Thermomix Panettone Pudding - Cookbook Challenge

This is from a book titled "Chez Panisse Cooking" by Paul Bertolli with Alice Waters published in 1988 by Random House.

The Chez Panisse Restaurant was established in 1971 by Alice Waters and some friends. Some more of the history can be found on this Wiki page.

Alice Waters is also an International Vice-President of Slowfood International and has long supported the ideals of the Slowfood movement.

She has long been involved in promoting cooking based on the finest and freshest seasonal ingredients that are produced sustainably and locally. It is sobering to think that while kitchen gardens are being promoted for restaurants; and books like "Stephanie Alexander's Kitchen Garden Companion" and "Jamie at Home" encourage us to follow a similar mission at home, Alice Waters has been doing this for nearly forty years. There are some in Australia who have been doing the same for many years, such as George Biron at Sunnybrae Restaurant and Cooking School.

I wanted to make a panettone pudding in the style of a bread and butter pudding with leftover panettone from Christmas. I had been thinking that this was a modern interpretation of the classic dessert until I was browsing through "Chez Panisse Cooking", where I saw a recipe for panettone and then panettone bread pudding on page 309. The recipe was for 12 people. The Thermomix conversion is for 6 serves.

The recipe uses the steaming attachment - Varoma - to cook the pudding, so that you don't need to turn on the oven. But you can cook it in a bain-marie, especially if you double the recipe. I used a 1.5 litre bowl to fit into the Varoma.

Panettone Bread Pudding

Ingredients:

500g panettone cut into thin slices
50 g butter
100 g sugar
5 eggs
2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups milk
1/2 cup cream
Sugar to sprinkle over top (optional)

Method:

Place butter into TM bowl and warm for 4 minutes at 60°C on speed 1. Place in a bowl and keep aside.

Without cleaning the TM bowl, add the sugar and mill for 20 seconds on speed 8, scraping down the sides after 10 seconds.

Add the eggs, egg yolks, vanilla extract, milk and cream and cook for 8 minutes at 80°C on speed 3.

While the custard is cooking, spread the panettone with the melted butter and cut into triangles. Place bread in a buttered baking dish that will fit inside the Varoma tray.

Place the dish into the Varoma tray and pour the custard mixture carefully over the buttered bread and allow to settle for a minute or two.

Put 700ml water into the TM bowl and put lid on and position the Varoma. Set the TM to steam for 35 minutes at Varoma temperature on speed 1. When ready the custard should be set and the pudding fluffy. You may need to cook it for a little longer.

If you wish you can sprinkle sugar over the top and place under a hot grill to give a crunchy top.