Carrabba's-inspired Lemon Bread Pudding

You'll have to excuse me. I literally just made love to this bread pudding........ twice. I couldn't help myself. I lost all control after the last bite of my first helping. I tricked myself into thinking the second plate would be for photographing purposes only. No, no, no, vice grips from hell couldn't pry the fork out of my fingers. You think I'm being a little too dramatic? You'll never know until you make this bread pudding for yourself. I was inspired by my favorite restaurant dessert, the Limoncello bread pudding at Carrabba's. I was afraid I'd never be able to come close to it when making it at home. That is until I found a recipe online for Carrabba's bread pudding! First, my head exploded. Then I came back to reality and got down to business. Heavy cream: check! Vanilla sugar: check! 7 eggs: check! Let's get it on!

Work it, baby, YEAH!

I played around with this recipe a bit. I replaced the 1/4 cup limoncello in the custard with more milk. I used vanilla sugar because the bread pudding at Carrabba's has vanilla bean flecks in it. To give it a good lemony flavor I added the zest of two small lemons. And I omitted the lemon syrup because melted ice cream is all the sauce I need! ;D Btw, next time I make this (there will be many more "next times") I'm gonna try it in a water bath. I think that might help prevent the egg custard from over-baking on the sides.

Limoncello Bread Pudding (SOURCE: Carrabba's Italian Grill)
Serves 4 (Ha! You could easily serve 8!)

3/4 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup Limoncello (I replaced this with more milk)
7 large eggs
1/2 cup granulated sugar (I used vanilla sugar)
(I added the zest of 2 small lemons)
2 quarts stale bread (cut into cubes) (I used Challah)

1. In a mixing bowl add the cream, milk, eggs, sugar, vanilla extract and the Limoncello. Whisk together and pour over bread in a 9x9x2" or a 2-quart pan and let sit for 20 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 350 F. Cover the pudding with foil. Bake pudding in a conventional oven for 40-50 minutes or until pudding is set.

Limoncello Simple Syrup (I omitted this)
1/4 cup Limoncello
1/4 cup granulated sugar

1. Place Limoncello and sugar in a small sauce pan.
2. Bring to a boil stirring well to dissolve all the sugar.

To Serve
The bread pudding can be served warm or cold. Scoop Blue Bell vanilla ice cream on top of the bread pudding. Drizzle Limoncello syrup over ice cream and bread pudding. Place mint sprig on top of the ice cream.

Bread Pudding w/ Whisky Sauce

Got challah? Got LOTS of challah? Make this bread pudding! My first experience with bread pudding was when I made Dorie's Four-Star Chocolate Bread Pudding out of leftover kugelhopf. It was okay, but there was too much custard for my liking. Last week when I had half of a HUGE loaf of challah leftover, I knew I wanted to make a classic bread pudding with whisky sauce. I chose a recipe from Screen Doors and Sweet Tea but Martha Hall Foose. Btw, this book is fabulous, and I suggest it for everyone's cookbook library! Anyway, the bread pudding came out perfect! The recipe calls for 8 cups of cubed bread. I think measuring bread by cups is kind of rediculous. I weighed mine, and it came out to be almost 1 pound of challah (w/ crusts cut off). I also cut my bread into large cubes to prevent them from breaking down too much and looking like mush in the end. Of course I went with the southern spirit of the cookbook and used Southern Comfort! This bread pudding is amazing! The ratio of custard to bread is PERFECT! I added raisins and cinnamon (my parents specifically asked for those two things), and I believe this is the bread pudding recipe I'll be using for the rest of my life! I'm still going to try The Pioneer Woman's recipe, but it's got some stiff competition!

Bread Pudding with Whisky Sauce (from Screen Doors and Sweet Tea by Martha Hall Foose)
SERVES 8 (Unless you’re serving Paula Deen portions, this easily serves 10-12.)

4 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
2 ½ cups whole milk
2 ½ cups heavy cream
¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
¾ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
½ teaspoon cinnamon (my own addition)
3 tablespoons whisky
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon salt
8 cups cubed bread, in ½-inch pieces (I like mine bigger, so I cut mine into 1-inch pieces; I used about 15 ½ ounces of Challah.)
½ cup raisins (my own addition)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Whisky Sauce (recipe follows)

In a large bowl, beat the eggs and egg yolk. Whisk in the milk, cream, ¾ cup sugar, the nutmeg, cinnamon (if using), whisky, vanilla, and salt. Add the bread cubes and raisins (if using); press them into the custard and allow to soak for at least 20 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 13 x 9-inch baking dish. Pour the bread mixture into the prepared dish. Drizzle the butter over the top, and sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar.
Bake until the top is light golden brown and the pudding begins to rise around edges of the baking dish, 45 to 50 minutes. The center will still be quite soft. Set aside on a wire rack and let cool for at least 45 minutes before serving. Serve warm, at room tem­perature, or even chilled, topped with Whisky Sauce.

WHISKY SAUCE
MAKES 2 CUPS

1 cup evaporated milk
1 cup whole milk
1 cup packed light brown sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons good whisky

In a large saucepan, combine the milks, brown sugar, and butter. Cook and stir over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved and the sauce is warm.
In a small dish, combine the cornstarch and whisky. Stir to remove any lumps, and then put the mixture into the saucepan. Cook and stir the sauce until it boils. Boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly, then remove from the heat. Serve hot.

Four-Star Chocolate Bread Pudding!

What!? I just happened to make Dorie's Four-Star Chocolate Bread Pudding at the same time as the TWDers, and I didn't even know it!? AWESOME! I've always wanted to join Tuesdays with Dorie, but somehow I always manage to fill up my week with other baking obligations. Oh well, this week I can pretend I'm one of them! ;)

Remember the Kugelhopf I just posted... seriously... you have to remember... it was literally minutes ago! Anyway, I mentioned turning the leftovers into bread pudding. Well, here she is! After a few days of nibbling off of the Kugelhopf, I had approximately half of it leftover. I knew I wanted to make bread pudding out of it, because I'd never had bread pudding before. I made it a few times at the bakery I used to worked at, but theirs smelled (and looked) like puke. I was hesitant to make bread pudding at home, but I had a feeling I could do a better job at making it look appetizing! Maybe, I was wrong, because mine came out looking a little like dog food (or Egg Fu Yung, you decide). But it definitely tasted good! You could still taste the wonderful yeasty flavor of the Kugelhopf, but now it was accompanied by the fantastic, creamy flavor of chocolate! At first I wasn't sure if I'd like the raisin/chocolate combo, but it was nice. The raisins added a nice burst of flavor every now and then. The only thing I'd change about it is to follow Dorie's optional instructions for baking it in a 7-x-11-inch pan to make it deeper. Other than that, this Egg Fu Yung *ahem* bread pudding is a keeper!

Four-Star Chocolate Bread Pudding (from Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan)
MAKES 12 SERVINGS

“I like to use a pan large enough to create a pudding that's only about an inch high… If you'd like a deeper pudding, you can make the pudding in a 7-x-ll-inch baking pan or in something deeper, like a soufflé mold. Alternatively, you can make individual puddings--depending on the size of the cups you use, you'll need 8 to 10. Of course, with any change of pan, you'll have to change the baking time, which is not difficult since, as you'll see, it is easy to tell when the pudding is properly baked.”

SERVING: You could serve this pudding warm, but it is better at cool room temperature or even chilled--it also cuts better when it is cold. Serve the pudding simply with a dusting of confectioners' sugar or less simply with vanilla (or rum or Grand Marnier or brandy) Crème Anglaise, chocolate sauce, or whipped cream or crème fraîche.

STORING: Covered, the bread pudding will keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. (Sike, I bet it can last for a week!)

12 ounces bread (brioche, challah or white (or Kugelhopf)), preferably stale
1/2 cup moist, plump raisins (dark or golden) or dried cherries (optional) (Since there were raisins alredy in my Kugelhopf, I just sprinkled a few extra raisins on top of the pudding before baking.)
3 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
3 large eggs
4 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (I used semi-sweet chips)

Getting ready: Have a 9-x-13-inch baking pan at hand (a Pyrex pan is perfect here), as well as a roasting pan big enough to hold the baking pan and hot water. Line the roasting pan with a double thickness of paper towels.
Cut the bread into I-inch cubes. If the bread is stale, put it and the raisins or cherries, if you are using them, into the baking pan. If it is not stale, spread it out on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat and bake in a 350 degree F oven to "stale" it for 10 minutes, then toss into the pan (with the fruit).
Bring the milk and cream just to a boil.
Fill a teakettle with water and put it on to boil; when the water boils, turn off the heat. Meanwhile, whisk the eggs, yolks and sugar together in a bowl. Still whisking, slowly drizzle in about one quarter of the hot milk mixture--this will temper, or warm, the eggs so they don't curdle. Whisking all the while, slowly pour in the rest of the hot milk. Add the chocolate and whisk it in gently until it is melted and the custard is smooth. Rap the bowl against the counter to pop any bubbles that might have formed, then pour the custard over the bread and press the bread gently with the back of a spoon to help cover it with liquid. Leave the pan on the counter, giving the bread the back-of-the-spoon treatment now and then, for 30 minutes.

Getting ready to bake: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Slide the pan setup into the oven and very carefully pour enough hat water into the roasting pan to come halfway up the sides of the pudding pan. Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until the pudding is evenly puffed, the top is dull and dry and a thin knife inserted deep into the center comes out clean. Transfer the baking pan to a rack and cool to room temperature.