Bread pudding is all dressed up for the vacations with apples, dried cranberries and a heat, rum-spiked cream sauce. This Christmas Bread Pudding is a festive, tremendous comforting dessert.
My husband was satisfied he didn’t like bread pudding. I’m utilizing the previous tense right here as a result of he tried this one and he’s formally a bread pudding convert. I knew as quickly as he took one chew of this luscious model he’d be received over, and I used to be proper.
Apples and dried cranberries add a festive contact and the cream sauce – oh, assist me, the cream sauce! It’s spiked with slightly spiced rum and nutmeg and it’s completely divine. This cozy dessert completely brings on that Dickens, Christmas Carol, old-timey English vibe which makes it so good for the vacations.
Ingredient Notes
- Bread: The premise of all bread puddings is BREAD! I went with a loaf of French bread however any sturdy bread would work. Challah and brioche are good selections. Keep away from sliced sandwich bread which might grow to be too mushy. Use a loaf as an alternative so you may lower thick slices to dice like within the picture above. I had slightly deja vu since step one of this recipe is exactly the identical as my Crock-Pot Stuffing recipe.
- Fruit: You’ll want a sweet-tart apple, like Fuji, Gala, or Honeycrisp and a few dried cranberries (Craisins).
- Dairy: For the bread pudding, I take advantage of equal quantities 2% milk and heavy cream as a result of that’s what I normally have in my fridge right now of 12 months. If you happen to occur to have half-and-half readily available you may substitute it right here. For the silkiest, tastiest sauce, I like to recommend utilizing all heavy cream or half-and-half.
- Spiced rum: As a substitute of investing in an entire bottle, you may choose up a airline sized bottle or “nip” of Captain Morgan Spiced Rum on the liquor retailer. It provides such good taste to this sauce and the filling for my Eggnog Thumbprint Cookies. You’ll be able to substitute rum extract or vanilla extract if you happen to’d favor a booze-free sauce however The Captain does one thing very good to this sauce. And, it’s ony 1 tablespoon… and it’s Christmas!
- For the remaining: Eggs, granulated sugar, pure vanilla extract, floor nutmeg, and slightly cornstarch so as to add some physique to the sauce.
Make Christmas Bread Pudding
It is a fast overview of the way to make this recipe. You’ll discover detailed directions within the recipe card on the finish of this submit.
- Place the cubed bread on a rimmed baking sheet and pop it in a 350 diploma F oven for about 5 minutes till it’s toasty.
- Switch the toasted bread cubes to a big mixing bowl and add the chopped apple and dried cranberries.
- In a separate mixing bowl, whisk collectively the milk, heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla extract till the sugar has dissolved.
- Pour the cream combination over the bread dice combination, stirring till the entire bread is totally saturated.
- Switch the bread pudding to a baking dish that has been coated with nonstick cooking spray.
- And, now it’s time for the “bain-marie”. You’ll want a deep pan that could be a bit bigger than your baking dish. Place the baking dish into the pan and then rigorously add water to the pan, across the baking dish, till it rises to concerning the mid-point.
Bain-marie is only a fancy time period for “water bathtub”, a technique of baking delicate gadgets like custards. This technique helps forestall curdling and ensures that custards can have a silky, creamy texture. It is usually an essential step in baking cheesecakes to assist forestall cracks.
Bread Pudding Baking Suggestions
- Bake the bread pudding in accordance with the recipe instructions (see recipe card under), checking the water stage periodically and including extra, if obligatory.
- Test for doneness by flippantly urgent the middle of the pudding. No moist custard ought to seep to the highest and a knife inserted within the middle ought to come out clear. A slighty jiggly middle is ok since it’ll arrange extra because it rests, however If it’s nonetheless moist and really soggy, let it bake slightly longer.
For the Rum Cream Sauce
- Whisk collectively the cream or half-and-half, cornstarch, and sugar, in a heavy saucepan. Cook dinner and stir over medium warmth till sugar is dissolved and combination is simply barely thickened.
- Take away the pan from the warmth and stir within the spiced rum (or extract) and nutmeg.
- Stir to mix the sauce nicely. Serve the sauce heat, spooned over servings of the bread pudding.
Bread pudding sauces are usually skinny, not thick. I’ve added just a few teaspoons of cornstarch to the sauce simply to create slightly physique however that is supposed to be a skinny sauce. A skinny, decadent, and wildly scrumptious sauce.
Storage and Reheating Suggestions
For the Bread Pudding:
- Refrigerate: Place leftover bread pudding in an hermetic container retailer it within the fridge for up 4 to five days.
- Freeze: Wrap particular person parts of bread pudding in plastic wrap after which foil, or place them in a freezer-safe container. Freeze for as much as 2 months. Thaw in a single day within the fridge earlier than reheating.
- Reheating: Reheat within the microwave in brief intervals or within the oven at 350 levels F till warmed by. Cowl with foil if reheating within the oven to forestall it from drying out.
For the Rum Cream Sauce:
- Refrigerate: Pour the sauce right into a jar or hermetic container and retailer it within the fridge for as much as 1 week.
- Freeze: I don’t normally suggest freezing cream sauces as they will tackle an undesirable texture when thawed. However, if you happen to’d wish to attempt it, freeze the sauce in small parts in an hermetic container or silicone ice dice tray. Freeze for as much as 2 months and thaw within the fridge earlier than warming.
- Reheating: Reheat gently on the stovetop over low warmth or within the microwave, stirring regularly to keep up a easy texture.
I hope this recipe helps you could have a festive, heat and comfortable vacation season!
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Christmas Bread Pudding
Bread pudding is all dressed up for the vacations with apples, dried cranberries and a heat, rum-spiked cream sauce. This Christmas Bread Pudding is a festive, tremendous comforting dessert.
Directions
For the Bread Pudding
-
Preheat oven to 350 levels F. Coat a 2-quart baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and set it apart.
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Place the bread cubes on a rimmed baking sheet and bake till flippantly toasted, 5 to 7 minutes.
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In a big bowl, mix the toasted bread cubes, apples and cranberries. In a separate giant mixing bowl, whisk collectively the eggs, milk, cream, sugar, and vanilla. Pour the moist combination over the bread combination and blend till nicely mixed. Switch to the ready baking dish.
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Place the baking dish inside a deep, giant casserole dish or roasting pan. Fill the bigger pan with water about midway up the edges of the baking dish. Bake at 350 F levels, checking periodically and including extra water if obligatory. After 50 minutes, gently press down on the middle of the pudding. If moist custard seeps to the highest, let it bake for an extra 5 minutes or till a knife inserted close to the middle comes out principally clear.
For the Spiced Rum Cream Sauce
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Whisk collectively the cream or half-and-half, cornstarch, and sugar, in a heavy saucepan. Cook dinner and stir over MEDIUM warmth till the sugar is dissolved and the combination is simply barely thickened. Take away from the warmth. Stir within the spiced rum (or extract) and nutmeg. Serve the sauce heat spooned over servings of the bread pudding.
Notes
Dairy: For the bread pudding, I take advantage of equal quantities 2% milk and heavy cream as a result of that’s what I normally have in my fridge right now of 12 months. If you happen to occur to have half-and-half readily available you may substitute it right here. For the silkiest, tastiest sauce, I like to recommend utilizing all heavy cream or half-and-half.
Spiced rum: As a substitute of investing in an entire bottle, you may choose up a airline sized bottle or “nip” of Captain Morgan Spiced Rum on the liquor retailer. You’ll be able to substitute rum extract or vanilla extract if you happen to’d favor a booze-free sauce.
Vitamin
Energy: 527 kcal · Carbohydrates: 63 g · Protein: 10 g · Fats: 27 g · Saturated Fats: 15 g · Polyunsaturated Fats: 2 g · Monounsaturated Fats: 7 g · Trans Fats: 0.05 g · Ldl cholesterol: 163 mg · Sodium: 265 mg · Potassium: 222 mg · Fiber: 3 g · Sugar: 43 g · Vitamin A: 1053 IU · Vitamin C: 2 mg · Calcium: 144 mg · Iron: 2 mg
Vitamin info is mechanically calculated utilizing generic substances, and is an estimate not a assure. For extra correct outcomes, please confer with the labels in your substances at residence.
This submit was initially revealed on December 16, 2014. It has been up to date with new textual content and pictures.
