Bread Pudding is one of the first things a Cajun cook learns at the side of their mother or grandmother. I remember my Cajun neighbor’s bread pudding, she called it Loss Bread aka Pain Perdue. It was made with the leftover French bread that was always around. She used slices of white bread and raisins to make hers. It was sweet and delicious, with a glaze made with Bourbon that laced the top like a creamy veil of sugar. It was in New Orleans where I really earned my bread pudding chops. EVERY restaurant at that time served a bread pudding. Hotels used all their leftover danish pastries, donuts, muffins, you name it, it went into the bread pudding if it was stale. We used to toss in fruit cocktail and it transformed it into Diplomat Pudding which was a special treat.
Now Bread Pudding has gotten culture and a new lease on the the menu. Rich breads like Brioche are baked just for bread pudding instead of using what’s left hanging around in the bread pudding bag in the freezer. I think with scones, you can have the best of both worlds, use scones that are a few days old, or collect them in the freezer along with other pastries that are past their peak, but could have a new life as another dish.
Here is my standard go to bread pudding recipe. I put anything and everything in it. From fresh and frozen fruits, dried fruits, nuts, chocolate chips, white chocolate and everything in between. It’s a great way to clean out the cupboard or the freezer and it reheats beautifully in the microwave.
Here’s how to do it….
- Prairie Kitchen Scones work best for this recipe
Just crumble in the pan
Mix the custard
Add the eggs and sugar
I threw in some dried cranberries, then I poured the egg mixture over the crumbled scones and let it soak in…
Dot with small chunks of unsalted butter
While the bread pudding is baking, mix the sauce
Here’s the bread pudding just out of the oven..
Drizzle or slather with the sauce while warm… YUM
Here’s the beauty all dressed up and ready to be devoured…
Prairie Kitchen Bread and Butter Pudding with Amaretto Glaze
Serves 12
Ingredients
10 baked Prairie Kitchen Scones (Any flavor will work, stale scones work best)
1 quart ½ and ½ cream or milk
6 whole eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
2 Tablespoons Vanilla Extract
1 Teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ Teaspoon ground nutmeg
¾ cup dried cranberries
2 ounces butter, cubed (1/4 stick)
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350F
In a 9×13 or 2 inch hotel half pan, crumble scones and place in pan. In a mixing bowl, combine cream or milk, eggs, sugar, Vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
Sprinkle dried cranberries on crumbled scone mixture. After egg mixture is blended well, pour over scones and let sit for 30 minutes until liquid is absorbed. You may need to press down on the scones to drink up the liquid occasionally during the 30 minutes.
Right before the pan goes in the oven, cube the butter in small pieces and place on the top of the pudding. Bake for 50-60 minutes until the pudding is puffy. Drizzle Amaretto Sauce on top right after it comes out of the oven. Let cool a few minutes and serve. Can be reheated in the microwave.
Quick Amaretto Glaze
Makes approx. 1 cup
1 cup 10x powdered sugar
¼ cup Amaretto or any liquor that matches
2 ounces (1/2 stick) butter, melted
Mix all ingredients and drizzle on bread pudding when hot
