Griddled Holiday Bread Pudding Recipes

GRILLED BREAD PUDDING WITH FRESH FRUIT

Steps:

• Toss together the peaches, raspberries and brown sugar. Set aside to macerate.
• Preheat the grill. Slice the bread. Arrange on a baking sheet and toast in the oven until light golden brown, about 10 minutes. Watch carefully to make sure they do not brown too much; set aside to cool.
• In a saucepan, heat the half-and-half, cream, salt and vanilla bean over medium heat, stirring occasionally to make sure the mixture doesn't burn or stick to the bottom of the pan. When the cream mixture reaches a fast simmer (do not let it boil), turn off the heat. Set aside to infuse 10 to 15 minutes. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs and granulated sugar together. Whisking constantly, gradually add the hot cream mixture. Strain into a large shallow bowl to smooth the mixture and remove the vanilla bean. Dip the toasted bread slices into the custard, and let soak until absorbed. Fold the mixture occasionally to ensure even soaking. Transfer the slices to the grill and cook about 5 minutes on each side. Serve warm or chilled, dusted with confectioners' sugar.

SOUTHERN STYLE CHRISTMAS BREAD PUDDING WITH BOURBON SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove crusts from bread and reserve. Cut bread slices into cubes. In a large bowl, beat eggs well. Add milk, cream, sugar, vanilla, Grand Marnier and mix well. Add cinnamon, juice, and lemon zest. Stir in cherries and raisins. Add bread cubes and stir until well coated. Let stand 30 minutes, stirring often. If mixture is soupy, you may need to add additional slices of white bread (crusts removed.) The mixture should be wet but not soupy. Pour into buttered baking dish, dusted with sugar. Prepare topping in a food processor. Add crusts, butter and brown sugar, pulsing until mixture is crumbly. Spread evenly over top of pudding. Bake in a water bath for 50 minutes covered with foil. Remove foil and bake another 10 minutes or until brown on top. Serve with bourbon sauce.
• Mix eggs, butter, and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and 1/2 cup bourbon. In top of a double boiler cook until temperature reads 165 on a thermometer. Beating constantly and being careful not to curdle eggs. Remove from heat and strain. In a mixer bowl, beat sauce until slightly cool, adding remaining bourbon a little at a time. Serve with bread pudding.

TROPICAL BREAD PUDDING WITH GRILLED BANANAS AND VANILLA RUM ANGLAISE

Steps:

• Cut cake into toast-size slices; spread 1 side with softened butter and sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg. Lightly brown the buttered sides in a large skillet while preparing other sides the same way. After cooking both sides, remove toasted cake from skillet and place on a plate with about 1/3 cup melted vanilla ice cream, allowing cake to soak up the melted ice cream from the bottom.
• Peel bananas and set aside.
• In skillet over medium heat, melt 1 stick butter. Add orange juice and stir in brown sugar. Stir constantly over medium-low heat until mixture completely liquefies. Add bananas to coat, cooking for about 2 minutes. Remove bananas to grill and continue to cook until tender. Remove sauce from heat, add 2 tablespoons rum, and baste bananas with sauce while grilling. When bananas are cooked to your liking, return them to the skillet with the sauce. Slice as desired; diagonally works best.
• Stir the remainder of the ice cream into a bowl of whipped cream and add 1 tablespoon rum.
• Place a piece of cake on a dessert plate, cover with sliced grilled bananas, top with brown sugar sauce, and ladle vanilla rum sauce around the cake. Sprinkle with toasted coconut and serve.

KRIS KRINGLE BREAD PUDDING

Steps:

• Brush two 1 1/2-quart ovenproof bowls with butter, and sprinkle with vanilla sugar; tap out excess. Bring Armagnac, dried fruit, and prunes to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until fruit has softened and absorbed the liquid, about 10 minutes. Coarsely chop fruit.
• Bring cream, half and half, vanilla sugar, cinnamon, vanilla beans and seeds, and zest to a boil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.
• Lightly beat egg yolks in a medium bowl. Whisking constantly, gradually ladle half the hot-cream mixture into the yolks. Pour yolk mixture into saucepan with remaining cream mixture. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly and scraping sides of pan, until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes. Pass custard through a fine sieve into a large bowl; discard solids.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In another large bowl, combine brioche cubes and chopped fruit, reserving 1/2 cup fruit. Pour in custard; toss to combine. Divide bread mixture between prepared bowls. Top each with half the reserved fruit. Sprinkle with vanilla sugar. Place a parchment round in water to dampen and transfer to top of pudding bowl to cover. Use a rubber band to secure, and tie with kitchen twine. Repeat process with second bowl. Let stand until bread has soaked up liquid, about 20 minutes.
• Set bowls in deep roasting pan. Transfer pan to oven; add enough boiling water to come 3 inches up sides of bowls. Bake 1 hour. Uncover; bake until set, about 30 minutes more. Serve warm or at room temperature, with sour lemon sauce. Puddings can be refrigerated up to 3 days; let cool completely before covering with plastic wrap. If desired, reheat in a 350-degree oven, just until warm.

HOLIDAY BREAD PUDDING

Steps:

• Warm the rum in a small saucepan, add the candied fruit and set aside.
• Place one-half cup of the sugar with the water in a heavy saucepan or skillet, preferably one with a nonstick lining. Place over medium-high heat, bring to a boil and allow to cook until it turns a rich amber color. Immediately pour this caramel into a four-cup metal loaf pan that does not have a nonstick lining and tilt the pan so the bottom and sides become coated with caramel. Keep tilting the pan as the caramel cools so the coating is even.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Cube the bread and place it in a bowl. Scald the milk and cream and pour over the bread. Stir. Fold in the candied fruit and rum and the pine nuts. Add the remaining sugar. Lightly beat the egg yolks and stir them in.
• Beat the egg whites until stiff. Fold into the bread pudding. Spoon the pudding into the caramel-lined pan. Place in the oven and bake for one hour.
• Allow to cool to room temperature and refrigerate overnight.
• Run a knife around the edges, unmold onto a platter and serve.

CLASSIC BREAD PUDDING

Steps:

• Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish; set aside. Put bread in a large bowl; set aside. Heat milk and cream in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat until just about to simmer; remove from heat.
• Whisk eggs, yolk, sugar, salt, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a medium bowl. Whisking constantly, pour cream mixture in a slow, steady stream into egg mixture. Pour over bread; fold to combine. Let stand 30 minutes, tossing and pressing occasionally to submerge bread.
• Meanwhile, soak raisins in 1 cup boiling water for 30 minutes.
• Drain; stir raisins into bread mixture. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. With a slotted spoon, transfer bread to buttered dish; pour liquid in bowl over top. Using spoon, turn top layer of bread crust side up.
• Set dish in a roasting pan; transfer to oven. Pour boiling water into pan to reach about halfway up sides of dish. Bake until golden brown, about 50 minutes. Let dish cool on a rack 10 to 20 minutes.

GRIDDLED HOLIDAY BREAD PUDDING

Steps:

• Cut the bread into 1-inch cubes.
• In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs. Then add milk, sugar, salt, cinnamon, baking mix, and vanilla and mix well. Stir in the dates, white chocolate morsels, dried cranberries, and pecans. Fold in the bread cubes and mix well. Let bread soak up the mixture for 5 minutes.
• Heat oil in a frying pan over medium high heat. Using a large spoon or ice cream scoop, scoop the bread pudding mixture, packing firmly. Place the scoop of bread pudding in the hot oil. Place a few in the skillet. Do not overcrowd, and leave room to flip the cakes.
• Cook until bottoms are browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Flip and press down with a spatula until about 1/2 inch high. Brown the other side, 2 to 3 minutes more. Remove cakes and drain on cooling grate. Repeat until all bread pudding cakes are done.
• Prepare the sauce: Bring the heavy whipping cream to a boil in a small saucepan. Take off the heat and add white chocolate, cinnamon, and rum extract; stir until smooth and completely melted. Sauce will be fairly liquid. Pour over the bread pudding as desired.