Cranberry Bread Pudding

Here she is!  The cranberry bread pudding recipe I promised you.  In case you missed the previous post, in it I shared 3 ways to use cranberry sauce.  This bread pudding was one of those three, but because it turned out to be a hit at home, I thought it would be better if I just gave this recipe a post all on its own.  I hope you like it.

Start by preheating your oven to 275 degrees.  Dice 5 cups worth of the French baguette.  Toss them onto a cookie sheet, making sure to spread them out to lay flat, not on top of each other.  Toast the bread in the oven for 20 minutes.

While the bread is toasting, gather the remaining ingredients and heat together the milk, cinnamon stick, sugar or piloncillo, vanilla extract, and 5 spice powder if using.  Warm up the milk only until the sugar has completely dissolved.

Related Recipe: An easy way to measure piloncillo

With this step, you don’t want to boil the milk, just cook all the ingredients together so they blend well and create a sweet and tasty milk for the pudding.

If you don’t have the 5 spice powder mix either, its ok.  The bread pudding will still taste just as good.  All it does is add a  hint of anise aroma, so if you like anise, you can probably add a star anise to the milk if you like.  If not, don’t worry about it.

Also, be careful not to warm the milk too high.  I stepped away for a few seconds (while it was on medium heat) and it was just about to boil over by the time I got back to it!  Rookie mistake.  I should know better!  Anyway, moving on…

Turn off the milk, pour it into another bowl to cool down.

Prepare the ramekins by coating the inside of each one with butter.  Set them aside.

By now the bread should be done being toasted.  Remove it from the oven and set it aside.

Bring out a large baking dish and add warm water at least 1/3 – 1/2 way full.  Place it inside the oven on the middle rack, close the door, and raise the temp to 350 degrees.

Fill the ramekins evenly with the bread.  Keep them nearby because you’re about to put it all together in just a minute.

In another small bowl mix the two eggs together well, then add them to the milk.

Start mixing right away as you are pouring the egg into the milk.  If the milk is still too warm, there is a small chance the egg will become a scrambled mess in the milk.  One way to avoid that is to add the egg S L O W L Y as you stir.  If the milk is closer to room temperature by the time you add the milk, you won’t have to worry about that.

Keep stirring until all the egg is mixed in well.

Strain the cranberry sauce to remove as much of the syrup/juice from the sauce as possible.  If it has thickened from being in the fridge, warm it up for about 15 seconds in the microwave.  That should help the syrup separate a little easier from the cranberries.

Set the syrup aside.  Add the cranberries and stir them into the milk with a fork.

Related Recipe: 3 ways to use leftover cranberry sauce

Grab a ladle and start pouring the milk and cranberries mixture into each ramekin one ladle-full at a time.

Fill them taking turns, one by one, until all the milk and cranberries have been poured onto the bread.

Let the bread soak in the milk for about 10 minutes.

Gently place the ramekins into the water that has been warmed in the oven.

Sorry for the glare in the picture above by the way.  The sun was beaming through the kitchen window when I took this pic.

Bake them at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

When they are done, drizzle some of the reserved cranberry syrup over the bread pudding and top with slivered almonds if desired.

Enjoy!

Related Recipe: Capirotada with Chocolate, Almonds, and Dried Fruit

Now for the handy printable!

Print

Cranberry Bread Pudding

Prep Time 40 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Servings 5 cups

Author Stephanie Chavez

Ingredients

• 5 cups french bread baguette
• 1 3/4 cup half & half
• 2 tablespoons piloncillo or brown sugar
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• optional 1/4 teaspoon dried 5 spice powder (anise seed, cinnamon, ginger, fennel, clove)
• 2 eggs
• 4 tablespoons homemade cranberry sauce
• butter for coating ramekins
• slivered almonds for garnish

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 275. Prepare the bread by cutting it into small cubes about an inch in size. Toast in the oven at 275 degrees for 20 minutes.
2. While the bread is toasting: On medium heat, in a 2 quart size pot, add the half & half, piloncillo, cinnamon stick, vanilla extract, and 5 spice powder if using. Heat and stir until the sugar has completely dissolved. Do not bring the milk to a boil! Once it looks like it's about to boil, turn off the heat and transfer the milk into another bowl to cool down. Set it aside.
3. Prepare the ramekins by coating the inside of each one with butter. Set them aside.
4. By now the bread should be done being toasted. Remove it from the oven and set it aside.
5. Bring out a large baking dish and add warm water at least 1/3 - 1/2 way full. Place it inside the oven on the middle rack, close the door, and raise the temp to 350 degrees.
6. Fill the ramekins evenly with the bread. Keep them nearby because you’re about to put it all together in just a minute.
7. In another small bowl, whisk the eggs well. Add the eggs to the cooled milk SLOWLY, whisking as you pour in the egg. Keep whisking until all the egg is mixed in well.
8. Strain the cranberry sauce to remove as much of the syrup/juice from the sauce as possible. If it has thickened from being in the fridge, warm it up for about 15 seconds in the microwave. That should help the syrup separate a little easier from the cranberries. Set the syrup aside. Add the cranberries to the milk and eggs and mix well with a fork.
9. Use a ladle to pour the milk and cranberries over the bread. When filling the ramekins, take turns filling them one ladle full at a time. You want to make sure they all get an even amount of milk and cranberries. Keep pouring the milk one after the other until you've used it all up. Let the bread soak in the milk for about 10 minutes.
10. After 10 minutes, place ramekins inside the bath of hot water in the oven. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes. When done, slowly remove them from the oven and drizzle some of the reserved cranberry syrup on top. Garnish with hand crushed slivered almonds if desired.