Since it feels like I have been homebound for what seems like, at least a century, I thought it would be a really good idea to share a recipe for a dish going back many centuries. Although bread pudding has very humble beginnings, today it has transcended into an upscale comfort food style dessert. Originally conceived back in the 11th or 12th centuries, bread pudding was a means allowing frugal cooks to use up scraps of stale bread. Over time this 'common' bread pudding has evolved into an incredibly versatile sweet and/or savory dish. Typically served as a dessert, bread pudding has found a place at both breakfast and dinner tables. How and when we eat bread pudding now depends in part on when we first tasted it. If having Bread Pudding with Bourbon Sauce in a restaurant in New Orleans was your 'first', you might be more inclined to view it as a dessert. However, if your 'first' bread pudding bite was in a charming East Coast bed and breakfast, you might think it makes for a perfect start to the day. Just having a bite of a warm bread pudding, especially this Blackberry Bread Pudding, can make almost any day be a good day. And I don't know about you, but if bread, fruit, and custard can turn around a not so good, downward spiraling kind of day, I'm all in.
And as it so happens, this Blackberry Bread Pudding would be perfect for breakfast, brunch, or dessert. Heck, you could even have it as a mid-day snack!
When baked, blackberries become even sweeter. If you are already someone who loves blackberries, you will be beyond smitten with this Blackberry Bread Pudding.
On a trip to the grocery store this past week, there was an abundance of the most beautiful fresh blackberries. They immediately went into my sanitized cart and I knew exactly what I would make with them.
Some bread pudding recipes will tell you to trim the crusts off the bread. I keep them on unless there are parts of the crust a bit too hard. There are any number of breads you could use when making a bread pudding. I lean toward using challah or brioche. Custard bases can be made with mixtures of milk, half and half, and heavy whipping cream. Particularly for bread pudding, I prefer making a custard using equal parts of half and half and heavy whipping cream. In this bread pudding I used caster sugar, but granulated sugar works just as well.
You no longer need to wait until your bread is stale to make bread pudding. Toasting one inch cut cubes of bread in a preheated 350 degree (F) oven for 12-15 minutes not only helps to give fresh bread a stale-like texture, it adds another layer of flavor. And unlike some overnight bread pudding or french toast casseroles, you only need to let the toasted bread cubes soak into the custard mixture for 20-30 minutes. Which means from start to finish you could be serving this Blackberry Bread Pudding in less than 2 hours from start to finish.
When you mix the blackberries into the custard/bread mixture depends on whether you are baking the Blackberry Bread Puddings in 4" inch ramekins or in a 9" x 12" baking dish. If using ramekins, add the blackberries in after you have filled them with the bread/custard mixture to ensure an even distribution of the fruit. If using a large baking dish, mix them into the bread/custard mixture before you pour it all into the dish. Baking time will range from 50 to 60 minutes regardless of the size baking dish.
The flavor and texture of this bread pudding is so perfect it needs nothing more than a light dusting of confectionary sugar.
The beauty of a bread pudding is in its' simplicity. While the flavor of a bread pudding comes from the quality of the ingredients. Something seemingly so ordinary is actually very extraordinary.
This Blackberry Bread Pudding is a comfort food, soul satisfying, incredibly delicious dish. Make it for yourself (you can cut the recipe in half), make it for your family, or make it for friends and drop it off on their front porch. You don't need to wait until Mother's Day to make it (although that would make the day even more special), you certainly shouldn't wait until you can start having friends over again, or wait for some special occasion. If you want to show yourself some self-love then make this Blackberry Bread Pudding. It might be the best edible version of enveloping your body in a two-armed hug. And goodness knows we all need those in our lives, now more than ever. So just remember, if over the past 9 or 10 centuries bread pudding could endure, so will hugs. Have faith.
Blackberry Bread Pudding
Makes 6 individual servings or one 9" x 12" casserole
Ingredients
Slightly more than 1/2 loaf of challah or brioche bread (10-11 ounces)
2 cups half and half
2 cups heavy whipping cream
3/8 teaspoon kosher salt
6 large eggs
1 cup (200 g) caster sugar or granulated sugar
2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups (9 ounces or 255 g) fresh blackberries
Confectionary sugar for dusting
Softened butter for greasing the baking dishes
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Butter six 4" ramekins or butter a 9" x 12" baking dish. Set aside.
2. Cut the bread into 1 inch thick slices and then into 1 inch cubes. Place bread cubes on a baking dish. Bake in oven for 12-15 minutes or until they are lightly golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool.
3. In a large measuring cup or medium sized bowl, whisk together the half and half, heavy cream and kosher salt. Set aside.
4. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a whisk attachment add in the eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Beat until well blended (about 2 minutes).
5. Add in the liquid ingredients and mix on low until completely blended.
6. Transfer the cooled bread cubes to a large bowl. Pour the custard mixture over the bread. Stir gently with a wooden spoon to ensure all of the bread cubes are coated. Let sit for 20-30 minutes to allow the bread cubes absorb the custard.
7. Place the ramekins or the baking dish in a large roasting pan.
8. If using the ramekins ladle the bread pudding mixture into each of them. Add 5-6 blackberries to each ramekin, pushing them down into the mixture.
9. If using a 9" x 12" baking dish, gently mix the blackberries into the custard mixture. Then pour into the prepared pan.
10. Fill the roasting pan with enough hot water to reach halfway up the sides of the dishes.
11. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until the bread puddings are lightly browned on top and have partially set.
12. Remove the bread pudding from the water bath. Serve immediately or let rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.
13. Lightly dust each of the bread puddings with sifted confectionary sugar.
Notes: (1) Instead of blackberries, you can also use blueberries, raspberries or small sized strawberries. (2) Most store bought challah and/or brioche breads weigh about 16 ounces. You will use more than half of the loaf. Use the remaining loaf to make some French Toast. (3) I used these ramekins. (4) Any leftover bread pudding can be eaten cold or it reheats beautifully in the microwave. (5) You can easily cut this recipe in half with the same incredibly delicious results.