BREAD PUDDING
8 c Loosely packed cubed (1/2
-inch) cinnamon rolls,
-raisin bread, or French
-bread
3 c Milk
2 c Heavy cream
9 lg Eggs
3/4 c Packed dark or light brown
-sugar
3/4 c Sugar
1 1/2 ts Ground cinnamon
2 tb Pure vanilla extract
3/4 ts Salt
CARAMEL TOPPING
30 Caramel candies, such as
-Kraft, usually 8 – 13
-ounces (up to 40)
1 1/2 ts Pure vanilla extract
Heavy cream, for serving
-(optional)
Recipe is from the Garden Cafe in Omaha, Nebraska as published in _Classic
Home Desserts_ by Richard Sax. Note that you can halve this recipe and bake
in an 8-inch square pan.
1. Bread Pudding: Place the bread cubes in a 13 x 9-inch baking dish; set
aside. Heat the milk and cream in a large saucepan until hot.
2. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, brown and white sugars, cinnamon,
vanilla and salt. Slowly whisk in the hot milk mixture. Pour the mixture
over the bread cubes and let stand for 10 to 20 minutes so that the bread
absorbs the liquid. Press the bread cubes into the custard with a spatula
once or twice.
3. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 F, with a rack in the center.
4. Bake the pudding until the custard is set but still slightly wobbly in
the center, usually about 40 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
5. Caramel Topping: While the pudding is cooling, melt the caramels in a
heavy saucepan over low heat, stirring until smooth. Remove from the heat
and stir in the vanilla. While the pudding is still warm, drizzle a random
pattern of thin lines of the hot caramel over the surface of the pudding.
(At the Garden Cafe, the pudding is topped with a thick, even coating of
caramel; Sax likes it drizzled lightly, but you decide. To make an even
coating like the cafe’s, use about 40 caramels.) Do not touch or disturb
the surface of the pudding, or you will tear it. If the caramel in the pan
gets too hard as you are working, rewarm it over low heat.
6. To serve, rewarm the pudding in a 325 F oven before serving, to soften
the caramel. You can also cut squares of the pudding and warm then in
individual ovenproof serving dishes. If you like, drizzle each serving with
a little cream.
Yields
12 To 16