Sunday Brunch Sets Sail
with a Tropical Twist on a Traditional Recipe
25 March 2012
With the website's Fantasy Filled Month drawing to
an end, the Days of the Week writers bring you a Fantasy Filled
week, exploring topics on all things Disney and cruises.
I have been on land essentially all of my life. I've
only set sail for brief periods of time on ferries, kayaks,
rowboats, and canoes. Having never been on the Disney Cruise Line or
any for that matter, I will do my best to create a Disney foodie
experience on the Cruise Line. This can easily be done by donning on
an apron and heading to the kitchen for another fun-filled recipe
from Disney.
After leafing through my Disney cookbooks, I decided
on trying out the 'Pina Colada Bread Pudding' found in Delicious
Disney Desserts. I make the mix for Bread Pudding at work so I
was curious to try out a full recipe finally at home. Also, I love
pineapple! Let's begin by gathering our ingredients and getting
everything in it's place.


Sugar, eggs, heavy cream, and pineapple are some of the ingredients
needed
Bread Pudding:
10 slices white bread
' Cup Fresh pineapple, finely chopped (canned is
fine too)
2 Tablespoons melted butter
2 cups whole milk (other % works too)
6 eggs, beaten
' cup heavy cream
1 cup sugar
4 Tablespoons coconut milk
2 Tablespoons coconut rum (optional)
With the bread pudding is a Vanilla Rum Sauce, whose
recipe follows this. As with my previous recipes, I will have the
main steps in bold.
1. Preheat your broiler. Cut bread into 1-ince
cubes and spread on a cookie sheet. Use a knife with a serrated
edge to cut the bread. Other knives will work, but you end up
squishing the bread, any easy thing to do with soft white bread.
Broil until golden brown, then remove from broiler and turn oven
down to bake at 350⁰ F.

2. Combine toasted bread cubes and chopped
pineapple in a large bowl, mixing thoroughly. Make sure the bowl
is large to make mixing easier. I filled my trusty Chef Mickey bowl
to the brim and it was difficult to mix without spilling.

3. Spread bread mixture into a 13 x 9 x 2 inch
baking pan. Drizzle with melted butter.

4. Warm milk in a medium saucepan over medium
heat; do not boil. My chef at school always said 'See the cream
start to steam.' Once your milk starts steaming you know it is
ready. Dairy products like milk and cream contain an enzyme that
breaks down the protein structures and prevents thickening in some
desserts, which is desirable, especially for custards such as bread
pudding. In many baking recipes we must 'scald' the dairy product.
This also kills harmful bacteria. Whisk in eggs, heavy cream,
sugar, coconut milk, and rum. Remove from heat.

5. Pour custard over bread mixture. Use a fork to
press bread down into the liquid until well soaked.

Chef Mickey lends a hand!
6. Bake 35 to 40 minutes, or until pudding
springs back in the center when pressed with a fingertip.

The finished bread pudding! It came out of the oven very fluffy and
high, but deflated after a few minutes.

Pina Colada Bread Pudding on a fun Mickey Plate makes this looks
like it came right off of the Cruise ship!
You can either serve the bread
pudding as is or add the Vanilla Rum sauce below.
Vanilla Rum sauce
2 egg yolks
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons whole milk (for Step 1)
1 cup whole milk (for Step 2)
1 tablespoon of sugar (for Step 1)
1 tablespoon of sugar (for Step 2)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon coconut rum
Making a custard sauce is an essential technique to
have in your repertoire for pastry students. So I was a bit confused
when I read the recipe for this sauce as they missed the last step.
I should have went with my gut, but this recipe was published by
Disney so I trusted this was how they meant it to be served. I was
not happy with the result, so I did not put it on my final product,
but if you'd like a slightly alternate version I have included the
missing step at the end.
1. Combine egg yolks, cornstarch, 2 tablespoons
milk, and 1 tablespoon sugar in a small mixing bowl, stirring until
smooth.
2. Combine 1 cup milk, remaining tablespoon
sugar, and vanilla in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a
boil. This confused me too, as typically you only scald dairy,
you do not boil it.
3. Whisk egg yolk mixture into boiling milk.
Do this SLOWLY and gradually. You should start by whisking the milk
and slowly pour the egg yolk mixture as you whisk. If you do it too
fast, the eggs will cook and you'll have scrambled eggs in milk.

4. Immediately pour into a bowl in an ice bath to
prevent curdling. Add rum and whisk thoroughly. An ice bath is
literally a bath of ice. It works best with metal mixing bowls. I
left mine back in NJ, so I used a metal saucepan in a large bowl of
ice water. Make sure you add the water in your bath! Ice water is
colder than just ice as it transfers the heat more efficiently. Make
sure you whisk the sauce every now and then to distribute the cold
throughout.

Chef Mickey knows all about 2 step cooling.
REVISED STEP 4
After whisking in the egg yolk mixture, continue to
cook the sauce over medium heat, constantly stirring until it
thickens. You know it is ready by either dipping a spoon into the
sauce and a thick coat remains on the back of the spoon. This works
best with a wooden spoon, but plastic and metal spoons work too. If
it runs off like a thin liquid it is not ready yet. Other ways to
check for readiness is to tip your pan and see how well the sauce
coats the bottom or the sides. This is called cooking to 'nappe.' Be
careful not to overcook it though as you want the sauce to run over
the bread pudding and not pool up on top. After cooking to the right
thickness, then pour the sauce into a bowl in an ice bath. If you
are worried you cooked the sauce too much, then pour through a mesh
strainer to take out any cooked lumps of egg.
5. Drizzle sauce over a square piece of bread
pudding. If serving later, warm up the sauce over the stove or in
microwave before service.
Usually the Disney Cook Books indicate where the
recipe comes from, though this recipe merely lists 'Disney Cruise
Line' as its source, so I'm assuming it's from all the ships. Bread
Pudding is a common breakfast/dessert option at buffets, so I am
guessing you can find it at Topsider Buffet on the Disney Magic and
Beach Blanket Buffet on the Disney Wonder.
Despite the problems I had with the Vanilla Rum
Sauce (though I didn't use rum), my Pina Colada bread pudding was
delicious. It was very moist and springy as Bread Pudding should be.
The pineapple flavors were clear and evenly distributed. The coconut
flavor was weak, though it could be because I did not add the
coconut rum. To correct this, just use a little bit more coconut
milk or a teaspoon or two of coconut extract.
Believe it or not, this was my first time making
bread pudding at home. I am looking forward to trying it again, but
substituting different ingredients for the base. At work, we use
chunks of yellow cake and my friend once used doughnuts! Hopefully
my first bread pudding from a recipe on the Disney Cruise Line will
lead to having the real thing on my first cruise.