Pudding, Bread & Butter

Recipe submitted by Steve Rowlands - website developer, friend and great cook.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/4 cup Amaretto liqueur
• 12 slices white bread, crusts removed
• 11/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, melted
• 9 egg yolks
• 2 tsp. Silver Cloud Vanilla Bean Paste
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 2 tbsp. granulated sugar, to dust top of pudding
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds, lightly toasted
• 2 tbsp. powdered sugar

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350F. Cut four slices of bread into 1/2-inch dice, and spread the diced bread on the bottom of a casserole dish. Sprinkle the raisins on top of the bread cubes and pour any remaining liquid over the bread.

Whisk the yolks, vanilla paste and sugar in a large bowl until combined. Bring the milk and cream to a boil in a heavy saucepan over high heat and pour the hot mix onto the egg yolks, whisking constantly. Pour this warm egg mixture over the bread, making sure all of the bread is coated, and set aside the coated bread for 20 minutes to allow the egg mixture to soak into the bread.

Remove the dish from the oven and roasting tray, and sprinkle with the extra sugar. Broil or use a crème brule torch to caramelize the sugar. Sprinkle with the toasted sliced almonds and dust with powdered sugar.

Serves: Serves 6 to 8

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Creme Brulee - Silver Cloud

Creme Brulee - as served to visitors to the Silver Cloud Estates

Ingredients:

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 4 egg yolks
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 3 Tbsp. brown sugar.

Directions:

Scald the cream using a double broiler. Combine the egg yolks and vanilla bean paste in a separate bowl and whisk. Temper the eggs by mixing 2 Tbsp. of the scalded cream into the egg mixture. Stir the tempered eggs into the scalded cream. Evenly divide the mixture into 4 porcelain ramekins. Place ramekins in pan with 1-inch water. Insert pan with ramekins in an oven for 45-50 minutes at 325F. Remove pan from oven and cool on wire rack for 10 minues. Refrigerate for a minimum of 1-hour. Just before serving, sprinkle with brown sugar and place ramekins in oven at high broil for approximately 2-minutes until sugar is melted.

Serves: 4

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Myra's Roasted Sliced Pineapple

Submitted by Myra Judd

Ingredients:

• 1 fresh pineapple - peeled and sliced into 1-inch rounds
• 4 Tbsp. Vanilla Bean Paste

Directions:

Place pineapple rounds on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper. Brush wioth Vanilla Bean Paste and roast at 350 F until tender. Dice pineapple and serve. Delicious as is or can be used as topping for vanilla ice cream or pound cake.

Serves: 6 - 8

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Blackberry - Vanilla Bean Babycakes

Silver Cloud Baking Contest Winner - 2nd Prize. Recipe by Emily Hobbs

Ingredients:

• 2 cup all purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1-1/2 tsp. Blackberry, Natural Flavor Blend
• 1-1/2 tsp. Blackberry, Natural Flavor Blend
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup seedles blackberry preserves
• 4 ozs. cream cheese, softened
• 5 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
• 1-1/2 cup confectioners sugar
• 1/2 tsp. Vanilla Bean Paste
• blackberries for granish

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 F. Line 36 mini muffin cups with paper liners.

2. In a medium mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt. In a large mixing bowl, using mixer on medium-high speed, beat together vegetable oil, granulated sugar, egss and Blackberry, Natural Flavor Blend until well combined and double in volume - about 3 minutes. Reduce mixer speed to low and gradually beat in dry ingredients, along with buttermilk, until just combined - about 1 minute.

3. Divide half of batter into muffins cups; place about 1/2 tsp. blackberry preserves into centers and top with remaining cake batter. Bake 12-13 minutes or until light golden and well risen. Cool 5 minutes before running knife around cakes and transferring them to a wire rack.

4. To make buttercream frosting, beat cream cheese in a large mixing bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, until creamy; beat in butter until well incorporated. Beat in confectioners sugar and Vanilla Bean Paste until well combined - about 2 minutes. Spread frosting onto babycakes and garnish with blackberries.

Serves: Makes 36 mini cupcakes.

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Buttercream, Vanilla Bean - Cream Cheese

This recipe was submitted by Emily Hobbs as a frosting for her Blackberry - Vanilla Bean Babycakes.

Ingredients:

• 4 ozs. cream cheese
• 5 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
• 1-1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 tsp. Vanilla Bean Paste Vanilla Bean Paste

Directions:

Beat cream cheese in a large mxing bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, until creamy; beat in butter until well incorporated. Beat in confectioners' sugar and Vanilla Bean Paste until well combined - about 2 minutes.

Serves: Makes frosting for 36 mini cupcakes.

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Cheesecake, Virgin Strawberry Margarita

Silver Cloud Baking Contest, 1st. Prize - Jay Lampart

This recipe looks is simple and fun to make. Agave nectar is available in health food stores and large supermarkets. If you dont have Vanilla Bean Paste can substitute 1/2 tsp. Pure Vanilla Extract.

Ingredients:

For Crust:



• 2 cups Graham Cracker Crumbs
• 1/4 cup sugar, granulated
• 1 Tbsp. salt
• 10 Tbsp. butter (5 oz. by weight)

For Cake:



• 4 ea. 8 oz. package cream cheese ( 2 lbs. )
• 3/4 cup + 2 Tbsp. Agave Nectar
• 1-1/2 cups sour cream
• 4 tsp. corn starch
• 2 eggs
• 1 lime (only the zest)
• 1 tsp. Strawberry, Natural Flavor Blend
• 1/4 tsp. Vanilla Bean Paste
• 1/2 cup raspberry preserves or jam

Directions:

1. For the crust - melt butter and mix with dry ingredients. Mixture should clump when squuezed, but crumble nicely into chunks when broken apart, like semi-wet sand.

2. Line the bottom of a spring-form pan (see sizes and yields below) with parchment paper. The best way to accomplish this is to trace around the pan with a pan with a pencil and cut along the inside line. Tip - spring form pans have a tendency to leak. I recommend wraping the bottom and sides with heavy duty aluminum foil using one solid piece to prevent water from getting into the pan while baking. Place the prepared spring-form pan on a sheet pan that is at least 1" deep.

3. Grease the pan with butter shorteneing or spray. Gently press the grahan cracker mixture evenly into bottom of pan, compacting it as much as possible. be sure to cover entire bottom of pan, Bake at 350 F. in a still oven for 6 - 8 minutes or until crust is set up nicely.

4. While crust is cooling, prepare cake batter. In a mixing bowl fitted with a paddle beat the softened cream cheese with the lime zest on medium speed until smooth and well aerated. Be sure to occaisionally scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula to ensure it is uniform.

5. Add the agave nectar and continue to mix on medium speed. Once incorporated, add the sour cream. Continue mixing then stop machine and scrape down the bowl. Once incorporated, add the corn starch. Mix in slowly so it doesn't spill everywhere. Add the vanilla, the Strawberry, Natural Flavor Blend and the eggs. Once the eggs are incorporated, cease mixing and pour the batter in the spring-form pan ontop of the crust.

6. In a small bowl, whisk the rapsberry preserves until smooth. Pour into cake in a thin line form the center out, spinning the cake to form a pinwheel design(not necessary, but makes for a pretty presentation). Any other pattern or design will do, as long as there is batter and preserves showing on the surface of the cake. For the pinwheel: using the tip of a knife, make small swirling motions around the surface of the cake to create a "tye dye" look with the preserves.

7. Place the cake in a 350 F. oven and pour some hot water into the sheet pan holding the cake pan. This will keep the cake from cracking pre-maturely and will ensure uniform cooking. Cake will take approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour to cook and will rise like a soufle and is done when a thermometer inserted 1" from the center of cake registers 165 F. or cake doesn't jiggle when jostled. Remove cake from water bath and allow to cool for several hours (or overnight in refrigerator). Warm sides of pan before unlocking form. Optonal - coat the sides of the cake with crushed pretzels. Serve with fresh strawberries and mint. For added tartness squeeze a little fresh lime juice on cake.

Serves: 12

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