Bread Pudding

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Bread pudding is a bread-based dessert popular in many countries' cuisine, including that of England, France,Belgium, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Argentina, Louisiana Creole, and the southern United States. In other languages, its name is a translation of "bread pudding" or even just "pudding"; in Spanish, another name is "migas" (crumbs), and they also have a similar dish, capirotada.

It is made using stale (usually left-over) bread, suet, egg, sugar or golden syrup, spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg,mace or vanilla, and dried fruit.

The bread is soaked (often overnight), squeezed dry, and mixed with the other ingredients. The mixture is transferred into a dish and baked.It may be served with a sweet sauce of some sort, such as whiskey sauce, rum sauce, or caramel sauce, but is typically sprinkled with sugar and eaten cold in squares or slices. In Malaysia, bread pudding is eaten with custardsauce. In Hong Kong, bread pudding is usually served with vanilla cream dressing.

I remember my mom making this when we were kids. We seem to always have leftover bread and being a crafty practical mom, makes this even for our birthdays. I miss this!


Ingredients:

6 slices day-old bread

2 tablespoons butter, melted

1/2 cup raisins (optional)

4 eggs, beaten

2 cups milk

3/4 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Procedure:


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2. Break bread into small pieces into an 8 inch square baking pan. Drizzle melted butter or margarine over bread. If desired, sprinkle with raisins.

3. In a medium mixing bowl, combine eggs, milk, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla.


4. Beat until well mixed. Pour over bread, and lightly push down with a fork until bread is covered and soaking up the egg mixture.

5. Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until the top springs back when lightly tapped.


Tip: Decorate your own pudding with any toppings. Whipped cream with fruits or ice cream and even a drizzle of your chocolate syrup. You can also add walnuts in the recipe.