Ingredients
9 slice whole wheat bread
8 slice white bread
3 egg yolks, beaten
1 1/2 cup cream, light
1/3 cup sugar
1 dash salt
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2/3 cup raisins, light
2/3 cup raisins, dark
1/3 cup candied red cherries, halved
3/4 cup cream sherry
1 cup water
2 egg yolks, beaten
1/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted
2 tbsp cream sherry
1/4 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup whipping cream
Directions
Remove crusts from bread; set crusts aside for another use. Cover
bread slices with paper towels and let stand overnight. FOR CUSTARD,
in a heavy medium saucepan combine 3 egg yolks, light cream, sugar,
and salt. Cook and stir over medium heat. Continue cooking till
mixture coats a metal spoon. Remove from heat; cool at once by
placing saucepan in a sink of ice water and stirring for 1-2 minutes.
Stir in 1- 1/2 teaspoons vanilla. Cover surface with clear plastic
wrap. In a small bowl combine raisins. Place cherries in another
bowl. Heat 3/4 c. sherry till warm. Pour 2/3 c. sherry over raisins;
pour remaining sherry over cherries. Set aside. Cut bread into 1/2
inch cubes (should have about 9 cups). In a bowl fold bread into
custard till coated. Grease a 6-1/2-cup tower mold (without tube).
Drain raisins and cherries, reserving sherry. Arrange one-fourth of
cherries in bottom of the mold; sprinkle 1/3 c. raisins into the
mold. Add one-fourth of bread-cube mixture. Sprinkle with 2
Tablespoons reserved sherry. Repeat layers three times, arranging
cherries and raisins near edges of the mold. Lightly press last layer
with the back of a spoon. Pour remaining reserved sherry over all.
Cover mold tightly with foil. Set mold into a 4 quart crockery cooker
with liner in place. Pour 1 cup water into cooker around mold.
Cover; cook on low heat setting abut 5 1/2 hours or on high-heat
setting about 3 hours or till pudding springs back when touched.
Meanwhile, FOR SHERRY SAUCE, in a mixing bowl combine 2 egg yolks,
powdered sugar, 2 tablesponns sherry, and 1/4 teaspons vanilla. In a
small mixing bowl beat whipping cream with a rotary beater till soft
peaks form. Gently fold whipped cream into egg-yolk mixture. Cover
and chill till serving time. Remove mold from cooker and let stand 10
minutes. Carefully unmold pudding onto a serving platter. Serve warm
with sherry sauce. (Or, remove pudding from mold, cover, and chill.
To serve, return pudding to the same mold. Cover with foil and place
in the cooker, then pour 1 cup water around mold. Cover; cook on
high-heat setting for 1 1/2-2 hours or till warm. Let stand 10
minutes; unmold and serve with sauce.) For 5- or 6- quart crockery
cooker: Use 1 1/2 C. water to pour around mold.
Leave remaining ingredient amounts the same.
Servings: 12 servings
Christmas Bread Pudding Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Bread; Bread Pudding; Breads; Christmas; Dessert
The History of Recipes
It is quite feasible to trace the history of recipes far back into antiquity, in fact as far into history as pharonic Egypt, and possibly even further than that. Having said that, sadly, these ancient cook books were just primitive pictorial recipes for preparing food.
The truth of the matter is, the most ancient recipe found, according to food historians are a few tablets in the Sumerian language which describe the baking of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as having made anyone who drank it feel blissful. As we move into Roman times around 25BC a roman called Apicius wrote some scripts showing how to cook the recipes cooked by wealthy Romans. In his publication, he recounts how the roman meals were divided into hors d`oeuvre, main course and desserts, something that is very familiar to us today. Aspicius recounts how the Roman chefs used many spices and herbs, including a few that are still present in modern kitchens for example basil, mint and parsley. Later, in the 15th century, people returning from the crusades brought back a variety of foods and spices from the Middle-East, such as parsley, basil and rosemary. These new spices and herbs prompted an increase in books on cookery, some of which are now in private collections. During the following few centuries, the powerful and wealthy houses strove to serve up the most extravagent banquests, and as a result cooks and their collection of recipes could command a high salary. Even so, it wasn`t until the nineteenth century that fine cooking and recipe publications rose to prominence. The Famous Mrs Isabella Beeton in the UK, and the equally famous Fannie Merritt Farmer in the US, devoted their lives to collecting, testing, and recording recipes of the day. By the advent of the 1900s, cook books are greatly in demand as a result of increased literacy, more free time and having more money to spend. The revolution that is television gave us TV chefs and the demand for the spin-off recipe books. And that pretty much brings us to the present day and the internet revolution, allowing us all to access thousands of recipes like the ones you can find on this site. |
We hope you enjoy this Christmas Bread Pudding recipe.
