Do you all remember
the tale of
two cheesecakes? Well, here is another story that led to the making of this, what
I like to call, “infamous bread pudding.” Mr. O-P makes a mighty fine bread
pudding (and there is a whole other story about this, and me, and German
pancake, but I digress). A month ago, he had a hankering and decided he was
going to make some. So, he bought one of those take-and-bake baguettes from the
local market, brought it home, baked it, cut it into thirds to let it dry out a
bit, and left it on the counter where it indeed did dry out, but also grew so
much mold that you could have pet it. Into the trash it went.
So much for that, I thought, but I was wrong. This same exercise took
place four weeks in a row! Four baguettes, baked, sliced, dried, moldy, and
into the trash. For a doer like me, it was quite vexing. Did I mention the
quart of whole milk that he'd bought that slowly expired while lying in wait in
the fridge? For a Type “A” like me, this was nothing short of
maddening!
When he made his cheesecake, one of the ingredients was heavy cream.
Now, we use a lot of heavy cream around here, just ask my hips. But, I am a
date watcher, and he, a Type “B” is not, so it was
with great horror that I looked at the date on this nearly full quart of
expensive heavy cream and noticed that it was a day before expiration! As you
may have guessed, I ended up making a bread pudding of my own. It was not
without incident. I made my own cinnamon swirl challah that, while delicious,
contained too much butter in the filling. It ran over the sides of the pan,
burned and smoked on the bottom of the oven, setting off the smoke detectors,
that ran, incessantly, for 25 minutes. When I could take the screeching no longer
(Not to mention the robotic woman’s voice that warned, “Fire! Fire!”) I removed
it from the oven and watched it collapse onto itself in the pan because it just
hadn’t baked long enough. I’ll spare you
further detail, but will say that I ended up saving it by turning it into
cinnamon challah croutons, and ended up with this delicious bread pudding.
Bread Pudding with Boozy Caramel Sauce
Adapted from a recipe on epicurious.com
6 extra-large eggs
3 1/2 cups whole milk
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1-pound loaf cinnamon challah, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 cup golden raisins
6 extra-large eggs
3 1/2 cups whole milk
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1-pound loaf cinnamon challah, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 cup golden raisins
2 tablespoons dark
rum
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Put raisins in a
small bowl and pour rum on top. Let stand while making the bread pudding.
Butter a 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Whisk eggs in a large bowl until well blended and lemon colored. Add milk, sugar, cream, and vanilla; whisk to blend. Stir in cubed bread and rum raisins. Pour mixture into prepared baking dish, spreading to evenly distribute ingredients. Press down with palms of hands. Cover and refrigerate 2 hours.
Bake pudding, uncovered, until puffed and golden, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Cool slightly (pudding will fall). Serve warm with Boozy Caramel Sauce.
Boozy Caramel Sauce
1 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup whipping cream
2 tablespoons dark rum
1 tablespoon whiskey
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Stir brown sugar and butter in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat until melted and smooth, about 2-3 minutes. Add cream, rum, whiskey, and cinnamon and bring to a simmer. Simmer until sauce thickens and is reduced to 1 1/2 cups, about 5-7 minutes. Serve warm. (Can be prepared 2 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to simmer before serving.)
Butter a 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Whisk eggs in a large bowl until well blended and lemon colored. Add milk, sugar, cream, and vanilla; whisk to blend. Stir in cubed bread and rum raisins. Pour mixture into prepared baking dish, spreading to evenly distribute ingredients. Press down with palms of hands. Cover and refrigerate 2 hours.
Bake pudding, uncovered, until puffed and golden, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Cool slightly (pudding will fall). Serve warm with Boozy Caramel Sauce.
Boozy Caramel Sauce
1 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup whipping cream
2 tablespoons dark rum
1 tablespoon whiskey
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Stir brown sugar and butter in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat until melted and smooth, about 2-3 minutes. Add cream, rum, whiskey, and cinnamon and bring to a simmer. Simmer until sauce thickens and is reduced to 1 1/2 cups, about 5-7 minutes. Serve warm. (Can be prepared 2 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to simmer before serving.)
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