Hungry for 'Hot' Lunch
I think one of the most universally vilified meals in America over the years has to be hot lunch. Ask most folks about their memories of growing up and eating at school and the horror stories spill ou...
One of my favorite hot lunches was mock chicken legs. Cubes of pork and beef were put on a skewer, breaded and oven-roasted to look like chicken legs, then served with stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy. Inspired by that hot lunch, I played with dessert: an ice cream ‘mock chicken leg,’ breaded in toasted coconut, and served with mango bread pudding, whipped cream and lime-caramel sauce. Even if you didn’t like hot lunch, I’m sure you’ll enjoy this dessert.
Ingredients
SERVINGS: 8 Serving(s)
Mango Bread Pudding
- ¼ cup butter (about 2 oz) plus small amount for buttering molds
- 8 oz egg bread such as Challah or Brioche (four cups diced)
- 2 eggs
- 1 egg yolk
- 6 Tbsp dark brown sugar
- ¾ cup milk
- ¾ cup cream
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground mace
- ¼ tsp ground cardamom
- 1 cup fresh mango (diced small)
- 1 Tbsp dark rum
- Zest of one lime
Lime Caramel Sauce
- ½ cup sugar
- 1/3 cup water
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 3 Tbsp fresh lime juice reduced down to ¾ Tbsp
Assembly
- 1 pint ice cream (coconut, vanilla or your choice)
- 1½ cups toasted coconut
- ½ pint heavy cream whipped with 1 Tbsp sugar & ¼ tsp vanilla
- Lime Caramel Sauce (Recipe follows)
Instructions
Mango Bread Pudding
Melt ¼ cup of butter and toss with the diced egg bread and toast in a 375 degree oven for 6-8 minutes until just starting to brown. Remove and cool. Whip together eggs, brown sugar, milk, cream, spices, rum and lime zest. Place cooled bread in bowl with mixture and let sit for at least a half hour. Strain off bread, reserving custard. Mix bread with mango and divide between eight buttered molds. Divide custard over the bread in the molds and cook in a shallow water bath in a 350 degree oven for 25-30 minutes until set.
Lime Caramel Sauce
Mix sugar and water in a saucepan. Wash down the sides with a brush and water to prevent burning. Boil and let turn an amber color. Meanwhile, bring the cream to a boil in a separate pan. When the sugar is a deep amber color, remove from heat and with a whisk, carefully and slowly pour in the cream (there will be hot steam coming off of it so be careful). Place back over medium flame until mixture just comes back to a boil. Add the lime reduction, strain into a heat-proof container and let cool to room temperature.
Assembly
Form ice cream in the desired shape (in this case, like a chicken leg), wrap in plastic wrap and place in freezer until very hard. When ready to serve, unmold the bread pudding and slightly warm it in a slow oven. Place whipped cream to resemble mashed potatoes next to the mango bread pudding (acting as the stuffing). Roll the ice cream in coconut to look like a mock chicken leg. Lean on top of the pudding and garnish with lime-caramel sauce to resemble gravy.
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