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
We can follow the history of `recipes` far back into the distant past, in fact as far back into history as the ancient Egyptians, and maybe further still. Interesting though that maybe, generally, these old cook books were just very simple hieroglyphic instructions for preparing food.
Fascinatingly, the oldest recipe in existence, according to historians is a series of tablets in ancient Sumerian 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 tried it feel `blissful`. Progressing into The time of the romans 25BC a roman called Apicius wrote some documents describing recipes cooked by wealthy roman citizens. In his works, Apicius tells us how the meals of wealthy Romans were split into appetizers, entrees and desserts, a very modern way of dining. Additionally, he informs us how the ancient cooks used many herbs, including many that are still in use today for example thyme, mint and asafoetida. As our culinary historical trip moves to more modern times we find a couple of interesting recipe books which were published in the 1300s ; one book called `Forme of Cury`, and another entitled `Curye on Inglish`. Don`t be fooled by the titles though, these two books are nothing to do with the indian curry that we all know today, but instead descriptions of the types of food on the menues of the upper classes of those days. In the 15th century, people returning from the crusades brought back many foods and herbs from Arab cooking, including spices such as basil and coriander. These new culinary innovations led to an outbreak in recipe books, most of which are now in academic collections. The introduction of television gave us cooking programs and the demand for the accompanying recipe books. Which brings us neatly to the present day and the invention of the internet, allowing everyone to access thousands of recipes like the ones you can find on the site you are now reading. |
We hope you enjoy this Christmas Bread Pudding recipe.
