Bread Pudding is a wonderful dessert that provides many benefits to those who've never tried it. For one, it's an ingenious way to make good use of stale bread that's lying around the kitchen. A simple recipe calls for white or wholemeal bread to be pinched up into small chunks, then soaked in a raw custard with dried fruit (usually raisins) and baked into a square-shaped pudding.

It all sounds easy, because it actually is, as long as one knows how to make a simple custard (2:1 ratio of milk/cream to eggs) which, of course, has already been used in over a dozen recipes on this site.

Therefore, today's recipe should encourage even amateurs to get creative with their stale bread. As a bonus, it will include a simple recipe for Caramel Sauce to go with the Bread Pudding.

The recipe

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb white bread, stale (5-6 days old)
  • 1 cup raisins
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg
  • 1 stick unsalted butter, melted
  • Brown sugar for topping

Sauce Ingredients:

  • 1 lb brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream, room temperature
  • 1/2 stick unsalted butter
  • 1 tbsp vanilla extract

Directions

  1. Rip apart the bread, tearing it into smaller pieces into a mixing bowl. Mix in the raisins by tossing them around with the bread pieces using hands.
  2. Combine the milk, heavy cream, eggs, sugar and all spices in a bowl using a whisk. Pour the mixture over the bread and raisins and press the liquid down onto the bread using a ladle. Let the bread soak for 15 minutes.
  3. Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Grease the bottom of an 8" deep bottom square cake tin with the melted butter. Gently stir the bread mixture into the butter. Sprinkle some demerara sugar over the bread mixture.
  4. Bake for 45 minutes or until it turns firm and golden brown. Remove and set to cool.
  5. To make the caramel sauce, combine the sugar, heavy cream and butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook the mixture while whisking for 5 minutes or until it thickens. Add the vanilla extract and thicken for another minute. Cool slightly and serve with the bread pudding or pour into a jar and refrigerate.

Variations

  • Chocolate - Omit the raisins. Substitute solid butter for the melted butter. melt the solid butter with half a pound of bittersweet chocolate over a double boiler. Add the melted mixture when making the custard during Step 2.
  • Mixed Fruit - Substitute dried mixed fruit for the raisins.
  • Banana - Slice a butter in 1/2 inch pieces and fold them into the bread pudding after it soaks up the custard during Step 3.
  • Coconut - Substitute coconut milk with the regular milk. Add 1 cup of shredded coconut to the bread pudding after it soaks up the custard during Step 3.
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