Matthew Robinson is a new friend of ours that we met via #VeganFoodChat. He’s a caring and passionate person, who wears many chef hats. He also happens to not be vegan. That didn’t stop him from serving us up an amazing vegan dessert recipe that’s to die for. We’re so happy to have met Matthew and we’re pleased he’s participating in our 12 Days, 8 Nights celebration!
A LITTLE SUMTHIN’ ABOUT MATTHEW ROBINSON: Matthew Robinson has spent almost 2 decades in the food industry as a scientist, product developer, and spokesperson, turning the complexities of foods and nutrition topics into easy and usable information. He has a master of science degree from the University of Georgia in Nutrition Science and a diploma from the professional culinary program at the French Culinary Institute in New York City. He is the creator of The Culinary Exchange and Knickerbocker Glory, a website and blog both designed to inspire people to get in the kitchen, innovate, eat and discuss all things food related.Matthew is also the author of the book The Knickerbocker Glory: A Chef’s Guide to Innovation in the Kitchen and Beyond to help make innovating easier, approachable and more delicious. Matthew loves to cook, talk about and blog about all things food! He cooks everyday for his wife and son and loves to eat with them!
MATTHEW’S HOLIDAY WISH: “Matthew and The Culinary Exchange Team wish everyone a very Happy and Healthy Holiday Season!”
A CHARITY MATTHEW SUPPORTS: Matthew is huge supporter of One Sandwich At A Time, an invaluable team of volunteers, who make sandwiches and deliver them to shelters, distribution centers and directly to those in need - a simple and inexpensive way to make an immediate impact. Their mission is to feed the growing homeless and underfed population in America - One Sandwich at a Time!
Learn more about One Sandwich At A Time at onesandwichatatime.org.
Vegan Bread Pudding With Amaretto Sauce is a can’t-miss dessert. Vegans and non-vegans will swoon and salivate when they devour this sweet treat!
- For The Bread (makes 2 loaves)
- 3 cups of all purpose flour
- 3 tbsp light brown sugar
- 6 tbsp vegan margarine that is appropriate for baking (60-80% fat).
- 2 tsp yeast
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup of water.
- For The Pudding/Custard
- 5 cups of almond milk
- 2 tsp of vegan margarine that is appropriate for baking (60-80% fat).
- 4 tbsp of cornstarch
- 2 tsp of vanilla extract
- 4 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tsp of cinnamon
- 1 tsp of ground ginger
- 4 oz of mixed raisins
- 8 oz (1/2 lb) of dried apricots
- For The Sauce
- 1 cup of soy whipping cream
- 1/4 cup of amaretto
- 1 tsp of vanilla
- 5 tsp of brown or demerera sugar
- For The Bread
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Place all the ingredients into a bread maker and set it on the dough setting (see manufacturer’s instruction)
- When the dough is complete, punch it down.
- On a floured surface, kneed the dough for 10 minutes.
- Split the dough in half. Place each half in a standard loaf pan sprayed with non-stick spray
- Cover with a towel and let rise until they have doubled in volume.
- Bake 40 minutes or until the breads are golden brown and sound hollow when you tap them.
- Let the bread cool fully. Cut the bread into medium cubes.
- For The Pudding/Custard
- Preheat the oven to 305F.
- Grease a 13×9 baking dish.
- Dice the apricots into small dice.
- Make a sigle layer of bread cubes in the baking pan. Sprinkle over the cubes some of the raisins and apricots.
- Add another layer of bread cubes then fruit. Repeat until all the bread and fruit is layered.
- In a medium pan, melt the margarine of medium heat. Stir in the cornstarch. Cook 2 minutes.
- Stir in the almond milk. Mix well. Slowly bring the mixture to simmer.
- Add the vanilla, sugar, cinnamon and ginger. Whisk well.
- As the mixture heats it will thicken. When it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon it is done.
- Let the mixture cool slightly. Pour the mixture evenly over the bread cubes and fruit. Let sit 20-25 minutes until it is all absorbed. Mix a little if necessary.
- Bake the bread pudding in the ove about 30-35 minutes or until the pudding is set and bubbling and the top is golden brown.
- Serve warm.
- For The Sauce
- In a small pan, whisk all the ingredients together and bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Simmer until the sauce is slightly reduce, 1-2 minutes.
- Keep warm.
- To Serve
- Scoop some of the bread pudding into a dessert dish.
- Spoon the warm amaretto sauce over the bread pudding.
- Garnish with a dollop of whipped soy whipping cream.
- The bread for this recipe can be made a day or 2 in advance of preparing the bread pudding. After baking, keep it in a sealed plastic bag. Cube it just before preparing the bread pudding.
- The bread pudding can be made in advance of the meal and re-heated before dessert. Cover the bread pudding tightly with foil and keep it refrigerated. The sauce should be made the day of the meal.
- Vegan chocolate? Yes, of course you can add that and bits of candy cane, too.
- TIP: Want to cheat? Use a bread maker (we did) or buy the bread instead of making it. By your favorite dessert item from our favorite bakery. You can also pour the custard on top of fresh fruit or vegan ice cream instead of serving bread pudding.
Thanks for sharing the recipe! I really appreciate what you are doing! Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!