Sweets

Almond Pumpkin Bread Pudding Topped with Maple Butter Glaze

1 · Sep 18, 2014 ·

It’s finally here… PUMPKIN SEASON!! Oh my stars, this is truly my favorite season of the year. The chill that’s in the air, the leaves are hinting of change. Starbucks has busted PSL out of the vault. I’m not a coffee drinker, but even I can sense how big that is. Baking season has arrived and with it, all kinds of fabulous new pumpkin recipes. I’ve created the most scrumptious Almond Pumpkin Bread Pudding that your family and friends are going to die over!

This simple bread pudding recipe is a cinch to make and it packs a huge pumpkin wallop. The cool thing is that I make it with SEVEN basic ingredients. Bread, Silk Almond Milk, eggs, pumpkin pie spice, one can of pure pumpkin, honey and topped with slivered almonds. I love baking with the whole family of Silk products. I especially love the flavor that the Vanilla Almond Milk adds to the flavor profile for this dish. Many of you know that I cook quite a bit with Silk. I love that it’s a natural plant based protein rather than animal based. It’s heart healthy with no fat or cholesterol. It’s low in calories, high in vitamins and is GMO free. You can’t beat all of that! You can learn even more about Silk and all of it’s amazing benefits here.

That is why I choose Silk Almond Milk over regular cows milk to make the custard for my Almond Pumpkin Bread Pudding and the glaze that I top it with.

Almond Pumpkin Bread Pudding Recipe

1 loaf of hearty bread (I used a pumpkin struesal bread from Target, but you can use virtually any hearty bread for this recipe.)

3 cups Silk Almond Milk

6 eggs

1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice

1 can of pure pumpkin puree

1/4 cup honey

2 tablespoons slivered almonds

First, you take your hearty bread, like I said before, I used a pumpkin streusal bread but, you can use any bread of your liking. You could use a cinnamon bread, a crusty loaf of French bread or even a hearty wheat. It’s really whatever you like.

Cut the bread into cubes and place in a small baking dish that has been covered in a non-stick cooking spray.

Next, you need to mix your custard in either a mixer or blender. My blender bit the dust this summer, so I opted for my mixerAdd your Silk Almond Milk and eggs.

Your pumpkin pie spice and pumpkin puree.

and your honey and mix until your custard is mixed well.

Pour over your cubed bread and top with slivered almonds.

Cover with foil and place in a 350˚ oven for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove the foil and place back in the oven for an additional 40 minutes or until the top has brown and the pudding has set.

I top mine with a butter maple glaze. Here is the recipe for that…

Butter Maple Glaze Recipe

1 1/2 cups Powdered Sugar

1 tablespoon Silk Almond Milk

a SMALL splash of maple and butter extracts

a small pinch of salt

In a small bowl whisk together the Silk Almond Milk and powdered sugar. You want the glaze to be rather thick. Add a few drops of maple extract and butter extract and a pinch of salt. Whisk together well.

You could really use any extracts that you like. Vanilla, Almond or even Rum if you like. Top your warm bread pudding with the glaze and serve.

This conversation is sponsored by Silk. The opinions and text are all mine.

For more Silk inspiration follow them on Facebook or sign-up for their mailing list. They have great giveaways all the time, plus great coupons and fantastic ideas on how to add more plant protein into your life!

Disclaimer // This post is sponsored by Silk Almond Milk. I have received payment for recipe development along with my post. However, all thoughts, ideas and opinions are my very own.

Ladies Fiesta Dinner Party

3 · Jun 30, 2014 · 6 Comments

+ This Ladies Fiesta Dinner Party brought to you by Pepcid® +

As you all know… I LOVE to entertain! The idea of spending time coming up with a menu and cooking all day makes me happy… Seriously I love it! Recently, I had the chance to throw a fun Ladies Fiesta for a few friends for a fun Girls Night IN at my place. SUPER FUN!! Some of you may have followed along on Instagram while I was prepping for the night. Here’s the menu…

Frozen Shirley Temples

Spicy Scallop and Shrimp Cocktail

Creamy Avocado Gazpacho

Light Tacos

Creamy Corn Cups

Fiesta Summer Salad

Dirty Diet Coke

ChocoFlan

Many of the recipes are from or inspired by one of my favorite Food Network Chef’s Marcela Valladolid from Mexican Made Easy. When I decided to have a girls night, I thought a classy fiesta would be super fun and Marcela was the perfect chef to turn to for all kinds of classy fiesta recipes. I didn’t want a night full of chips and guacamole followed with a pan full of enchiladas. I wanted it to be light, fresh and refined. This menu was perfect… Except for one thing.

Here’s a little known fact about me… I have struggled for years with mild heartburn. Over the years, I have learned what foods trigger this condition in me and you would be surprised that even a relatively fresh and light fiesta menu like the one above could cause all kinds of issues with my sensitive stomach. You would think that the typical fiesta fair like heavy burritos and enchiladas would be the only culprits, but it’s not. Everyone is different but even fresh food, if they are high in acid like tomatoes, can trigger a rough night. That’s why when it comes to nights like this, I turn to Pepcid® to help me enjoy the food that I so lovely prepared for my friends! Wouldn’t it be a shame to go to all that work just to suffer in the end? If you are like me at all, you should visit the Pepcid® Facebook page for all kinds of ways to help keep your stomach happy!

Here’s how the night went… I prepped food all day, and while I was doing that I watched as the clouds rolled in. The plan was to eat outside and enjoy a nice summer evening and a rain storm was NOT on the menu. Sure enough, about an hour before the ladies were to arrive, the clouds opened up and DUMPED a ton of rain. YAY! Not to worry, I kept working on party prep and when my friends arrived I put them to work, drying of the table and chairs, no worries there. The rest of the night was perfect, so we didn’t let that little bump create issues for this fiesta! We set the table with fun mismatched plates and dressed it with some simple greenery, lanterns and candles. It looked lovely!

Cocktail + Frozen Shirley Temple +

Once everything was dry, we had my version of a frozen Shirley Temple.

How fun is that? I made a cherry popsicle in my Zoku with all the tasty cherries that are in season right now and then paired it with some coconut La Croix seltzer water to make a fun “cocktail” to start off the night (we aren’t big cocktail drinkers here.) You can get the recipe here!

Appetizer + Scallop & Shrimp Cocktail +

For an appetizer I served a scrumptious scallop and shrimp cocktail…

I kicked this up a notch with some doctored cocktail sauce and then added pan seared, chilled scallops to the shrimp and it was divine. To make it even easier I removed the tail on the shrimp and added it right to the cocktail sauce. It’s much easier to eat with a fork and you don’t have to deal with messy hands… perfect! You can get this recipe here.

Soup + Creamy Avocado Gazpacho with Spicy Croutons +

Next, for the soup course… I served a creamy avocado gazpacho that really hit the spot.

When it comes to cooking for a dinner party, you want simple, yet tasty. Especially in the summer, when you have access to all kinds of fresh veggies, gazpacho is perfect. It’s a chilled soup that is perfect for a classy fiesta. You can find this recipe here.

Main Course + Light Tacos, Fiesta Summer Salad & Creamy Corn Cups +

Since this was a fresh summer take on a fiesta, I decided to go with a lighten-up version of tacos. I found this fun recipe from Marcela for a light taco that used butter lettuce for the shell rather than your traditional corn tortilla. It was super tasty and you can find Marcela’s recipe here.

With the light tacos I served the most amazing salad…

It is a mexican take on a panzanella salad full of tomatoes, olives, spicy croutons and few more tasty surprises. You can find that recipe here.

The last side dish was a little more decadent than the other lighter recipes that we had enjoyed throughout the night. Creamy corn cups are an iconic Mexican treat full of all kinds of creamy goodness. I took that recipe straight from Marcela and you can find that recipe here.

Dessert + CocoFlan & Dirty Diet Coke +

Get ready… this dessert will ROCK YOUR WORLD! Yea, not kidding…

If you are a chocolate cake lover and a flan lover (which apparently I am) This recipe will knock your socks off. It’s chocolate cake and flan together. Again this is one of Marcela’s recipes and it is for sure a show stopper. I will have to say, your guest may beat down your door the following day to get access to the leftovers (if you have any!) Surprisingly enough, this actually pairs nicely with a dirty Diet Coke! You can get the recipe for the ChocoFlan here and the dirty Diet Coke here.

All in all the night was SUPER fun, a total flavor festival and thanks to Pepcid I wasn’t regretting it afterward.

Disclaimer // I have received information, product and materials from McNeil Consumer Pharmaceuticals C0., the makers of PEPCID®. The opinions stated are my own. This is a sponsored post.

Fiesta Frozen Shirley Temple with Cherry Popsicle

4 · Jun 30, 2014 · Leave a Comment

+ Fiesta Frozen Shirley Temple +

There is a fun new food trend these days that I just love. Creating a drink using a popsicle as one of the elements of the drink, so whimsical and fun! I decided for the fiesta I was to make my version of a Shirley Temple using this fun food trend idea. Since cherries are in season now, I thought it would be perfect. I made a simple syrup and blending that with a bunch of pitted cherries, added a little almond extract and then froze it in my Zoku. You can use a traditional popsicle mold if you don’t have a Zoku. I think it’s actually pretty fun to have your guests make their own popsicles and then add them to their drinks in just 7 minutes. It’s kind of a fun way to start off your party!

Then all you do is add your cherry popsicle to a cup of either seltzer water, I used Coconut La Croix water, or you could use ginger ale or your favorite lemon-lime soda. Either way this is a super tasty treat to start off any party!

Cherry Popsicles

Save Print

Take your Shirley Temple to a whole new level with this fun cherry pop recipe.

Author: Heather // WhipperBerry

Recipe type: Drinks / Dessert

Cuisine: American

Ingredients

1 cup water
1 cup sugar
2 cups pitted cherries - fresh or frozen
1 tsp almond extract

Instructions

Add water and sugar to a small sauce pan and over medium high heat dissolve the sugar to make a simple syrup.
Once the sugar has dissolved into the water remove from heat and cool.
Clean and pit your cherries and add to a blender jar.
Pour in cooled simple syrup and blend until you have a nice puree.
Pour into popsicle molds and freeze for at least 4 hours or 7 minutes if you have a Zoku.
Enjoy the popsicle as is or create a frozen Shirley Temple by placing your popsicle into a cup with seltzer water, ginger ale or lemon-lime soda. Enjoy!

Coconut Rice Pudding

5 · Jun 5, 2014 ·

+ Coconut Rice Pudding, a fresh take on an old classic +

This post brought to you by Silk // It’s no secret that I ADORE coconut and look for any excuse to have some type of coconut treat. Sweet or savory, coconut and coconut milk is a wonderful ingredient that I feel is highly underutilized. Recently, I was introduced to Silk Coconut Milk and our whole family has fallen in love. I have used it to make butternut squash coconut and lentil stew, coconut curry shrimp, coconut curry meatballs and coconut lime granita. They are all amazing dishes and they all use Silk Coconut Milk!

Did you know that the whole family of Silk products is gluten-free, dairy-free and GMO free. They are a great way to get plant based protein into your diet and your kiddos diet. My little Gage now asks for Silk Coconut Milk every morning for breakfast, he loves it. If you are looking for more information on the Silk Family, connect directly with the company on the Silk Facebook page. It’s full of all kinds of helpful information and recipe ideas. Plus, if you have any questions, you can go directly to the source and ask the company! I love that about social media. Looking for a way to save a little money on your Silk products? Click HERE for a great coupon!

This week I played around with a fabulous new recipe for an old classic, rice pudding. As a kid I thought rice pudding was a serious mistake on my parent’s part. Who on earth would add rice to pudding. What, do you top it with soy sauce? Gross! And then, I matured a bit and decided to give it a go. It only to one bite to fall in love. It just takes you back to sitting in the kitchen with grandma. It’s sweet but not too sweet, it’s rich and creamy and a perfect way to top off a fun meal. This recipe is typically made with milk and cream, but it translates really well with coconut milk.

For this recipe, I decided to go with Arborio rice, the rice that you use to make risotto. It’s high starch content I thought would lend nicely to the whole pudding concept making it extra creamy and rich. The recipe is quite simple, here are the ingredients…

Coconut Rice Pudding Recipe

1 cup of full fat coconut milk

2 3/4 cup of Silk Coconut milk

1 tablespoon butter (or coconut oil to make it dairy-free)

1/3 cup of Arborio rice

1/4 cup sugar

a pinch of salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon of nutmeg

In a small sauce pan, add your full-fat coconut milk and Silk Coconut milk and warm over medium heat. You just want to bring the temperature up a bit so you don’t need to simmer or boil the milk. In a large pot, add your butter and melt over medium heat. Add your rice and cook for 1 minute. Then take a ladle of your warm milk and ladle it into the rice and stir. The rice will absorb the milk. Let it cook until it gets think, that will only take a minute or so at the beginning, and then add another ladle full of milk. Stir, and when the mixture gets thick again, add another ladle of milk. Keep this process going until you have used almost all of the milk. Reserve roughly a couple of tablespoons to temper the egg.

Test the rice and make sure that it is cooked to the consistency that you would like. Some like their rice with a little bite to it, others like it really soft. It’s really your choice. Remove the rice from the heat.

In a small bowl, crack an egg and whisk it slowly adding the last of the warm milk to temper the eggs. This will keep the eggs from turning into scrambled eggs. Then stir that mixture into the rice pudding.

Add your sugar, salt, vanilla and nutmeg and stir until combined. Place your pudding into dessert cups or a shallow dish, cover with plastic wrap, with the wrap touching the surface of the pudding and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.

I actually prefer this pudding more at room temperature rather than completely chilled, but that’s totally up to you. It’s actually really good warm too!

I topped ours with some diced mango, but you can top it with raisins, nuts, granola or whipped cream too.

What’s your favorite coconut recipe? Have you tried making it with Silk Coconut Milk? Give it a go and come tell me what you think! Don’t forget to get your coupon and other great recipes HERE and connect with the folks at Silk on Facebook as well.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Silk. The opinions and text are all mine.