Category Archives: Orchard Spice

Orchard Spice Bread Pudding

Cinnamon Sugar

Bread Pudding

4 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
¾ cup sugar
2 ½ cups whole milk (don’t use low fat – it will separate)
2 ½ cups heavy cream
3 Tablespoons Orchard Spice Wine
2 Tablespoon vanilla extract
¾ teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon salt
12 ounces (about ½ a loaf) of good quality American-style white bread, sliced 3/8-inch thick and cut into 1 ½ -inch square pieces (about 8 cups)
1 ½ Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus extra for greasing pan

For the cinnamon sugar: mix sugar and cinnamon in a bowl and set aside.
For the pudding: Adjust oven rack to lower middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Butter 13-by-9-inch baking dish.
Whisk eggs, yolk, and sugar in a large bowl to blend well. Whisk in milk, cream, wine, vanilla extract, nutmeg, and salt. Stir in 6 cups prepared bread; mix thoroughly to moisten. Let stand 20 minutes.
Pour mixture into prepared baking dish. Scatter remaining 2 cups bread pieces on top, pushing down gently to partially submerge. Brush exposed bread with melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake until pudding is deep golden brown, is beginning to rise up sides of baking dish, and jiggles very slightly at the center when shaken, about 45-50 minutes. Let cool until set but still warm, about 45 minutes. Drizzle with Orchard Spice Glaze or Blueberry Sauce (or both!), see below.

Additions:

Wine-Plumped-Raisins: Follow recipe for Rich Bread Pudding, increasing wine to 1/3 cup. Soak ¾ cup of raisins in wine until moistened and plumped, 20-25 minutes. Stir plumped raisins, and any remaining wine into soaked bread mixture before transferring to baking dish. You could also add 1 cup of your favorite chopped nuts at this stage as well.
Orchard-Spice Glaze: Mix together ½ – 1 cup of powdered sugar & 2 TBS of Orchard Spice (add more or less powdered sugar to get the consistency you desire). Drizzle over pudding. Use a thicker glaze if drizzling over super-hot bread pudding; use thinner glaze for warm or cooled pudding.
Blueberry Compote / Sauce: This recipe is so good, we made a separate page for it. Click here for details.

This is a quick cake for any time of the year, but great for holidays. This cake can be made in a 9X13 sheet cake pan or as a layer cake.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease & flour 1 10″ Bundt cake pan (or spray with cooking spray). For a prettier crust, sprinkle cinnamon & sugar on the pan after it has been greased & floured.
In a medium bowl, combine cake mix, vanilla pudding mix, nutmeg, vegetable oil, wine, and eggs. Beat with an electric mixer for 5 minutes.
Pour into prepared Bundt cake pan and bake for 50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
Let cool 10 minutes in the pan, then remove from pan to rack. Let cake cool completely before slicing or if glazing.
Whisk together powdered sugar and wine to form a thick yet pourable glaze. Add a few sprinkles of nutmeg, cinnamon, and/or allspice to taste. Drizzle cake with glaze and let set before serving.

Make this warm festive cocktail in the crock pot to help keep your family happy during the holidays!

If you have a LARGE crockpot, you’ll need 3-4 bottles; 2 will work for smaller volume crock pots.

Uncork and pour bottles of Orchard Spice into crock pot.
Add 2-4 cinnamon sticks and cloves (to taste).
You can also add a package of dried fruit – that way it’s a healthy drink! 😉
Keep crock pot on low – make sure liquid does not simmer or boil – you’ll lose the alcohol that way!
Ladle into mugs or decorative cups & enjoy!
BONUS: If there’s a touch of wine left in the bottom of the crock pot, add a ham or roast & cook on higher setting for a spiced roast.
BONUS BONUS: Add quartered onions and apples to the bottom of the crock pot THEN add ham or pork roast & cook on high. MMMMMMMMMMMMM! 😀