Smooth and delicate bread pudding, coated with a delicious caramel sauce, is a simple and stunning dessert at the same time. Made with bread, eggs, milk and sugar, the pudding can either be steamed or baked in a bain-marie.
You will need:
For caramel sauce,
Sugar - 3 tbsp
Water - 3 tsp
For bread pudding,
Whole Milk – 1½ cups
Sugar – ¼ cup (or more as per taste)
Bread – 4-6 slices (white or brown)
Eggs – 2, large
Vanilla extract – 1 tsp
Salt – a pinch
Melted butter or ghee – to brush inside the bowl
Cashew nuts - 1tbsp, chopped (optional)
Raisins - 8-10 (optional)
How to:
Caramel sauce: In a small saucepan, melt the sugar and water for caramel sauce. Cook on medium heat till sugar dissolves, then starts to boil. After a couple of minutes, the sugar will bubble up and begin to darken. When it is a deep golden or amber color, the sauce is ready. Do not burn it, you may have to start over.
Remove from heat promptly and pour into a wide-mouthed 4-cup steamer bowl (if using pressure cooker) or 4 small ramekins (if using oven). Swirl the bowl to coat the caramel sauce evenly at the bottom. Brush the sides of the bowl with melted butter or ghee. Set aside.
Bread pudding: Heat milk and sugar in a saucepan. Just make sure it is very hot, no need to boil it.
Remove from heat and add chopped up pieces of bread into the milk. You can use or discard the crust as per your preference. Also, the number of slices needed will depend on how thin or thick your slices are. I usually go for 4 slices of sandwich bread or up to 6 slices of thin-sliced bread. Stir well and allow to rest for 5-7 minutes till the bread is soaked well and almost dissolves into the milk.
Whisk eggs in a bowl and add to the milk-bread mixture. Whisk to combine thoroughly and break up any slices of bread to make a fairly smooth custard.
Stir in vanilla extract and a pinch of salt. Stir in nuts and raisins, if using.
Pour the custard mixture carefully into the prepared bowl (or ramekins). Make sure it is filled only ⅔rd of the way.
Steaming in pressure cooker: Fill a pressure cooker with 3 cups of water. Place a trivet in the bottom. Place the steamer bowl over this, lightly covered with foil (make a couple of steam vents with a knife) or a loose-fitting stainless steel lid. Cover the pressure cooker, place the weight and cook on medium-high heat for one whistle. Immediately lower the heat to a simmer and cook further for 20-25 minutes. Allow the pressure to be released naturally before opening the pressure cooker's lid.
Take the bowl out and cool slightly. Run a knife along the edges of the pudding and invert onto a serving plate. Slice and serve immediately or refrigerate and serve chilled.
Baking in oven: Pre-heat the oven to 350 deg.F.
Arrange the filled ramekins in a cake pan or baking pan with raised sides. Pour boiling hot water into the pan till the water comes to midway up the sides of the ramekins.
Cover loosely with a large piece of foil. Bake for 30 minutes and check for doneness with a toothpick. If it is not done, bake uncovered for 5-10 more minutes.
Remove from oven and cool slightly. Serve as is in ramekins or unmold onto plates before serving.
Caramel bread pudding can be served warm, at room temperature or chilled.
Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator. The flavors only get better!
Notes:
1. You can add chopped cashew nuts or raisins to the custard. Sometimes, I also arrange banana slices over the caramel sauce to make banana bread pudding.
Recipe by At The Corner of Happy And Harried at https://www.happyandharried.com/2013/05/13/easy-dessert-bread-pudding-coated-with-caramel-sauce/