Lemon Custard Bread Pudding with Sauce

This recipe is adapted from one in a favorite cookbook from the 1970s – Redbook Cookbook (1976), offered as a premium with a subscription to Redbook magazine.  This was originally a custard bread pudding recipe which I adapted by adding lemon extract and by making a favorite sauce with lemon juice and grated lemon peel.  It’s lighter than most bread pudding with a delicious custard.  Heavier bread like Italian, French or sourdough would be the best to use for this.

The pudding is baked in a deep casserole dish which has been placed in a shallow pan of hot water.

LEMON CUSTARD BREAD PUDDING AND SAUCE

• Servings: 6
• Print

4 cups day-old bread cubes
3 cups milk
¼ cup butter
½ cup granulated sugar
3 eggs
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp lemon extract

Heat oven to 350.  Grease a deep 1-1/2 qt. baking dish.

Place bread cubes in a large bowl and set aside.  Heat milk in a saucepan over low heat until little bubbles form at pan edge.  Remove from heat, add butter, sugar.  Stir and pour this mixture over the  bread cubes.  Let stand for 5 minutes.

In a small bowl, beat eggs well and add salt and lemon extract.  Slowly stir tje egg mixture into the bread/milk mixture.  Pour into greased dish.  Set dish in a baking pan and add one inch of hot water to pan.  Bake for 55 minutes until set.  Let cool in dish on a rack.

LEMON SAUCE  (1-½ cups)
½ cup granulated sugar
2-¼ Tblsp. cornstarch
¼ tsp. salt
1 cup cold water
2 Tblsp. butter
½ cup lemon juice
1 tsp. grated lemon peel

In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, salt and water.  Stirring constantly, heat until mixture boils.  Remove from heat and stir in butter, lemon juice and lemon peel.  Serve warm over bread pudding.  Makes about 1-½ cups.

Refrigerate leftovers of pudding and sauce.  Bring to room temperature or heat briefly in the microwave to serve.

 

Cranberry Apple Bread Pudding with Applejack Sauce

The recipe for this dessert is adapted from one in Susan Branch’s Christmas from the Heart of the Home cookbook.  I have all of her cookbooks and they are simply wonderful.  You can get an idea of her work on her great web page.   I made a few minor changes in my recipe, including using applejack for the sauce.  The original recipe called for whiskey, but brandy or rum would also be good.

• Servings: 9
• Print

• 6 cups of bread cubes (day-old firm bread – I use stale homemade bread)
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1-1/2 Tblsp. vanilla (that’s right – 1-1/2 tablespoons)
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 1-1/2 cups tart apple, peeled and sliced
• 1/2 cup cranberries, fresh or frozen

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F

Put bread cubes in a colander and pour over 2 cups hot tap water.  Let stand 5  minutes, then squeeze out excess moisture.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, vanilla, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Add the apples, cranberries and bread.  Stir lightly until blended.

Pour mixture into a buttered 9×9 baking dish.  Bake @ 325 degrees F for one hour and 20 minutes.

APPLEJACK SAUCE

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 3 Tblsp.  applejack
• 1 egg, beaten

In a small pan over medium low heat, melt the butter.  Add sugar and stir about 2 minutes.  Remove from heat and slowly stir in applejack, continue heating and stirring for one minute.  Remove from heat, slowly add a small amount of sauce mixture to beaten eggs, add eggs to mixture over low heat, stirring until thickened.

Serve the bread pudding warm with warm applejack sauce.

This makes a nice, comforting wintertime dessert.