Steamed Pumpkin Puddings With Tennessee Rum Hard Sauce And Pumpkin Seed Brittle Recipes

PUMPKIN RUM CAKE

Steps:

• For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 10-cup bundt pan, shaking out the excess flour.
• Stir together the flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl; set aside. Whisk together the buttermilk, baking soda, vanilla and maple extracts and eggs in a separate bowl. Set aside.
• In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Stir in the pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice until well combined. Next, add the boiling water and whisk until the mixture is smooth.
• Pour the pumpkin mixture into the dry ingredients and whisk together until the flour is just mixed in. Slowly add the wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Pour the cake batter into the prepared bundt pan. Bake until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 45 minutes.
• For the rum syrup: Meanwhile, in a large saucepan over medium heat, combine the butter, sugar and 2 tablespoons water and bring to a boil; cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Turn off the heat. Slowly and carefully, pour in the rum while stirring. Then stir in the vanilla. Set aside.
• Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool in the pan for 10 to 12 minutes. Carefully, invert the cake onto a rack over a baking sheet. Poke the top and sides of the cake all over with a wooden skewer.
• Pour half of the syrup into the base of the bundt pan. Gently return the cake to the pan. Using the same skewer, poke the bottom of the cake. Pour the remaining syrup over the cake and around the edges of the pan. Allow the cake to cool completely and soak up the syrup in the bundt pan, about 1 hour.
• Once cooled, invert onto a serving platter. Slice and serve each piece with a dollop of Maple Whipped Cream and a sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice.
• Add the cream and maple syrup to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Whip on medium-high speed until soft peaks form, 2 to 3 minutes. Refrigerate until ready to use.

PUMPKIN BREAD PUDDING WITH RUM SAUCE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place raisins in a small bowl, and cover with hot water. Let soak until plump. Drain, and set aside.
• In a large bowl, whisk together 4 whole eggs, sugar, and salt. Whisk in 2 1/2 cups milk and 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract.
• Butter a 9-inch, 1 1/2-quart ceramic baking dish with sides that are at least 1 1/2 inches high. Sprinkle bottom of dish with brown sugar; arrange half the challah cubes in a layer on top. Sprinkle with half the reserved raisins. Repeat with remaining challah and raisins.
• Pour the milk-and-egg mixture over the bread, making sure to soak every piece. Transfer baking dish to the oven, and bake until the custard sets and the bread pudding becomes a rich, golden color, 50 to 60 minutes. If bread becomes too brown before filling is set, loosely cover top of pudding with aluminum foil. Allow to cool slightly before serving.
• Meanwhile, prepare the rum sauce: Combine remaining 1 1/2 cups milk, the heavy cream, and confectioners' sugar in a saucepan; place over medium heat, and heat just until bubbles form around the edges. Remove from heat.
• Prepare an ice-water bath, and set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk egg yolks with remaining teaspoon vanilla. Slowly beat 1/4 cup of the hot milk mixture into yolks, then slowly whisk yolk mixture back into saucepan with remaining milk mixture. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 1 minute.
• Strain the mixture into a bowl set in the ice-water bath. Stir in rum and remaining 2 tablespoons butter; stir until combined. Let stand until mixture is chilled. Serve bread pudding warm or at room temperature, with the rum sauce on the side.

STEAMED PUMPKIN PUDDING WITH BRANDY SAUCE

Steps:

• Cream together the shortening, brown and granulated sugars, salt and spices. Add eggs and beat well. Stir in nuts. Sift flour with baking powder and soda, add alternately with pumpkin and sour cream, mix well. Turn batter into a well greased 2-quart mold and cover tightly with foil or lid.
• Steam as follows: Set a rack in a large, deep kettle, add water to come halfway up sides of mold (or can). Bring water to a gentle boil, cover the kettle, lower heat, and steam for 2 hours or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Be careful to keep water at a very low boil.
• Let pudding rest for 5 minutes before unmolding on a warm serving plate. Serve hot with brandy sauce.
• Brandy Sauce: 1 egg; 1/3 cup melted butter; 1 1/2 cup sifted powdered sugar; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg; 2 Tablespoons brandy; 1 cup whipped heavy cream.
• Beat egg until frothy, then beat in melted butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, nutmeg, and brandy. Carefully fold whipped cream into egg and sugar mixture. Chill until serving time, stirring to blend just before serving.

WARM PUMPKIN PUDDING WITH HARD SAUCE

Steps:

• Pudding: Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Butter a 10-inch (14-cup) Bundt pan, preferably nonstick; sprinkle with granulated sugar, tapping out excess.
• Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Beat 2 sticks butter with granulated sugar and 1 cup brown sugar on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until combined and scraping down sides of bowl as necessary. Reduce speed to low; add buttermilk and vanilla and beat until incorporated (mixture will appear curdled). Gradually add flour mixture, then pumpkin, beating just until combined.
• Transfer batter to prepared pan; smooth top. Bake until a tester inserted into center comes out with moist crumbs and top begins to crack, 45 to 55 minutes.
• Meanwhile, combine syrup, cream, remaining 1 stick butter, and remaining 1 1/2 cups brown sugar in a saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, just until butter melts and mixture becomes a smooth, shiny glaze.
• Remove pudding from oven and immediately prick all over with a wooden skewer, being sure to penetrate all the way to bottom of pan. Drizzle half of glaze evenly over pudding. Let cool to room temperature in pan on a wire rack, at least 2 1/2 hours.
• Hard sauce: Beat butter on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low; beat in confectioners' sugar and bourbon.
• When ready to serve, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Warm pudding in oven, 15 minutes; remove from oven. Center a heatproof rimmed cake stand or plate over pan, then quickly invert together to release pudding. Rewarm remaining glaze over low heat, stirring until smooth, and pour over pudding, or serve alongside, with hard sauce.