Eggnog Bread Pudding

Eggnog Bread Pudding

This has been a comfort food kind of week for me.  Or rather, after feeling a bit sick to my stomach the first half of the week and not eating, I was ready to have a yummy treat that would both settle my tummy and provide a big warm and fuzzy hug.  And you know what kind of food does that the best?  Bread pudding.

When I bought the day old bread for the bread pudding, I had visions of a spicy pumpkin souffle in mind.  But last night when I realized that the only liquid dairy product in my kitchen was eggnog, plans had to change.  I had to get in the Christmas spirit and let go of the squashy autumn flavors.

Unfortunately, I didn't accept this change to my (complete lack of) recipe until after I had photographed the ingredients.  Thus no ingredient snapshot.  But I did my best to capture some of the vitals add-ins after the fact.  Next time I think that I might toss in dried (or fresh?) cranberries as opposed to raisins and apples, along with a stronger hint of nutmeg.


The great part about this recipe is that the eggnog and whiskey is already sweetened, so there is no need to add sugar into the mix.  The raisins and apple also add a bit of sweet, fruity flavor in each bite.  I'm very pleased with the portions in this recipe also.  Often times my bread will be a bit too stale, or I won't use enough liquid in the mix, or a bit too much egg so that it almost quiche-ifies (my word!).  So proportionally, I was very pleased with how this came out.  Everything came together in a soft, but thoroughly cooked treat.

Ingredients

1/2 loaf of Portugeuse bread, torn into bite-size pieces
3 large eggs
1 cup of light eggnog
1/2 cup of American Honey
1/2 cup golden raisins
1 apple, diced into 1/2" cubes
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, diced

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375F.

2. Whisk together eggs, eggnog and whiskey in a small bowl.


3. Toss together bread, raisins and apple and when mixed place into a medium-sized (8-9" diameter) baking pan.


4. Pour the eggnog mixture over the dry ingredients in the baking pan, using a large spatula to fold it in and coat all of the bread.

5. Evenly sprinkle the diced butter over the top of the bread pudding and place in the oven.


6. Bake for approximately 30 minutes or until a knife or cake tester draws clean.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Best served warm with a dollop of ice cream!