Caramelized Pineapple Pudding Cakes

The best part of this cake was the homemade brioche, which I wrote about on breadbasketcase.com. The roasted pineapple was delicious, as was the thickened roasting sauce and the creme anglaise. The only problem I had was the caramel itself--it looked perfect when I poured it into the custard cups, but when I turned them over onto the plate, the hardened caramel stayed stubbornly in the bottom of the cups.
With a few more seconds in the microwave, it softened enough to pour over the cake and it looked very attractive. It hardened immediately on contact, however, so it was more like caramel crunch than caramel sauce. Tasty, but not right.

As I am somewhat wont to do, I missed the instructions telling me to cut up the bread and let it dry out gradually. In fairness to me, I just got back from vacation last night and got out the cookbook this morning (Sunday). Fortunately, there was a one-hour alternative in a 200-degree oven. I chose that option.

The creme anglaise was easy--really just a matter of whisking eggs, milk, and cream, along with vanilla beans and grated nutmeg.

If you cut up pineapple about twice a year, you don't get good at it. I remember Julia Child showing me how to cut up pineapple. Somehow you're supposed to be able to see that the "eyes" are in a diagonal row, and it's supposed to work very slickly to slice the eyes off row by row. It didn't work very well. I whacked off the most noticeable eyes and decided to ignore the little spots.

I also mistakenly added the pineapple juice to the roasting and basting sauce, but that seemed to work out all right. The pineapple was ripe and very sweet. Actually, the whole dessert was a little on the sweet side. I'm not sure it needed both the caramel on the bottom (top) and the thickened caramel-y pineapple juices.

I thought I had caramel down pat. However, I didn't use my thermometer because I usually overcook the caramel mixture with the thermometer. I suppose it would make more sense to use the thermometer, but take the caramel off the heat before it reaches the recommended temperature. In any case, I believe the operative words here are "pale amber." I think I let mine turn at least medium amber, and that, I assume, is what made the caramel turn to stone.

Cutting the pineapple went pretty smoothly, although--of course--my fan arrangement was not as attractive as the picture in the book. So I'm not a food stylist.

I drained the creme anglaise off the soaking brioche cubes, and was looking forward to having extra for the puddings. Here is some advice: do not answer the doorbell while you are warming the creme. If you do, you will find that your creme has turned into scrambled eggs, and there is nothing to do but pour it down the drain.

After the pudding cakes are layered, they're put into a roasting/baking pan which is filled with boiling water, and they're covered loosely with foil. (No browning of the bread cubes). After about 35 minutes, they're heated through and ready to turn upside down on the plate.

That is when I realized that the caramel wasn't coming out. And then I realized that the caramel in the bottom of the dish wasn't just sticky; it was rock solid.

It took 32 seconds in the microwave to warm it back up to sticky caramel, which promptly turned rock solid again.

I thought the pineapple basting sauce, which was also somewhat caramelized, but still liquid, might have been enough of a caramel flavor, and I think if I made it again, I might try it without the bottom caramel layer. Or I might just try cooking the sugar and water until it was very pale, as instructed to do. Following instructions is rarely a bad idea.

TASTING PANEL:
Sarah: "It tastes like Mad Men. Something about the pineapple and brown sugar makes me think of the 60's. It makes me want a Manhattan. I like it."

Karen: "I like it too. I can't imagine having it any other way than warm. It's quite a bit sweeter than most of Rose's other cakes."

Jim: "The caramel was a little hard to deal with, and I wish the bread had been a little firmer, but the flavors went really well together."