Saturday, July 3, 2010

Strawberry Bread Pudding - Pink Saturday



From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I know it's summer, and I know that 2010 has been declared The Year of the Pastry Chef. I'm okay with all that. It's not my intent to buck culinary trends, or the calendar for that matter. I know that sensible people don't make bread pudding in July and I suspect that most pastry chefs and food snobs feel this homely dish is not worthy of their attention. They're dead wrong. The Marquess de Queensbury Rules of the Kitchen clearly state that any dish, however homely, can be made at any time of year. The only condition attached to its execution is that the dish must be delicious. A stale loaf of bread and a glut of fresh field strawberries were my inspiration. My muse led me to a site called The Daily Loaf - The CL Cookbook where I found a recipe for strawberry bread pudding. I made a few minor changes to the recipe, put it in the oven and 40 minutes later had a wonderful dessert. The original recipe uses a caramel sauce for garnish. I thought that to be at odds with the strawberries, so I served ours with French vanilla ice cream. I really loved this and will use frozen berries to make it in the winter as well. I hope you'll try this simple dessert. It is wonderful. Here's the recipe.

Strawberry Bread Pudding...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite, inspired by the Daily Loaf

Ingredients:

4 eggs
2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup white granulated sugar
1/4 cup golden brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
12 ounces crusty stale bread, torn or cut in bite-size pieces
2 cups fresh or frozen (thawed) strawberries, sliced

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease an 8 x 8 x-2-inch pan. Set aside.
2) Combine eggs, milk, sugar (white and brown, vanilla extract, spices and salt in a small bowl. Whisk until blended.
3) Place bread pieces into a large bowl. Pour milk mixture over bread and toss to combine. Let sit for 15 minutes to allow milk to be absorbed into bread.
4) Fold in strawberries and pour mixture into baking dish.
5) Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until raised and puffy. Insert a toothpick into center and if it comes out fairly clean, it’s done. Let cool for a few minutes before serving. Yield: 8 to 10 servings.

Caramel Sauce

Ingredients:
1/2 stick of butter
1/2 cup of brown sugar

Directions:

1) Put butter in a small pan or sauce pan over medium heat and let it melt.
2) Add brown sugar and stir until it’s combined. Lower heat. Stirring constantly, let sauce slightly simmer until sugar is completely dissolved and it is slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Serve drizzled over warm bread pudding.

You might also enjoy these recipes:
Cranberry Bread Pudding - One Perfect Bite
Chocolate Bread Pudding - One Perfect Bite
Chocolate Bread Pudding - Beyond Salmon
Bread Pudding - Simply Recipes
Summer Pudding - David Lebovitz
Bread Pudding with Kahlua Sauce - Ravenous Couple
Nutella Bread Pudding - Su Good Sweets

This post is being linked to:
Pink Saturday, sponsored by Beverly at How Sweet the Sound.

61 comments :

Lyndas recipe box said...

I'm loving this dessert Mary, and I think the vanilla ice cream is perfect with it!
Have a wonderful 4th!

Susi's Kochen und Backen said...

I love bread pudding no matter what time of year it is and this one looks so unique with the strawberries. I do agree that vanilla ice cream seems to be the more obvious choice!
Enjoy the 4th!

Eileen said...

I have never attempted bread pudding. I always found it daunting for some reason. This looks delicious, though, I have to say.

Charo said...

Pudin de fresas! Oh fantastic. I love to eat bread pudding.

Monet said...

I agree...bread pudding should be enjoyed year round. I especially liked your addition of strawberries (since it normally isn't done). I have a lot of stale bread that might need to find its way into a casserole dish...

Ana Powell said...

Wishing you a lovely Pink Saturday.
That is the perfect strawberry bread pudding, delicious ♥

Regina said...

Happy Pink Saturday Mary.
How Yummy.

R e g i n a

Diane said...

This sounds amazing. Think will try it with my overflow of cherries that I have in the freezer. Diane

pigpigscorner said...

Bread pudding is so simple to prepare and so satisfying! This looks amazing with the strawberries!

Deb in Hawaii said...

I agree--I think of it as seasonless--or course living here I think most everything is seasonless! ;-) It looks wonderful too--so pink and pretty.

Anonymous said...

Generally I don't like soggy bread (so I tell myself!) but I Do like bread and butter pudding, or a charlotte! This looks good too, and if you have a lot of strawberries to use up, what about a rhubarb and strawberry crumble or a strawberry charlotte with cream?
Have a great day, Mary. Blessings...

The Words Crafter said...

I've had this only once-at a birthday luncheon. Loved it but never got a chance to get the recipe. Thanks so much for posting this! Have a great weekend!

Jeannie said...

So simple to prepare but so gorgeous! Bet the taste is delicious too!

Ciao Chow Linda said...

I don't find it odd at all Mary - and I do love the addition of vanilla ice cream rather than the sauce.

Lucie said...

Mmmm, Mary, this looks scrumptious! A great breakfast treat or dessert--perfect!

Inspired by eRecipeCards said...

bread pudding in any form...

This is so tasty sounding... And I have a small batch of stale bread and some frozen berries... breakfast tomorrow!

great post

PeggyR said...

Another strawberry winner! Happy Pink Saturday!

Sarah @ Mum In Bloom said...

This looks delicious and I'm glad you blazed the trail and made this during the summer. This would be good with a lemon sauce or glaze too. Thanks for sharing Mary :)

Martha said...

There is nothing better than bread pudding and the strawberries have to put it over the top! I agree, vanilla ice cream -- not caramel sauce!

Joanne said...

I personally believe that bread pudding should be eaten every day of the year. So, I'm all for this! Love how fruity it is.

CaSaundraLeigh said...

I've never made bread pudding! I bet adding a little rhubarb into this would be fabulous as well.

Tracy F. said...

Yummy! I've never thought of strawberry bread pudding. What a tasty idea!

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

This is a homey dish Mary and the perfect way to enjoy the last of what strawberry season has for us.

lisa said...

My husband loves bread pudding! I think he's going to love the addition of strawberries. You can't ever go wrong with vanilla ice cream either.

Happy Pink Saturday!

Enjoy the holiday.

Jen_from_NJ said...

I guess that beauty is in the eyes of the beholder - I don't find this bread pudding homely at all. I think that it is lovely and perfect for the holiday weekend. You can't go wrong with fresh strawberries and ice cream!

Faith said...

This lovely bread pudding is the perfect way to transform a stale loaf of bread into something delicious! I could eat this for breakfast or desser (and probably any time in between :) ).

Gloria Baker said...

I love this Mary, look awesome! all your last recipes (really always!) are georgeous, have a nice 4th July! blessings, gloria

Baking is my Zen...sweet nibbles for the soul said...

I made my first bread pudding with Sweet Melissa Sundays baking group. OMG. Heavenly.

http://bakingismyzen.blogspot.com/2010/05/sms-pumpkin-bread-pudding-with-caramel.html

The addition of strawberries is a fabulous idea for summer eating!

I like that it's the year of the Pastry Chef. YaY!

Mary, have a wonderful day and Happy July 4th!

Carmen

Joe Ambrosino said...

I absolutely love bread pudding, Mary! Happy 4th.

Anonymous said...

there are NO rules... that's the best thing... if you want it... cook it... eat it... delicious!

Tricia said...

Ohhhhh --yum!!! I love bread pudding and this looks like a wonderful variation. I love how adding the strawberries makes it a much more "summery" dessert. Thanks for sharing. Have a wonderful 4th and a blessed Pink Sat.

Tricia

Parsley said...

Seeing this post...you MUST join our recipe exchange! Oh YUM!

(I read on Anne's blog you might want to join the recipe exchange.) Goody!

Here's the link:

http://seasonsofmymind.blogspot.com/2010/06/around-world-recipe-exchange.html

Sushma Mallya said...

looks yum mary...

SKIP TO MALOU said...

Mary,
I love making bread pudding because I do have bread "scraps" all the time (as I stated in my recent post, and yeah you dropped in when i made that---haha virtually that is)

your addition of strawberries makes me think of my cereal with strawberries... it adds the umph to a boring blah...happy pink saturday!


cheers!
malou

Velva said...

This is not a homely dish! This is an awesome dish. Love bread pudding.

The Chef In My Head said...

Start a new trend, bread pudding is great anytime of year!!
Happy 4th of July ~ Leslie

FOODESSA said...

Mary...I just came back with a great big basket of berries! Now...all I need to do is decide which one of your last two desserts will get made...with a little twist of my own of course ;o)
For now...an ice-cream parfait is screaming for those strawberries.
Flavourful wishes, Claudia

GLENDA CHILDERS said...

I am glad that I am not a food snob, because this looks amazing.

Happy Pink Saturday and Red White and Blue weekend, Mary.

Thanks for your fun visits to my blog.
Glenda

Vegetarian Yogini said...

Dear Marry...thanks for enlightening me on the previous cake recipe- Blueberries shall go to the Ball on the 4th of July!
That is what I call creativity: when a cook knows how to efficiently use leftovers and still come up with a masterpiece like your pudding- this overrides any rules of when to eat what! As usual- this one gets a very high mark from me!

Unknown said...

I don't know how you do it Mary...I'm not a fan of bread pudding at all, but here I am - mouth watering and actually WANTING some strawberry bread pudding!! :) Thank you!!

Katerina said...

Mary I love strawberries and you are right, there is no wrong season or time in general, when it comes to a good, tasty and honestly made sweet such as this one.

Deana Sidney said...

we are having such gorgeous berries this time of year... I look forward to trying your recipe with them... bread pudding is sooo good!

Umm Mymoonah said...

That's a lovely bread pudding with strawberries.Have a nice weekend.

penny aka jeroxie said...

Bread pudding is my new thing. Love this recipe.

oneordinaryday said...

Oh, this looks fabulous. I can't wait to try it.

Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said...

I love bread pudding any time of the year, Mary! With fresh strawberries in season this will be a wonderful dessert to enjoy.

Happy Pink Saturday and Happy 4th of July!

caren said...

Sounds delish to me! Have a safe and fun July 4th!

JEANNE said...

Hi Mary, I do love bread pudding. I learned to make it when i was 18 years old with my neighbors recipe. actually she didn't have a recipe. she cam over and told me what to 'throw' in to the pudding. It was delicious. She also took a variety of canned fruit and thickened it with cornstarch. We put it over the bread pudding. Pineapple chunks was one of the main fruit ingredients with cherries as well. We used sugar to sweetened the mix. You sure did hit a memory. I love the strawberry idea.

Happy 4th of July.
Hugs, Jeanne

Jamie said...

The Year of the Pastry Chef is definitely for me and I say that anything you like can indeed be made whenever you want it! This bread pudding is perfect and I love it dotted with fruit.

Chele said...

Yum! Going to have to give this one a try ;0)

My Little Space said...

This is truly mouthwatering! I want a big slice of this. haha... Have a great day.
Kristy

suesueb said...

I adore bread pudding and this looks delicious! Happy Pink Saturday and Happy Fourth!!

Ashley@thehungryscholar said...

I have never made bread pudding before, and I think this may be the first recipe I try. I love strawberries.

Lawyer Loves Lunch said...

Sensible, shmensible! Anytime is the perfect time for bread pudding, particularly one as delicious as this :)

Le said...

Hi Mary!

Thanks for dropping by my blog, gave me a chance to check yours out!

I haven't had bread pudding in years, but this sounds fantastic! I'm so jealous that strawberries are well in season there!

Will keep popping back here to check out your recipes :)

Unknown said...

What a beauty, your bread pudding is speaking to me, it's saying, Patty make me because I am so delicious and you will love the way I taste:)

Salsa Verde said...

Hi Mary,
Strawberry is a fantastic fruit , no matter what you do with it, and this bread pudding looks so gorgeous and delicious!!
Love,
Lia.

Diana's Cocina said...

Sounds delicious ~ what a perfect strawberry bread pudding.

Michelle said...

Looks very good... you can't go wrong with strawberries!!

Seedplanter Designs said...

Hello Mary! I'm so glad you visited my Seedplanter Designs blog, because it led me back to this delicious blog of yours! I'm skidding in late to this Strawberry Bread Pudding recipe, but it really stirred my taste buds. Since we're long past strawberry season, I'm hoping my jumbo bag of frozen strawberries (I keep them in my freezer - love strawberries!) will do.

I can see your blog and I are going to get along just fine.

oak dining tables said...

This is nice! I would love to try this. Never used strawberries in my puddings.

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