Spiced French Bread Pudding Recipes

FRENCH BREAD PUDDING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, cream together sugar and butter. Add eggs, cream, cinnamon, vanilla, and raisins, mixing well. Pour into a 9-inch square pan 1-3/4 inches deep. Arrange bread slices flat in the egg mixture and let stand for 5 minutes to soak up the liquid. Turn bread over and let stand for 10 minutes longer, then push it down so it is covered by the egg mixture (do not break bread). Set pan in larger pan filled with water to 1/2-inch from top and cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 45-50 minutes, uncovering pudding for the last 10 minutes to brown the top. When done, custard should be soft, not firm.
• BOURBON SAUCE: Combine sugar, cream/evaporated milk, cinnamon, and butter/margarine in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil. Add cornstarch mixed with 1/4-cup water. Cook, stirring, until sauce is clear. Remove from heat and stir in whiskey.

FRENCH TOAST BREAD PUDDING WITH SPICED PEARS

Steps:

• The night before, make the French toast: smear the butter over the bottom and sides of a 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking dish or other shallow 2-quart baking dish. Tear the bread into small pieces and scatter in the dish.
• In a large measuring cup or small bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar until light. Add the milk and vanilla and whisk well. Pour over the bread evenly. Tamp down the bread with a spoon or spatula to submerge each piece in egg mixture. Cover with foil, gently pressing down so the foil is right on the surface of the mixture. Refrigerate overnight.
• The next morning, remove the dish and slide it into a cold oven with the foil on. Turn oven on to 350 degrees F. After 25 minutes, gently pull off and discard the foil. Continue to bake until pudding is puffed and golden brown, about 20 more minutes.
• In the meantime, prepare the spiced pears: melt butter in a wide frying pan (preferably nonstick) over medium-high heat then add the pears. Stir until pears are coated well with butter, then sprinkle sugar, cinnamon, and a good pinch of fresh nutmeg; continue to cook about 3 minutes until pears begin to soften. Pour in 1/4 cup of maple syrup; cook until bubbly then remove from heat.
• To serve, spoon bread pudding onto plates and top with spiced pears. Pass additional maple syrup at the table.

SPICED BREAD PUDDING

Steps:

• Place the cinnamon, nutmeg, dried orange peel, cloves, peppercorns, and ginger into 3 cups of half-and-half in a microwavable container and microwave on high for 3 minutes. Check the temperature of the mixture and microwave in 30 second increments until it reaches 180 degrees F. Cover and steep 15 minutes.
• Place the eggs and yolks in a blender with an 8-cup carafe. Blend on the lowest speed for 30 seconds. Raise the speed to quarter power and slowly add the sugars and blend until thickened slightly, about 1 minute. Add the remaining 2 cups half-and-half. With the machine still running, pour in the spiced half-and-half through a small hand strainer and add the rum. Use immediately, or store covered in the refrigerator for up to 72 hours.
• Preheat the oven on the lowest (or warm) setting.
• Cut a 7-inch round disk off the top of the boule using a long bread knife or serrated slicer. Tear the disk into pieces and scatter in a large roasting pan. Cut all the way around the inside of the boule just inside the outer wall. Cut downward and across the interior of the bread, first in one direction, then 90 degrees to it to create a grid, the way you would cube mango flesh to remove it from the skin. Remove the plugs of bread and tear into hunks about the size of an egg. Add to the roasting pan and bake until bread is dry, 1/2 to 2 hours.
• Sprinkle the fruit over the bread, pour in the custard, and press the bread to submerge all the pieces. Cover and soak for 2 hours at room temperature or for up to 8 hours in the refrigerator.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Pour the melted butter into a spray bottle and spritz the inside of the bread shell. Be sure to cover the bottom with a thin layer to prevent the custard from soaking through. Place the bread shell in a 10-inch cast-iron skillet and place in the oven to toast the interior for 30 minutes.
• Remove the bread shell from the oven and transfer the soaked bread mixture into the shell. Bake until the bread pudding souffles and reaches an internal temperature of 165 to 170 degrees F, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Remove and cool 30 minutes before slicing or scooping and serving.

SPICED BREAD PUDDING

Steps:

• Bread Pudding:.
• Preheat over to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Butter a 9" X 13" baking dish.
• Separate eggs, place egg whites on counter for 20 minutes.
• Combine egg yolks, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, vanilla, milk, creamer, raisins, walnuts, and bread cubes; let soak on counter until egg whites have reached room temperature.
• Beat egg whites until foamy.
• Gently fold egg whites into the bread mixture.
• Pour into buttered dish.
• Bake for 40 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Pudding will be very moist.
• Rum Sauce:.
• Combine brown sugar and flour in medium saucepan over medium heat.
• Stir in half-n-half, spiced rum, and nutmeg, stirring constantly.
• After the mixture reaches a boil, about 2 minutes, remove from heat and stir in the butter.
• Pour over hot pudding and serve.

TRADITIONAL FRUITY AND SPICED BREAD PUDDING - WITH BRANDY!

Steps:

• First marinate the fruit & peel in the brandy - set aside.
• Tear the bread into even sized pieces and soak in the milk for about 30 minutes.
• Pre-heat oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
• Melt the butter in the microwave or a small saucepan.
• In a large roomy bowl, mix the sugar, beaten eggs, melted butter, spices, orange & lemon zest together, then add the brandy-soaked fruits & mix well again.
• Tip it all into the milk soaked bread.
• Mix it all together - and then pour into a well buttered baking dish.
• Sprinkle demerara sugar on top & add some grated nutmeg if you wish.
• Bake for 1 hour, or until the bread pudding is well puffed up, crispy and golden brown. It will sink on cooling, but that's fine!
• Cut into squares - serve warm with cream, ice-cream or custard.
• As a final flourish - you can also grate some orange zest over the cream etc!
• N.B. You can also make this with Brioche or any type of Bread product, as long as it it not too savoury.

CHAI-SPICED BREAD PUDDING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, whisk together first 9 ingredients and, if desired, rum. Gently stir in bread; let stand 15 minutes or until bread is softened. , Transfer to a greased 8-in. square baking dish. Sprinkle with almonds., Bake, uncovered, until puffed, golden and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, 35-40 minutes. Serve warm with ice cream.

SPICED FRENCH BREAD PUDDING

Steps:

• cut bread into 1 inch cubes, place in ungreased 13x9-inch pan and either dry in warm oven for a couple of hours, toast lightly in 350°F oven (preferred), or toast in 350°F oven till light brown and dry.
• Chop or puree raisins.
• Sift or sieve sugar, spices and salt into a plastic bag and shake to mix.
• Heat milk, butter, eggs, yolks, raisins and sugar mixture in a sauce pan on low heat stirring constantly until butter's melted and sugar is dissolved, remove from heat if steam starts to appear.
• (You don't want to cook the eggs just yet!)
• Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and immediately pour custard over dried bread.
• If desired strain mixture with a fine strainer to remove raisins and any egg chalazae.
• Mix and press down on bread to be sure it's all covered.
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Allow custard to soak into bread cubes until cooled (about an hour).
• Occasionally stirring to evenly distribute mixture.
• Can be refrigerated for up-to 12 hours at this point.
• Bake in 350°F oven for 50-60 minutes (top will be browned and pudding should start to rise out of the pan).
• --------Variations--------------.
• Add a cup of toasted and chopped pecans or walnuts to custard.
• Replace 1/2 tbsp of the vanilla with another extract or liquor.
• Add some white, cinnamon or chocolate chips to custard.
• Replace 1/2 of the milk with heavy cream or 1/2 and 1/2 (makes it rich!).
• Use skim milk, delete butter, use whole wheat bread, reduce sugar to 1 cup, replace eggs/yolks with egg substitute for a "healthy version".
• Add some dried apple or banana to custard.
• Use 1 cup of sugar and add 1/2 cup of maple syrup.
• Replace up-to half the sugar with brown sugar.
• Serve with bourbon sauce, whip cream, ice cream.