche would work very well here too!
• unsalted butter
• eggs and egg yolks—use large eggs otherwise the custard sauce might not thicken properly and the bread pudding may not set right
• whole milk (3.25 % fat)—favour full-fat milk over skim milk, which is more watery and not ideal for sauces and desserts
• vanilla—use pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
• fresh raspberries are best in this recipe because frozen berries may break down and release too much water

See recipe card for quantities.

Coffee crème anglaise

All good bread puddings must come with a hefty drizzling of crème anglaise, so I served mine with a coffee-infused crème anglaise (a fancy French baking term for custard sauce). Remember, a crème anglaise is a custard sauce thickened with egg yolks only, and though the name includes the word "crème" (French for cream), this sauce is actually made with milk. The egg yolks make the sauce thick, creamy, and more decadent, making you think it's made with cream even though it's not.

Traditionally, crème anglaise is flavoured with a scraped vanilla bean that's added to the milk, allowing it to slowly infuse the sauce as you heat it on the stove. Crème anglaise is cooked on the stove at low temperature, just hot enough to thicken the sauce but not so hot that the eggs cook or curdle. If your crème anglaise ends up lumpy or you notice bits of cooked egg yolk in it, though not ideal, you can still use it because you can just pass the mixture through a strainer to remove any lumps.

Crème anglaise is a great sauce to make simple desserts seem a little fancier: serve crème anglaise with slices of gluten-free chocolate cake or even a bowl of fresh summer berries. Crème anglaise can be served with any dessert you serve with ice cream. Try serving your next rhubarb lattice pie, maple apple pie, or even a peach mango pie with crème anglaise instead of ice cream. 

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Raspberry Bread Pudding with Coffee Crème Anglaise

This recipe is a take on bread and butter pudding, flavoured with coffee and raspberries, and served with a coffee crème anglaise.

Course Dessert

Cuisine British

Prep Time 35 minutes minutes

Cook Time 55 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Calories 357kcal

Author Janice Lawandi

Equipment

• OXO balloon whisk
• Ceramic baking dish

Ingredients

Coffee sugar

• 20 grams coffee beans
• 100 grams granulated sugar

Raspberry bread pudding

• 9 slices bread I used a "carré blanc, ~ basic white bread
• 60 grams unsalted butter more if needed, softened
• 70 grams coffee sugar
• 3 large egg(s)
• 66 grams granulated sugar
• 375 mL whole milk (3.25 % fat)
• 5 mL pure vanilla extract
• 340 grams Fresh raspberries

Coffee crème anglaise

• 250 mL whole milk (3.25 % fat)
• 3 large egg yolk(s)
• 50 grams coffee sugar

Metric - US

Instructions

To make the coffee sugar

• Grind the coffee beans in a coffee grinder. Combine the coffee grinds with the sugar and stir well to mix. Divide the mixture: you will need 50 grams of this coffee sugar for the crème anglaise, the rest (~70 grams) is for the bread pudding.

To make the bread pudding

• Preheat the oven to 350 °F (175 °C). Butter a small 1.4 L (1.5 quart) Pyrex baking dish (or an ovenproof dish).
• Butter one side of each slice of bread then sprinkle generously with coffee sugar, patting it into the butter as you go. Don't worry if you have a few tablespoons leftover.
• Cut and fit 5 slices of the bread in the bottom of the pan in a single layer, then sprinkle with some of the berries (~half). Cut the remaining slices in half diagonally, then arrange them upwards on top of the first layer of the bread so the corners are sticking up.
• Tuck the rest of the berries between the slices. Set aside.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, milk and vanilla. Then drizzle this evenly over the bread slices. If you have any leftover butter or coffee sugar, sprinkle it over top.
• Bake the bread pudding for about 45 minutes, until the custard is set.
• Serve warm.

To make the coffee crème anglaise

• Have a strainer set over a bowl in an ice bath ready.
• In a medium bowl, whisk the yolks with half the coffee sugar until the yolks have lightened in color. Set aside.
• In a medium saucepan, heat the milk with the rest of the coffee sugar.
• When the milk is steamy, pour it over the yolks and whisk to temper the eggs.
• Transfer the mixture back to the saucepan and continue heating on medium–low, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon for about 10 minutes until the mixture coats the back of the spoon.
• Strain the mixture into the bowl over the ice bath and stir every 10 minutes to chill completely.

Video

Notes

For this recipe, I used Parachute coffee

Nutrition

Calories: 357kcal

Monthly coffee subscription service

Parachute coffee, a Canadian company, offers a monthly subscription service: every month, Parachute coffee teams up with a different small, Canadian coffee roaster to send you the best coffee. I honestly think the concept is brilliant because you'll get a fresh batch of coffee every month without having to step foot in a store.

Parachute takes away all the excuses that make you buy stale, burned, grocery store-brand coffee: Parachute coffee delivers freshly roasted coffee right to your doorstep every month. Since most of us can't necessarily afford to travel across Canada to try all the different third wave cafés, every month is like a trip to a different local roaster with information about the beans and the country of origin.

Each package comes with brewing and storage tips too: did you know that you should use water that has been heated just below boiling temperature (90–96 ºC or 195–205 ºF)? And, before you ask me how you are supposed to consistently boil water to that temperature, I can suggest this Cuisinart "Perfect Temp" kettle to help you out (Amazon), which is my method of choice (yes, I own and love this kettle so I can happily recommend it to you).

To subscribe to Parachute Coffee's monthly coffee delivery service (or to try it out for a month), visit the "Subscribe" tab of their website at http://www.parachutecoffee.com. I bet Parachute will change your relationship with coffee. And while you wait for your coffee delivery, here's that recipe for coffee & raspberry bread pudding with coffee crème anglaise that I made with this month's coffee from Parachute!

Parachute Coffee sent me their coffee bean delivery box to try out this month. Thanks for supporting the sponsors that allow me to create new recipes.

The post Raspberry bread pudding with coffee crème anglaise appeared first on The Bake School.

Components

The inspiration for this make-ahead dessert is cheesecake and also lemon meringue pie. To achieve this, we have a:

• panna cotta made with mascarpone so that it is creamy, rich, and smooth
• lemon jelly topping to add tang and sour notes to balance it out
• oat florentine cookies (recipe tweaked from Nestlé) with a slight caramel flavour reminiscent of graham crackers, crumbled over each jar of panna cotta. 

Timeline for this make-ahead dessert

For panna cotta desserts that are set with gelatin, you need to prepare them early enough so that the gelatin has time to set. Here's a schedule:

• 1 day before serving: make the florentines and the panna cotta.
• ½ day before serving (once panna cotta has set): make the lemon jelly and assemble

The finished dessert reminded me a lot of a lemon creamsicle, not quite the cheesecake flavour I had dreamed of. Still, I think they turned out beautifully, creamy and sweet on the bottom, with the tart jelly and nutty, crispy, caramel-y crumble on top.

For a plain sweet milk panna cotta, try this vanilla bean panna cotta served with strawberry jam. Or for a more elaborate dessert, these Earl Grey panna cotta tarts are beautiful and impressive!

📖 Recipe

Print

Mascarpone panna cotta with lemon jelly and florentine crumble

This recipe will yield soft, silky mascarpone panna cotta that you can serve plain or top with lemon jelly and crumbled florentine cookies.

Course Dessert

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 2 minutes minutes

Total Time 17 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Janice Lawandi

Ingredients

Mascarpone panna cotta

• 60 mL water
• 5 mL Knox unflavoured gelatin powder equivalent to 2.8 grams by weight
• 310 mL whipping cream (35 % fat) divided
• 125 mL mascarpone
• 100 grams granulated sugar
• 2.5 mL finely grated lemon zest zest of ~ half a lemon
• 2.5 mL pure vanilla extract

Lemon jelly

• 125 mL fresh lemon juice
• 12.5 mL Knox unflavoured gelatin powder 1 packet or 7 grams
• 50 grams granulated sugar
• 250 mL water

Assembly

• 1 batch oat florentine cookies

Metric - US

Instructions

Mascarpone panna cotta

• In a small stainless steel bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over the water. Set aside to bloom for about 5 minutes.
• In a medium bowl, whisk the mascarpone with the sugar, 1 cup of the cream, lemon zest, and vanilla. Set aside.
• Add the final ¼ cup of cream to the bloomed gelatin, and set the bowl over a pan of simmering water. Heat the gelatin/cream mixture until the gelatin has dissolved and you can no longer see the gelatin flakes, stirring constantly.
• Take the gelatin off the heat and stir it into the mascarpone mixture.
• Pour the panna cotta into 4 glasses or ramekins.
• Transfer to the fridge and chill to set, about 3 hours, if not overnight.

Lemon jelly

• Pour ¼ cup of lemon juice in a 2-cup measurer or a medium bowl. Sprinkle the gelatin over top. Set aside to bloom at least 5 minutes.
• In a small saucepan, bring the water and sugar to a boil to completely dissolve the sugar.
• Pour the syrup over the gelatin, and whisk to dissolve the gelatin.
• Add the remaining ¼ cup of lemon juice. Let the lemon jelly cool to room temperature before using.

Assembly

• When the panna cottas are set, and the lemon jelly has cooled to room temperature, pour the lemon jelly over top each of the panna cotta. Pour as little or as much as you would like (I poured a 1-inch layer on mine, but I think a half-inch would have been better).
• Chill in the fridge to set the jelly, about 1 hour.
• Crumble 2 of the florentine cookies over each of the panna cottas before serving.

Notes

• Panna cotta loosely based on this recipe featured in the Toronto Star newspaper
• Given the acidity of the lemon juice, I used a full packet of gelatin so that it would set properly.

The post Mascarpone panna cotta topped with lemon jelly and florentine crumble appeared first on The Bake School.