Seeking Sweetness in Everyday Life

Photo: Scott PittsGuess what? Top Pot Doughnuts has a new cookbook, entitled Top Pot Hand-Forged Doughnuts: Secrets and Recipes for the Home Baker. It was published by Chronicle Books. But if you'd like me to get more mathematical about the meaning of the Top Pot + Chronicle combination, I will:

OK. So now that we've established that you should buy the book, let me share something kind of funny about it with you.

Jess Thomson, who co-wrote and helped develop recipes for the book, received some surprising news:

in the same month, I've released my first cookbook, one that hails the virtues of glutenous orbs from cover to cover, and I've been diagnosed with allergies to gluten, eggs, and soy. What I like about this book - and what I think you'll like, too - is its flexibility. The recipes are pliable. The flavor options are endless. And up front, there are great instructions that help you every step of the way.

...and Jess, who is always ready for a challenge, is excited to explore ways of making the treats which will make them "safe" with her new dietary rules.

However, having no such restrictions of my own, I made a solemn promise to Jess: "I promise to jam my recipes with extra gluten and eat it all on your behalf."

And without further delay, here's the first recipe I tried from the book, for deliciously gluten-full Doughnut Bread Pudding. Kind of like a tricked-out Monkey Bread, this is the carbohydratey stuff that sweet dreams are made of.

Doughnut Bread Pudding

butter for the pan
6 cups cubed leftover doughnuts (about 4 big whole ones)
4 large eggs
2 tablespoons dark rum
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
For the icing
1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 tablespoons hot water

Procedure

Make the bread pudding. Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a loaf pan (9x5-inches-ish). Fill with your cubed doughnuts. Set to the side.
In a mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, rum, cinnamon, sugar, and vanilla until well blended. Add the milk and cream, whisk to blend, and pour over the doughnuts, turning the top pieces so that all of the doughnuts are soaked by this wet mixture.
Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until browned on top and firm in the center. Let cool for about 10 minutes in the pan.
While the pudding cools, make the icing whisk together all three ingredients until smooth.
Serve the pudding in thick slices, still warm, drizzled with icing.