Bread Puddings

Coconut Grapefruit Brunch Bread

Jan 3, 2013 By Love & Flour in Bread Puddings 2 Comments Tags: coconut, grapefruit

Grapefruit Coconut Bread Pudding 004 Edited Coconut Grapefruit Brunch Bread

Baked grapefruit? I was skeptical, yet I did not let that stop me. And I am quite pleased to report I loved this breakfast. Or desert. Which I ate for breakfast.

While most of the blogs I enjoy reading have switched to a theme of vegetable recipes to cure their readers’ holiday hangovers and assumed weight gain, I continue to eat dessert for breakfast three days in to January. Despite my still-tight pants, it is wonderful. I am calling this my acceptance (as opposed to desiring change) phase.

In addition to baking citrus, grapefruit and coconut did not strike me as all that stellar of a pair. According to The Flavor Bible, which I now own (whoop whoop!), the two can go together, but it is a third-tier pairing at best. This is opposed to sugar which is the most acceptable complement to grapefruit. (Really authors, sugar is the only top flavor pairing you could come up with for grapefruit?) Fortunately for me, who could happily eat grapefruit every day, other desirable flavors like ginger and Champagne also go very well with the fruit.

The tart grapefruit flavor and sweet coconut complement each other very well in this dish, and the nutmeg adds just enough something to keep it interesting. In case you are wondering, nutmeg doesn’t even make the grapefruit list, but it is listed a third-tier flavor pairing for coconut.

Grapefruit Coconut Bread Pudding 019 Edited Coconut Grapefruit Brunch Bread

All this talk of flavors will likely make my sister groan in despair as she reads this. When I opened the Christmas gift that turned out to be my new book, her comment was something along the lines of “oh great, now we’ll probably be reading about that.” Yes. Yes you will.

For all intents and purposes, this dish is a bread pudding. I simply like the panache the name Brunch Bread lends to the recipe. An egg-soaked bread casserole, loaded with cheese and ham, is well known to me, and this is simply its sweet counterpart loaded with grapefruit and coconut flavor.

Because the bread needs time to soak up the delicious coconut milk, this dish is not something to pull together for a quick brunch. On the other hand, it is easily prepared with dinner the night before and popped into the oven to bake the following morning. While you wait you can sip on another grapefruit brunch winner, the Grapefruit Slush. Enjoy!

Grapefruit Coconut Bread Pudding 018 Edited Coconut Grapefruit Brunch Bread

Coconut Grapefruit Brunch Bread

Author: very slightly modified from Caribbean Light by Donna Shields

Ingredients

For the Brunch Bread
3 cups Italian or French bread, cut into ½ inch cubes
1½ cups pink grapefruit sections, well-drained
1, 13.5 oz can coconut or light coconut milk
¼ tablespoon brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon coconut extract
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
⅛ teaspoon salt
For the Topping
2 tablespoons shredded, sweetened coconut
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon butter
2 teaspoons flour

Instructions

Layer the bread cubes in an 8 x 8 baking dish coated with nonstick cooking spray.
Prepare the grapefruit by removing all pith and membranes. Layer the fruit on top of the bread.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the coconut milk, brown sugar, eggs, coconut extract, nutmeg and salt.
Gently pour the mixture over the grapefruit and bread.
Cover and refrigerate overnight or for at least eight hours.
When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake for 30 minutes, covering with foil if the top becomes too brown.
While the brunch bread bakes, prepare the topping by combining the remaining ingredients.
Rub the butter into the topping until it looks like small pebbles.
After the initial 30 minutes of baking, sprinkle the topping over the brunch bread and return to the oven for an additional 20-30 minutes. Again, cover the dish with foil if the top becomes too brown. When done, all liquid will have been absorbed and the bread pudding will appear firm (not jiggly).
Allow the hot dish to sit for 10 minutes before serving warm, or serve at room temperature.

Notes

It is very important to take the time to remove the grapefruit sections from its membranes. This is typically very easy to do and will avoid a tough, chewy bite of fruit. To keep your fingers from going numb when peeling, use a grapefruit at room temperature (as opposed to one sitting in the refrigerator). It is also important to allow the grapefruit to drain before layering it over the bread. I simply set my peeled fruit in a collander for a while, but I see no reason allowing the fruit to sit on a paper towel would not work as well.

Savory Saturday: Bread Pudding

Sep 8, 2012 By Love & Flour in Bread Puddings No Comments

I do not recall encountering bread pudding prior to making my home in the South. It was not a traditional dessert served at family dinners, nor was it seen all that much in Ohio or Florida where I lived before. (Notice I do not consider Florida a part of the south. That state has a uniqueness all its own.)

Only once in recent years did bread pudding make its appearance at home. (Notice I still refer to home as the place my mother resides despite living in an area with a different zip code). My grandmother brought a homemade bread pudding to a holiday gathering. I don’t remember much about that dessert except no one really expected a bread pudding to make an appearance. But she made it because that is what sounded good to her. I can appreciate that!

I can also appreciate this savory bread pudding. Up until now, I had only considered the dish as a type of dessert. As it turns out, this was not all that bright on my part since my mom has made what essentially amounts to a savory bread pudding to enjoy on Christmas morning for as long as I can remember. Except we call it a casserole. Ah, semantics.

Her traditional bread pudding, a.k.a. egg casserole, uses a loaf of white bread and features cheddar and ham. This savory bread pudding uses a baguette and features the flavors of Gruyere and vegetables. I can happily report it is rather delicious. The flavors meld together so nothing is overpowering. What’s more, the dish is filling without feeling too heavy.

I do not have much experience with bread puddings, but given they do not require a whole lot of technical expertise, and they make use of my favorite food (bread), I anticipate making a few more in the future.

If you are in a sweet mood, click on over for a Tiramisu Bread Pudding or a S’mores Bread Pudding recipe. If you are in the Charlotte area and want to order a good bread pudding, the best I’ve tasted thus far is over at Fran’s Filling Station. Until the next sweet treat, enjoy a Savory Saturday!

Savory Bread Pudding

Author: very slightly adapted from Cake Love in the Morning by Warren Brown

Recipe type: Side

Ingredients

4 eggs
1½ teaspoons Dijon mustard
1½ teaspoons thyme leaves
1½ teaspoons salt
⅛ teaspoon black pepper
⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
2½ cups milk
2 cups grated cheese (Gruyere preferred)
1 stale baguette
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
½ large red onion
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 package frozen spinach, thawed
2 garlic cloves, chopped

Instructions

Cut a stale baguette into 1-inch cubes. You should have about 8 cups of cubed bread. If the bread is not stale, simply dry it on a sheet pan in the oven at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes.
In a medium bowl, lightly beat the eggs with the mustard, thyme leaves, salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper.
Whisk in the milk and the cheese.
Placed the bread cubes in a large bowl, then pour the liquid mixture over the bread. Stir to coat, and allow the mixture to soak into the bread for 15-30 minutes. You may need to stir the bread a few times as it soaks.
While the bread soaks, prepare the vegetables.
Heat one tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.
Saute the chopped onion and mushrooms until soft, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about one more minute.
Stir the cooked onion and mushroom mixture and the thawed spinach into the soaked bread. Be sure to squeeze as much water out of the spinach as possible before stirring it into the bread.
Use the remaining tablespoon of olive oil to grease a 9 x 13 dish. Pour the bread and vegetable mixture into the prepared dish.
Bake at 375 degrees F for 45 minutes. The bread will be browned and the mixture bubbling when it comes out of the oven.

Notes

This dish can be prepared up to one day in advance. Simply refrigerate the mixture until ready to bake.

My Silver Medal Dessert: Tiramisu Bread Pudding

Aug 7, 2012 By Love & Flour in Bread Puddings 2 Comments Tags: coffee, pudding

One week later, I have a bit of a problem. Last Tuesday night, I sat blogging about my new job and what may be the strangest cupcakes I ever baked. Tonight, I have a bit of writer’s block that has lasted about a week now.

The thing is, I am now writing for a living. What started as a passion, a hobby if you will, is now how I earn the money I need to keep a roof over my head. And since I’m just getting started, I don’t have a lot left in my writing tank by the end of the day.

I have also been spending my time watching an obscene amount of the Olympic Games. I am absolutely addicted to anything and everything Olympics. This is a common occurrence every time they roll around, and I love it. A friend once described the Olympics as the world’s holiday, and I couldn’t agree more.

This morning I watched a news show segment about how powerful expectations are when it comes to results. For example, we all likely know by now how disappointed McKayla Maroney was with the silver medal she won for her individual vault. And if the men’s basketball team does not win the gold, their entire Olympic experience may be considered a failure. Was Woody Hayes on to something when he said, “Without Winners, there wouldn’t even be any civilization.”

Can you imagine? Being so good that winning a freaking silver medal is akin to losing? The news anchor conducting the segment asked a couple from Ireland who were in London how they would feel if an Irish athlete won a silver medal. “We’d be thrilled,” they exclaimed!

I love watching Olympic volleyball (both indoor and beach, men’s and women’s). In my mind, I harbor some deep delusion that I could play a point – not a set, not a match, just a point – with any of these players. As a sub-par volleyball player at best, what they are able to do is absolutely amazing. But my dark horse favorite sport to watch is diving. Fortunately, I harbor no illusions whatsoever that I could do much more than a swan dive.

During the games, my silver medal dessert is Tiramisu. It loses the gold medal to Key Lime Pie every time. In an effort to try an old favorite in a new way, I turned to a recipe for individual Tiramisu Bread Puddings.

If you love the taste of coffee in your dessert, this bread pudding is a must try. If not, then I leave you a thought from Marilyn vos Savant, “Being defeated is often only a temporary condition. Giving up is what makes it permanent.”

5.0 from 1 reviews

Tiramisu Bread Pudding

Author: Theresa Sanders as seen in Better Homes & Gardens

Serves: 8

Ingredients

For the Bread Pudding
1⅓ cups milk
1¼ cups whipping cream
2 tablespoons instant coffee crystals
6 eggs, lightly beaten
⅔ cup granulated sugar
⅓ cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
8 cups torn white bread slices (10-12 slices)
⅓ cup powdered sugar
For the Cream Cheese Topper
¾ cup whipping cream
1 ounce cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon powdered sugar

Instructions

In large bowl stir together milk, whipping cream, and coffee crystals until the crystals are dissolved.
Reserve 1 tablespoon milk mixture and set aside.
Stir the eggs, sugars, and vanilla into the milk mixture.
Add the bread pieces and stir until moistened.
Evenly divide the mixture among eight, ungreased 6-ounce ramekins, filling nearly, but not quite, to the top.
Place the ramekins on a baking sheet or in a baking pan, then bake at 375 degrees F until puffed and set, about 30 minutes. A knife inserted near center of a bread pudding comes out clean.
In a small bowl combine the powdered sugar and reserved 1 tablespoon of the milk mixture.
Stir until smooth and drizzle over bread pudding.
Dollop with cream cheese topper.
To make the cream cheese topper, beat whipping cream, cream cheese, and powdered sugar on medium until soft peaks form.

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