Cooking

Advent II: Gifts from the Kitchen

by Eddy Browning
eddybrowning@mchsi.com

One of my fondest memories is going to my grandmother’s home and assisting her, Fat Annie and my mother make Christmas “goodies” for the family and our friends. We usually arrived just before lunch so I always anxiously looked forward to eating grandmother’s traditional bread pudding for dessert. Since my grandmother and Fat Annie made several loaves of bread along with biscuits and rolls daily, a problem always arose on what to do with the leftover bread. I will share with you grandmother’s basic recipe and then include notes from my mother as she updated the original. For as long as he lived, her childhood friend, Dr. Frank Porter Graham, received a nice large pan of this bread pudding along with the whiskey sauce every Christmas. It’s truly delicious and very elegant when it is served.

Grandmother’s Bread Pudding with Whisky Sauce
Updated by Mama in 1970

4 large eggs; 1 large egg yolk; 2 1/2 cups whole milk; 2 1/2 cups heavy cream; 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar; 3/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg; 3 tablespoons whisky; 1 tablespoon vanilla extract; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 8 cups cubed bread, in 1/2-inch pieces; 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted; Whisky Sauce (recipe follows)

In a large bowl, beat the eggs and egg yolk. Whisk in the milk, cream, 3/4 cup sugar, the nutmeg, whisky, vanilla, and salt. Add the bread cubes; press them into the custard and allow soaking for at least 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 13 x 9-inch baking dish.

Pour the bread mixture into the prepared dish. Drizzle the butter over the top, and sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar.

Bake until the top is light golden brown and the pudding begins to rise around edges of the baking dish, 45 to 50 minutes. The center will still be quite soft. Set aside on a wire rack and let cool for at least 45 minutes before serving. Serve warm, at room temperature, or even chilled, topped with Whisky Sauce.

Mama’s NOTES: The real secret is using big, fat Texas Toast. It swells with the custard as it is soaking, puffs up so nicely when baked, and has a tender texture very different for the one achieved with crisp crust bread. If using crisp-crust bread, allow the custard and bread mixture to soak for about an hour.

Secondly, add a thin layer of strawberry preserves to the bottom of the baking dish before filling, if desired.

Thirdly, golden raisins soaked in whisky are nice baked in, too.

Whisky Sauce
Makes 2 cups

1 cup evaporated milk; 1 cup whole milk; 1 cup packed light brown sugar; 3 tablespoons unsalted butter; 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch; 2 tablespoons good whisky.

In a large saucepan, combine the milks, brown sugar, and butter. Cook and stir over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved and the sauce is warm.

In a small dish, combine the cornstarch and whisky. Stir to remove any lumps, and then put the mixture into the saucepan. Cook and stir the sauce until it boils. Boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly, and then remove from the heat. Serve hot.

Mama’s NOTES: The sauce will keep refrigerated for a week. Reheat the sauce in a small saucepan over low heat or microwave on high for 45 seconds or until warm. Pour over ice cream, pound cake, or fresh sliced nectarines, peaches, and plums.

It just wouldn’t be Christmas in our home without Eleanor Ayers’ Fresh Coconut Layer Cake. Eleanor was one of my family’s dear friends and truly she was the epitome of an Inner Banks Lady. For as long as she was able, Eleanor delivered one of her coconut cakes to us for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day dessert.

Eleanor would visit with us a few days before the holidays and ask to borrow one of mama’s cake stands. Then on the morning of Christmas Eve she would come by our home with one of her beautiful coconut cakes on top of mama’s cake stand. Eleanor would place the cake and cake stand on the sideboard and then arrange fresh greenery with silver glass balls interspersed all around. It always made a grand presentation. Just thinking of that cake; and I can not only smell it but taste it too!

Eleanor Ayers’ Fresh Coconut Layer Cake
Makes one 8-inch layer cake.

1 coconut, cracked, half shaved and half grated, with the liquid strained and reserved; 2 1/4 cups sugar; 3 cups cake flour; 2 teaspoons baking powder; 3/4 teaspoon salt; 1 large egg; 1/2 cup whole milk; 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 5 large egg whites; Seven-Minute Frosting.

In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the coconut liquid with 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup of the sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally, and reduce to thin syrup, about 6 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour three 8-inches round cake pans and set aside.

Toast the shaved coconut on a baking sheet in the oven for 5 minutes, or until the edges begin to brown ever so slightly.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and milk.

In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, remaining 1 3/4 cups sugar, and the extracts until fluffy. Add the flour mixture alternately with the egg mixture and mix until combined.

In a clean bowl, whip the egg whites until they hold soft peaks. Fold the whipped egg whites by thirds into the batter. Divide the batter among the prepared pans. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached. Set on a rack to cool in the pans for 10 minutes. Tip the cakes out of the pans and cool completely.

Place one cake layer on a serving platter. With the handle of a wooden spoon, poke several holes around the cake. Pour one-third of the coconut syrup over cake. Spread with some of the frosting and sprinkle with some of the grated coconut. Repeat with the second and third cake layers. Frost the sides with the remaining frosting and press the toasted coconut into the sides of the cake.

Mama’s NOTES: This is how Eleanor taught me to crack and prepare a coconut. First, hold the coconut with a rag. Take an ice pick or a large nail and with a hammer, tap a hole in the center of each black eye. Shake the water out into a bowl. Now, wrap the coconut in the rag. Set it on the concrete and knock it with the hammer several times sharply. Take the broken pieces of coconut and put them in a hot oven for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, wrap in a clean dish towel, and tap several times with the hammer. Using a flat-head screwdriver, pop the coconut meat out of the shell. With a sharp vegetable peeler, remove the brown skin and shave half of the meat into thin strips and grate the rest.

Second: Two cups shredded sweetened coconut and a 15-ounce can of sweetened cream of coconut can be substituted for the fresh coconut in this recipe.

Third: The cake can be baked, wrapped in plastic, and frosted the next day.

Fourth: This cake keeps well for several days, covered with a cake dome.

Seven - Minute Frosting
Eleanor Ayers

2 large egg whites; 1 1/2 cups sugar; 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar; 1 1/2 teaspoons light corn syrup; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.

In a large bowl set over a saucepan filled with 2 inches of simmering water, combine the egg whites, sugar, 5 tablespoons water, the cream of tartar, and corn syrup. Whip with a hand-held electric mixer, scraping the sides often with a rubber spatula, for 7 minutes or until the frosting is a nice spreading consistency. Stir in vanilla.

When the cake has cooled completely, frost it all around with the warm frosting. Allow to cool for 30 minutes before serving.

One of my mother’s closest friends was a wonderful lady by the name of Eleanor Ange Sanderson. Eleanor had a great personality with the spiritual gifts of giving and compassion. She felt compassion for all. Eleanor brought them with her where ever she went. She could tell the funniest stories and jokes. My three children loved her and looked forward to her visits. Often when things got a little slow around our house, my children would ask their grandmother to take them to visit Eleanor. Eleanor died much too soon. We miss her and still shed a tear of sadness because she is no longer with us. Mother thinks of her every single day and walks a block to the Methodist Cemetery to pay her respects. Christmas is just not Christmas without Eleanor’s Banana Bread. This bread gets better with age!

Eleanor’s Banana Bread
Makes one -inch loaf

2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour; 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder; 1/4 teaspoon baking soda; 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg; pinch of ground cloves; 1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas; 1/4 cup buttermilk; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest; 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted; 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar; 1/2 cup granulated sugar; 3 large eggs; 1 cup pecan pieces.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, and cloves with a whisk to break up any lumps. In a separate bowl, combine the bananas, buttermilk, vanilla, and lemon zest.

In an electric mixer at medium speed, beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar for 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time. Reduce the speed to low and add half of the flour mixture. Add half of the banana mixture, beating just long enough to combine. Repeat with the remaining mixtures. Add the pecan pieces, if desired, and mix until just incorporated.

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with moist crumbs attached when poked in the center. Let cool for 5 minutes in the pan. Remove to a wire rack to continue cooling.

These Christmas recipes come from my heart to yours. I hope that you have a holiday that is filled with much love, peace and joy. Please remember those that are less fortunate and let your friends know that you are thinking of them and how much they mean to you.

Until next week . . . Eat well!

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