We look forward to Philly Restaurant Week every Autumn and Winter the way most people look forward to the World Series and the Super Bowl. Obviously, we are massive food nerds. The two-week-long events at the end of every September and January are a tremendous opportunity to sample the fare at some of the city’s finest, most innovative and interesting establishments. Our experiences at the little stretch of restaurants on and around 13th Street that are the domain of Marcie Turney and Valerie Safran have been transcendent and transformative. Lolita, Jamonera, Little Nonna, the newly-opened and as yet unvisited Bud & Marilyn’s (can’t wait!), and finally Barbuzzo, are all distinctive and warrant multiple visits. It was on our first visit to Barbuzzo—during Restaurant Week, of course— that we experienced “The Budino” (A fancy, Italian word for pudding). It seemed innocent enough. Layered with crisp chocolate cookie pieces and freshly whipped cream, the salted caramel puddings were served in short, repurposed mason jars (and were adorable and unassuming). Then that first bite happened and silence descended upon the table. Eyes closed involuntarily. Endorphins were released. Memories were made. (In short, Holy. Spedoinkers!) Of course, on that same visit, we also experienced “The Sangria”, so some of those memories are a little, um, fuzzy…but they’re there.
This is a slight reimagining of that dessert, and we hope that it gives you the same pleasure we experienced, without having to fight for a parking spot in the city. You’re welcome. This recipe can be made with any type of crumbly cookie, cake, or quick-bread (gluten free or otherwise), but for this version, we went with the Gluten Free Pumpkin Bread as the base—you see, we told you it would be back. It’s fairly obvious by now that if there’s an opportunity to “pumpkinize” something, we’re going for it. Taking it a step further, the pumpkin bread was soaked in rum-spiked coffee, making the finished product into a pumpkin-spiced latte/tiramisu/salted caramel hybrid beastie-thing. Again, you’re welcome.
The original recipe called for three pots, two separate batches of warmed milk and a Shakti-like ability to whisk eight things at once. That process has been simplified and streamlined here. One pot. Two hands. No worries. As far as the thickening agent goes, oddly we were out of cornstarch and had to use tapioca flour in its place, but it did the trick perfectly. Unfortunately, if you run into the same problem, you might not have much luck finding tapioca flour. Although Kyle never seems to have cornstarch when he needs it, as a gluten free baker, apparently he has ALL of the tapioca flour. Seriously, I think a 12-step program might be in order.
In homage to the original, we’ve served these in little jam jars, but you can use any short, clear container. Anything that shows off those beautiful layers will do, even a wine glass. Make it pretty and dive in.
Budino inspired by the fantastic dessert at Barbuzzo. Recipe adapted from Bon Apetit.
- Coffee Soaked Pumpkin Bread:
- ½ cup chilled coffee
- 1 ½ tsp. dark rum
- 2 ½-inch thick slices pumpkin bread, diced
- Budino:
- ¾ cup packed dark brown sugar
- 3 tbsp. unsalted butter
- 3 cups whole milk
- ¼ cup cornstarch (or tapioca flour)
- 5 large egg yolks
- 1 tbsp. dark rum
- 1 ½ tsp. kosher salt
- Whipped Cream:
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 tbsp. granulated sugar
- Freshly grated nutmeg, for garnish
- For the Coffee Soaked Pumpkin Bread, mix coffee and rum in a small bowl. Evenly divide the pumpkin bread into the bottom of six 8-ounce mason jars or ramekins. Pour the spiked coffee evenly over the pumpkin bread pieces.
- For the Budino, heat sugar and butter sugar in a heavy saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves.
- Whisk together milk and cornstarch (or tapioca flour), then gradually whisk into butter-brown sugar. Cook, stirring constantly until slightly thickened, about 3-5 minutes.
- Place egg yolks in a large bowl. In a slow, steady stream, gradually whisk hot milk mixture into egg yolks. Once the milk is fully incorporated into the egg yolks, pour mixture back into the sauce pan and cook, stirring constantly until thickened, another 5-7 minutes. Remove pan from heat and whisk in rum and salt.
- Set mixture aside to cool to room temperature.
- For the Whipped Cream, place sugar and cream in the bowl of a stand mixer. Whisk on medium-high until stiff peaks form.
- To assemble budino, evenly distribute the pudding between the 6 Mason jars. Top with a generous dollop of whipped cream then garnish with nutmeg.
- Cover. Chill until set, about 4-5 hours.
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