1/2 1-lb loaf unsliced challah, 3 Large eggs
-brioche, or other egg bread 1 ts Ground ginger
2 tb Butter or margarine 1 ts Ground cinnamon
1 cn (12-oz) evaporated milk 2 ts Vanilla extract
1 1/2 c Half-and-half 1/4 ts Salt
1/2 c Sugar 1/2 c Sliced pitted dates
1/2 c Cooked pumpkin puree or Boiling water
-canned pumpkin
1. Cut bread into 1-inch-thick slices. Toast bread slices. In 2-quart
saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Remove from heat. Brush one side
of each bread slice wih butter. Cut buttered bread into 1 -inch cubes
and place in greased 1 1/2-quart casserole or baking dish.
2. In same saucepan, with wire whisk, combine undiluted milk,
half-and-half, sugar, and pumpkin until smooth. Heat over low heat
until bubbles appear around side of pan. Remove from heat.
3. In medium-size bowl, lightly whisk eggs with ginger, cinnamon,
vanilla, and salt until well mixed; beat in about a cup of pumpkin
mixture. Pour egg mixture into remaining pumpkin mixture and mix
well. Pour pumpkin-egg mixture over bread and let stand until bread
absorbs most of the liquid-about 15 minutes.
4. Heat oven to 350’F. Fold dates into bread pudding until well mixed.
Place casserole in 13- by 9-inch baking pan. Pour 1 inch of boiling
water into pan.
5. Bake bread pudding 1 1/4 hours or until firm around edge of
casserole but soft set in center. Cool pudding on wire rack at least
30 minutes before serving. Serve pudding warm or cool to room
tempera- ture. Store pudding in the refrigerator.
Note: To bake this recipe in a pumpkin, cut top off a 5- to 6-lb
pumpkin and remove seeds and fibers. Cut decorative edge on top of
pumpkin, if desired. Place pumpkin in 9-inch-square baking pan. Bake
pumpkin 30 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare bread pudding mixture and pour
into partially baked pumpkin. Bake 1 1/2 hours longer or until knife
inserted near center comes out clean.
Country Living/Sept/93 Scanned & fixed by DP & GG
Yields
12 servings