Bread pudding lovers each have different things that they like about this comforting dessert. Temperature, texture and flavour are factors that most people get preferential about. The inclusion of fruits – fresh or dried – is optional.
Another thing that can elevate this simple dessert is the type of bread or baked roll that you choose to make the bread pudding with. In the past I have made bread pudding with Cross Buns, Panettone (Italian sweet bread made with dried fruit) and cinnamon rolls; separately not as a combination.
Originally created as a dish to not waste, and to use up leftover bread, bread pudding is essentially bread that is at least a day old, that’s cubed, torn or shredded, covered in a sweet custard made of milk, eggs and sugar and baked until golden. The pudding is traditionally served warm, on its own, or with a drizzle of custard or similar sauce, or liqueur. Thought of as “poor man’s pudding”, today, bread pudding is anything but. With the price of food these days, the cheapest ingredient in a bread pudding might be the bread, if you are using a white sandwich loaf.
Why am I talking about bread pudding today? Last week in discussing and sharing my thoughts about some of the things I am making this holiday, I was testing a steamed bread pudding that I had seen (again), more recently on the internet. I promised to share the results with you.
What excited me about making this bread pudding is that the finished dish looked like crème caramel, also known as flan and caramel pudding – a rich baked custard with a layer of caramel. I like self-saucing pudding. It cuts down on having to make a separate dessert sauce or wondering what type of sauce would best compliment a pudding. This bread pudding did not disappoint. I knew going in what the flavour would be, it was the texture and that unique flavour that caramel gives that won me over. My taste testers were licking their plates. Well, what they did was to drag a finger across the bottom of their plates and lick their fingers.
The texture of the bread pudding was smooth and creamy. I added golden raisins that became plump and juicy. Every forkful, every spoonful, every bite was sheer delight. It was the best bread pudding I think I have made, and I have made a lot of bread puddings. It was all down to the cooking technique and style used – steaming with a caramel base. You have got to give this pudding a try. I encourage you, if you are not confident making caramel or have never made a flan or crème caramel before to give the recipe a test run before doing it for the big-meal dessert over the holidays,
Here’s a guide based on exactly what I used and how I made mine. This is a perfect make-ahead dessert and frees up oven space.
You will need a deep pot or deep skillet/frying pan with a lid in which to steam the pudding. You will also need a heat proof dish or baking tin about 6 or 7 inches in diameter.
Gather the ingredients
● 6 slices white sandwich loaf. The brown ends all around were
trimmed (I saved them to make breadcrumbs)
● 1 level teaspoon ground cinnamon
● ½ teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
● Heaped ¼ cup golden raisins (optional)
For the custard:
● 2 ¼ cups whole milk (full cream)
● ¼ cup white granulated sugar
● 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, room temperature
● A pinch of fine table salt
● 2 large eggs, room temperature (use 3 if the eggs are small)
● 2 teaspoons vanilla essence
For the caramel:
● ¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon white granulated sugar
● 2 tablespoons water
● 3 drops lime/lemon juice (this prevents the sugar from crystalizing)
DIRECTIONS
1. Cut the bread into 1-inch cubes and add to a bowl. Sprinkle the spices over the bread and toss to mix. Set aside.
2 Add the milk, sugar, butter and salt to a pot and place over low heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves and the butter melts. Pour the mixture over the bread, toss well to mix and set aside to let the bread absorb the milk and cool completely.
3. Whisk together the eggs and essence and stir into the bread-milk mixture. Toss well to mix in and set aside. Do not add until the bread mixture is completely cooled.
Make the caramel:
4. Add the sugar to a skillet along with the water and lemon/lime juice. Place over medium heat and stir to mix until the sugar dissolves. Once dissolved, let the mixture come to a boil. It will bubble and make noise as the water evaporates.
5. As the pan gets quiet and the bubbles become glossy, you will notice that the mixture is starting to get golden. Lift the pan off the heat and give a couple of swirls. Do this a couple of times to prevent the caramel from burning. At this stage, the caramel cooks very quickly. You are looking for the caramel to get light brown, when it does, lift it off of the heat and keep swirling it and you will see it getting a richer colour of brown.
6. Pour the mixture into the pan in which you will be steaming the pudding and swirl it to evenly coat the bottom of the pan.
7. Set the pan aside on a wire rack to cool completely and set.
Steam the pudding:
8. In the meantime, Add water to the pot or pan you will be using to steam the pudding. The water should come just half-way up the side of the pan or you may have a flat steaming rack on which you can rest the pan. If so, let the water come just to the top to cover the rack. Cover, place over medium heat and bring to a simmer (the stage before the water boils).
9. While the water is coming to a simmer, sprinkle in the raisins, give the bread pudding a stir and pour into the pan with the set caramel; spread in an even layer. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and transfer to pot/pan in which it will be steamed. Cover the pan and let steam for 45 minutes or until set. To check if the pudding is set, remove the lid of the pot and using a pair of tongs, lift one part of the foil off the top of the pan, insert a skewer and if it comes out clean, it is done.
10. Shut off the heat and carefully remove the pan from the pot and place on a wire rack, remove the foil and let cool completely before covering with foil again and refrigerating for at least 3 hours before unmoulding. I left mine overnight
because my friends and taste-testers were coming the following day.
Unmould the pudding:
1. Remove the pan from the refrigerator and let sit for 15 minutes. Set aside the dish in which you will unmold and serve the pudding. It should be at least 2 inches deep to hold the caramel.
2. Run a knife or spatula all around the inner edge of the pan to release the pudding. Place the serving dish over the pan and flip the pan over. If you do not hear the pudding drop, shake the pan up and down a couple of times, place it on the counter and lift the pan, the pudding should release as the caramel runs all around it.
3. Slice and serve.
NOTES
● Because I wanted to add fruits, I left the bread with some texture, however, you can omit the fruits and puree the pudding mixture to an extra smooth texture, pouring it through a sieve onto the set caramel before steaming (# 9).
● Make this bread pudding your own – use whatever bread, fruits, or spices you like.
Enjoy!
Cynthia
cynthia@tasteslikehome.org