Its going to be difficult for me to describe just how delicious this is without using expletives…..Let’s just say that this is the kind of thing that you may want to eat in private because there will probably be sufficient eye-fluttering and moaning to cause some embarrassment in mixed company. It’s what would happen if creme brulee, caramel, and French toast had a menage a trois…Yeah, it’s that good…
I never liked sweets. Given the choice of a cheese plate or popcorn (or a cocktail) versus dessert, the savory option would win every time. And then I got pregnant. Aside from wanting to put cream cheese on everything, I also craved sugar. Hard core. There was a key lime pie phase, a lemon bar phase, a chocolate-raspberry truffle phase, a peanut brittle phase, and a cinnamon ice cream phase. Not that I was turning down any other sweets available amidst the cravings….I had assumed that once my daughter was born the cravings, and the sweet tooth, would go away. Incorrect. It seems that the sweet tooth that was neglected for so many years is here to stay, and wants to make up for lost time…
Now, despite my newfound love of all things dessert, I’ve never been a big fan of bread pudding; but, my sweet, wonderful sister recently brought me some amazing local eggs and raw milk from the farm she works on, and I wanted to put them to good use.
(Quick note: Sea Island Eggs are a much-coveted Charleston delicacy. Known locally as “Celeste Eggs” they are found on the menus of all of the best local restaurants. Why? Because they are delicious — nothing like the eggs you find in the grocery store. Next time you’re at your local farmer’s market, see if you can find a local egg purveyor. You’ll never be able to go back to supermarket eggs again, I promise.) I also just baked a loaf of bread yesterday, so putting the eggs, milk, and bread together for an easy dessert seemed like a no-brainer, but how to make it more appealing was another question entirely. I considered strawberries briefly — and then, out of nowhere, it hit me: caramel.
One of my favorite sweet things in the world is caramel. I LOVE caramel. Like, love it the way peanut butter loves jelly, like Ricky loves Lucy (bad analogy: my love for caramel is waaaay more affectionate), like a fat kid loves cake…or caramel for that matter… Eating caramel is an other-worldly experience, but for all of the complexity of its flavor it is astonishingly simple to make: milk (or cream), butter, brown sugar. That’s it — three simple ingredients. For this recipe the milk, butter, and sugar are all baked together with the bread, rather than separately making a caramel sauce, so it’s just about as easy as could possibly be.
Ingredients:
Yields 6-8 servings
– 2 2/3 c. whole milk
– 1/4 c. butter
– 1 c. brown sugar, plus 2 Tbsp.
– 3 eggs
– 1 tsp. vanilla
– 1/4 tsp. salt
– 3 c. cubed (about 1”) day-old bread — use the rest of that baguette left over from last night’s dinner, or some crusty French bread, or use my easy recipe to bake your own, but don’t use pre-sliced sandwich bread — your results will be disappointing
– 1/4 tsp. vanilla
– 2 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
Directions:
1. Cut bread into cubes, removing crusts
2. Toast bread briefly under broiler, until crisp. I tossed mine in about a tablespoon of melted butter, but it’s not necessary
3. Set oven to 350F
4. Scald milk*
*Scalding milk is not a common practice anymore. It used to be crucial when baking, but now that our milk is pretty much all pasteurized there’s not the same concern about bacteria. However, when working with breads it is a good idea to scald your milk to keep the bread fluffy. To scald milk:
– Heat milk over medium-low heat
– Stir frequently
– Cook until just beginning to bubble and steam, but DO NOT boil
– Remove from heat
5. Add butter to scalded milk and let cool
6. Add two eggs, plus one egg yolk to one cup of the brown sugar. Mix well.
7. Place bread cubes in a greased bread tin or a 1 1/2 quart casserole dish
8. Add cooled milk to egg/sugar mixture. Add vanilla and salt. Mix well.
9. Pour liquid mixture over bread cubes
10. Sprinkle cinnamon and remaining 2 Tbsp. brown sugar over top of bread
11. Set casserole/bread tin in a pan containing about 2” of water
12. Bake in oven at 350F for 50 minutes or until a skewer or knife inserted into the center comes out clean
* Be very careful removing the pan from the oven! That water is HOT — strain it carefully into the sink before attempting to remove your casserole or bread tin from the pan.
Serve warm or cold.
I was kicking myself for not having any vanilla ice cream or whipped cream in the house — that would have been unbelievable. I topped it instead with a little bit of powdered sugar and a splash of raw milk. So good I had two pieces and had to stop myself from eating more…
It also occurred to me that adding chopped apple, pear, or banana into this would be absolutely insane. In a good way. Or chunks of dark chocolate?!? Craziness! It might be too much to handle…
Adapted from Farm Journal’s Country Cookbook, 1959
theindiehomemaker 