Bread Pudding

This bread pudding recipe is extra. I made some for my husband for the first time and it was too much for him. That’s because it has raisins, peaches, and pecans. And then I topped it with a rum sauce made with sweetened condensed milk. The bread pudding he grew up eating in New Jersey only had raisins. I learned this recipe from my father. A lot of my over the top ways (and my daughter’s) are inherited from him. If you’re down for a sensory adventure try this recipe and give your tastebuds a thrill.

Tips:

Bread pudding is typically made using bread that is stale and dry. It’s a recipe that was borne out of necessity, a way to use bread without it going to waste. If you don’t have any old bread, toast a fresh loaf of bread in the oven to dry it out. For this I put the bread in the oven at 250 degrees for about 30 minutes. Fresh bread isn’t recommended for this recipe because it will be too soggy.

Ingredients

1 loaf of white bread (old or lightly toasted)

1 cup raisins

1 14 oz can of peaches, chopped

Chopped pecans, 1 cup

Evaporated milk, 2 cans

Heavy cream, 1 cup

4 eggs

Brown sugar, 1 cup

Salt, 1/2 tsp

Pepper 1/2 tsp

Melted butter, 2 tbsp

Vanilla extract or paste, 2 tsp + 1 tsp

Sweetened condensed milk, 1 cup

Cinnamon, 2 tsp

Nutmeg, 2 tsp

Ginger (powdered), 1 tsp

Rum or whiskey, 1 tbsp (optional)

Butter, 1 pat

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Add eggs, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, 2 tsp of vanilla, and whisk together until thoroughly blended.

3. Pour evaporated milk into the and heavy cream into the mixture and stir into the egg and sugar mixture.

4. Break bread into pieces and then add to liquid mixture. Gently stir until liquid is absorbed by the bread.

5. Add raisins, peaches, and pecans to bowl and stir until evenly mixed.

6. Add butter to a 9 x 13 baking dish and evenly coat it. Then add bread pudding to pan. Cover with aluminum foil and put it in the oven. Bake for and hour.

7. Add condensed milk, vanilla, a pinch of cinnamon, a pinch of nutmeg, and rum or whiskey to a sauce pot. Cook it on low heat and stir ingredients together until blended. Add butter and stir until it’s melted. Immediately turn off heat once it’s done.

8. Once bread pudding is done, let it cool for about 15 minutes, drizzle sauce on individual pieces, and enjoy.