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Just Pudding It Back To Basics

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Nothing says home grown cooking than bread pudding! I must say no matter where you are and how long the years have passed, we all are just softies for home baked bread pudding. I could never say no! Sometimes, I make it a point to have left over bread just so I have a good excuse to make some … even just for a nice sweet afternoon spent absolutely doing nothing!

You all know the basics of bread pudding, right? It’s just day old bread, milk, eggs and sugar mixed together and poured into a pan and baked. Anything else you want to add to it is all up to your creativity and what’s in your pantry. You can add raisins, nuts and other fruit of your choice.

Although it is typically a dessert, why limit yourself to that? Have it for breakfast! You may choose to serve bread pudding with rum sauce, whiskey sauce and caramel. It is just as heavenly with custard sauce or vanilla cream, and even chocolate.  Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream or slather on some luscious whipped topping and you’ve got yourself a pretty fancy dessert without the real fuss.

Essentially, it’s going to back to basics … back to where it all matters …it’s what hits home and it always feels just as good as you always remember it. So just play around with this home grown recipe and use your favourite things to eat. You might just come up with a seriously genius creation. Here’s something for you to whip up this coming weekend maybe?

Apple Breakfast Bread Pudding

Ingredients:

12 slices day old bread
4 tbsp butter, melted
½ c raisins (optional)
1 apple, peeled, chopped
2 tbsp brown sugar
½ tsp cinnamon powder
4 eggs beaten
3 cups milk
¾ cup white sugar
1 tbsp vanilla extract

Instructions:

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
  • Mix chopped apples with brown sugar and set aside
  • Break 6 slices of bread into small pieces into an 8 inch square baking pan. Drizzle 2 tbsps melted butter or margarine  over bread.
  • In a medium mixing bowl, combine eggs, milk, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. Beat until well mixed. Pour half of mixture over bread, and lightly push down with a fork until bread is covered and soaking up the egg mixture.
  • Spread over the apple and sugar mixture onto the bread layer and sprinkle with raisin if desired.
  • Break the remaining 6 slices of bread over the layer of apples and sugar, drizzle with the 2 tbsps of melted butter and pour the remaining half of the milk mixture. Press down with fork making sure the bread pieces get soaked in the milk.
  • Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until the top springs back when lightly tapped.
  • Serve warm with custard sauce or go all out with vanilla ice cream.

Photo Credit: missmeng

Photo Credit: montage_ man

Photo Credit: jennycu

Sticky Toffee Pudding with Whisky Sauce

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A classic pudding, with a luxuriously decadent twist – the addition of the Whisky sauce makes this a very rich treat.
Sticky Toffee Pudding
Make sure you pick a Scottish Whisky, as opposed to an Irish Whiskey – the difference is in the flavours and tastes that are wide and noticeable – especially when adding the other ingredients.

To Serve 6
150g Pitted Dates, chopped
225ml Boiling Water
100g Butter
150g Soft Dark Brown Sugar
2 Large Eggs
200g Self Raising Flour, sifted
1tsp Bicarbonate of Soda, sifted
3tbsp Cold Water
125g Caster Sugar
5tbsp Whisky
125ml Double Cream

1. Heat an oven to 180c, and line a large tray with baking paper.
2. Soak the Dates in the Boiling Water. Cream the Butter and Soft Dark Brown Sugar in a large bowl until smooth. Then add the Large Eggs, one at a time, whisking until smooth each time.
3. Start to slowly add the Sifted Flour to the mixture, along with the Bicarbonate of Soda. Mix in, and then drain the Dates over a bowl to catch the liquid, and lightly blend them in a food processor. Add the processed Dates back to the Water, then add the mixture into the batter.
4. Pour into the baking tray, and bake for thirty to thirty five minutes, or until a skewer can be pressed through and come out clean. Leave to cool.
5. For the Whisky Sauce, add the Cold Water to a pan along with the Caster Sugar, and bring to the boil for about five minutes, until it’s caramelised evenly, then remove from the heat, and add the Double Cream and Whisky.

Photo Courtesy of: Ella Mullins