Rose's Heavenly Cakes, Page 342: Caramelized Pineapple Pudding with Homemade Brioche
Made the brioche over a few nights after work. I made it on Thursday and baked it only on Sat. The bread turned out absolutely tasty despite it looking lopsided..LOL! I think i didn't press it down hard enough or i didn't seal off the open seams properly enough and hence you see the 'air bubbles' on the raised side. I was quite surprised how easy it is to make and i can drag the process over a few days on my own time without rushing to bake it immediately. :D So tasty that i'm not too sure if i would have enough left for baking the pineapple pudding..lol!
Ok..i did have left overs for the pudding because i wrapped it so well that nobody wanted to open the wrapping and eat the bread..lol! Despite not very sure if anyone would like the pudding or not, i went ahead to make it anyway. Finally, for the first time (i think), i managed to take step by step photos while i'm baking at the same time. In order to save time uploading the photos, i made them into a collage instead.
I didn't have any leftover of the cream..you can see from the tray, it's all absorbed up by the bread. Probably cos i didn't read instructions and ended up pouring all the cream & milk into the saucepan instead of keeping half..i only realised my mistake when i read further and it asked for the other half of the milk and i was like 'eh..where's the other half?!?!?"..nevermind..i proceeded with it anyway..without the extra cream which i didn't think would make huge difference.
Roasting the pineapples is such a pain..so hot at 200c and to bast it every 5 mins and not even sure how long i had to roast them either....i didn't even want to stand near the oven let alone open the oven door to bast the pineapples with the super hot heat all around..i can't even open my eyes! And i have to be honest that part of my mind kept wondering if my nice shiny wmf pan would be stained with all the dark pineapple caramel juice....:p.. as you all know by now i like all my stuff to be super clean and spotless..no grease or stains if i can help it (ya..even my oven after 2 years is still quite spot-free..lol!). Oh..couldn't find canned pineapple juice, so i used the juice from the other half of the pineapple instead. My domestic helper helped me core the fresh pineapple and remove the buds..this is one thing i don't know how to do (besides ironing as well..i totally suck at ironing :p)..and she from Philippines can do it very well..see that nice pattern she cut in a decorative line down and this will remove all the buds of the pineapple.
And i want to complain about the caramel! (I followed instructions without misreading anything this time). The caramel stayed at the bottom of the ramekins and didn't quite dissolve after 40mins in the waterbath..and i had to microwave it to soften so i can pour it out. But the moment it is poured on top of the pineapple, the caramel hardens really HARD like toffee candy (and at times like spun sugar like strings)! How to eat?
Ok..i did have left overs for the pudding because i wrapped it so well that nobody wanted to open the wrapping and eat the bread..lol! Despite not very sure if anyone would like the pudding or not, i went ahead to make it anyway. Finally, for the first time (i think), i managed to take step by step photos while i'm baking at the same time. In order to save time uploading the photos, i made them into a collage instead.
I didn't have any leftover of the cream..you can see from the tray, it's all absorbed up by the bread. Probably cos i didn't read instructions and ended up pouring all the cream & milk into the saucepan instead of keeping half..i only realised my mistake when i read further and it asked for the other half of the milk and i was like 'eh..where's the other half?!?!?"..nevermind..i proceeded with it anyway..without the extra cream which i didn't think would make huge difference.
Roasting the pineapples is such a pain..so hot at 200c and to bast it every 5 mins and not even sure how long i had to roast them either....i didn't even want to stand near the oven let alone open the oven door to bast the pineapples with the super hot heat all around..i can't even open my eyes! And i have to be honest that part of my mind kept wondering if my nice shiny wmf pan would be stained with all the dark pineapple caramel juice....:p.. as you all know by now i like all my stuff to be super clean and spotless..no grease or stains if i can help it (ya..even my oven after 2 years is still quite spot-free..lol!). Oh..couldn't find canned pineapple juice, so i used the juice from the other half of the pineapple instead. My domestic helper helped me core the fresh pineapple and remove the buds..this is one thing i don't know how to do (besides ironing as well..i totally suck at ironing :p)..and she from Philippines can do it very well..see that nice pattern she cut in a decorative line down and this will remove all the buds of the pineapple.
And i want to complain about the caramel! (I followed instructions without misreading anything this time). The caramel stayed at the bottom of the ramekins and didn't quite dissolve after 40mins in the waterbath..and i had to microwave it to soften so i can pour it out. But the moment it is poured on top of the pineapple, the caramel hardens really HARD like toffee candy (and at times like spun sugar like strings)! How to eat?
VERDICT: I think this pudding can do without the caramel..it's super sweet with the caramel imo..plus the caramel kept harding into toffee like candy on top..(see above photos..one lump). The bread pudding on it's own tasted really good paired with the juicy roasted pineapples and the fragrant pineapple-caramel juice. Everyone enjoyed it but this is not something i would like to bake again..too much time & effort and it's really not worth all the trouble imo.
The Brioche on the other hand wins a thumbs up from me. Super yummy, super light, buttery and delicious! And it is easy to make..and i reiterate again that like the fact that it can be staggered over days..so i can make then over a course of a few nights after work and bake only when i'm ready...:D
i love how tightly wrapped your ramekins are! between you and vicki i an worried the caramel will be really fiddly when i make mine. i do love your brioche, even if it is crooked!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful brioche, Faithy!!! Very clever wrapping each ramekin. I didn't think of that. I agree it didn't need all the caramelized sugars. Made the pineapple too sweet. I'm making it again plain in a nine by thirteen pan.
ReplyDeleteWould you mind doing a pineapple pictorial with your helper? My poor pineapple looked like a crime scene victim. And ironing is definitely an art. Get rid of wrinkles on the front only to make more on the back.
ReplyDeleteב''ה
ReplyDeleteGreat write up. Looks great. Good to know about the caramel. Maybe I'll try and under heat it...
Love your lopsided bread. And like you, I did not have any left over creme anglaise either.. and no we did not read the recipe wrong. It does tell us to add the whole thing to the bread cubes.
ReplyDeleteAnd don't get me started on the caramel... I encounter the same issues as you. Nothing I would do (in the oven, in the microwave) would make it work. Next time, I'm making the caramel my way.
Beautiful brioche and pudding! My caramel ended up the same way too but I thought it was because I forgot to add butter to it.
ReplyDelete@Jennifer & Vicki: i thought the book said to 'tent' the ramekins..i had a hard time trying to figure out what 'tent' means....took me half an hour to finally think that it means to wrapped it tightly on top? LOL!
ReplyDelete@Vicki: Sure Vicki, i'll do a pictorial for you on how to core the pineapple..but first i have to go buy a fresh pineapple from the market. I'll try to get it out asap so just bear with me for a while ok? LOL! I totally suck at ironing..and it's true..i make lots of lines after ironing out the wrinkles..lol!
@Monica.. i wonder if there is something wrong with the caramel recipe..i mean can't be so many of us having the same problem?
@Jenn...you too had the same problem? I guess must be the temperature at which the sugar has been cooked..cos i think at 154c..means hard crack stage means it will turn rock solid into candy state when cool.
I've always wanted to try brioche at home. Glad to hear it's easy and delicious.
ReplyDeleteWith caramel or without, that is not a question...I believe they taste GREAT all the same. Maybe I could prepare some French toast with brioche.
ReplyDeleteBrioche... ahh.. that has been on my to-do-list like foreverrrrrr! :P
ReplyDeleteCrooked or not.. i want one!!! *drooling*
Now u're making my crave for this aiyohhhh.
Your brioche is beautiful! I'm having second thoughts about making the pudding though.
ReplyDeleteFaithy, After your insight into temperature affecting the caramel, I looked up the pineapple upside down cake caramel. It was different proportions of liquid to sugar and temperature. I've been reading about the different sugar stages and you hit it right on the head. This pineapple pudding one was for hard crack stage.
ReplyDeleteWhat a gorgeous brioche! The pudding looks lovely too!
ReplyDeleteWow, Faithy yours turned out really nice looking! Love the picture of the pudding cake in a pool of caramel! As for the brioche, you've convinced me to try it :o)
ReplyDeleteBtw, what kind of tool/software did you use to make the collage?
Your brioche and mine did the same bulge on the side, we both had issues with the caramel (okay, all of us had issues with the caramel)and we pretty much feel the same way about the dessert being super sweet. I love your collage of photos and the lamp shade picture is just too cute!
ReplyDeleteYummy, it looks perfect! I've always wanted to make brioche. Is it just a basic bread? It seems kinda fancy.
ReplyDeleteI am yet to have another go at brioche after the comedy dog turd incident earlier this year. Bread making is a real gap in my repertoire though and I really ought to do it. Yours looks great even if it is lopsided! I love the sound of the caramelised pineapple too, I never think to cook pineapple but whenever I have the fritters in chinese restaurants I really love it.
ReplyDeleteFaithy, did you proof your bread dough via low-temperature fermentation? Wrapped VERY well in plastic bags or something similar? I love breads made via LTF! SO, SO good! Do you have the book by Peter Reinhart called "Artisan Breads Every Day?" You use Pullman loaf pan?
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your experience. I guess I'll avoid this recipe. I don't like my stuff to be too sweet, though, I have a sweet tooth.
Thank goodness! I thought I was the only one who sucks at ironing! Imagine a 23-year-old ... who looks like an idiot in front of an ironing board. LOL! I feel so ashamed whenever I think of this weak point of mine. HAHA!