|
Bread Pudding
Here’s an oldie but goodie for the holiday season, with a twist. Easy to make, and the aroma of cinnamon and vanilla wafting out of the oven will fill the kitchen and put everyone in a festive mood. This is a basic recipe, to which my wife likes to add raisins, dried cranberries, dried cherries, etc. Me, I like it simple, with crème anglaise on top. The crème anglaise sauce is a little tricky, but nothing insurmountable. I made it this weekend at my sister’s house, so attached please find the obligatory pictures.
1 long French baguette loaf (preferably one day old)
4 eggs
¾ cup sugar (or 1 cup light brown sugar)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon McCormick Imitation Vanilla Butter & Nut Flavor
3 cups heavy whipping cream
1 cup half-and-half
Preheat oven to 350º F. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the cream, half-and-half, eggs, sugar and spices and flavoring, until smooth. The Imitation Vanilla Butter & Nut is something my mom introduced me to when she taught me how to make flan caramel. It’s artificial, but it adds a nice kick to the vanilla.
Cut the baguette into 1-inch squares and arrange in a large baking or casserole dish. Do not fill to the top, because the mixture will expand slightly during baking. Pour the cream mixture into the baking dish, covering the bread. If it doesn’t all fit into your dish, use the remainder in another dish. Push the bread down with a spoon to get it soaked. Cover dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a couple of hours. I’ve refrigerated it overnight with good results. The idea is to let the bread absorb the cream fully. When I made it at my sister’s house, I could only soak it for 30 minutes, so the bread was not fully soaked.
Bake in oven for 30-45 minutes. It’s done when you can poke a toothpick in and it comes out dry.
Crème Anglaise
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/3 to ½ cup sugar
1 vanilla bean
5 egg yolks
Pour cream into a saucepan. Cut a vanilla bean lengthwise, and scrape the specks into the saucepan. Bring to a simmer while frequently stirring to break up the vanilla specks. Remove from heat when it simmers. In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar until smooth. Pour about half a cup of the cream into the bowl of yolks and stir. Then pour the egg mix back into the saucepan with the remainder of the cream. Stir constantly over low heat for 2-4 minutes. The trick here is not to cook it too much, or else it will thicken too much into a thick custard. Cook too little, and it will be too runny. Therefore, it’s important to stir the mix constantly with a whisk over the heat. When it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, it’s done. Remove from heat. Once you get this down, feel free to add rum, Amaretto, Grand Marnier, etc. to the sauce.
Scoop out the bread pudding onto plates, and spoon the crème anglaise liberally on top of each serving.
|
Linear Mode
