You have to love a dessert that ticks all the holiday entertaining boxes – feeds a crowd, can be made ahead and is full of festive flavor. And this dish does that in spades. Not to mention that is easy to prepare, but impressive in taste and presentation. And I’ll be honest with you, it’s hard to mess this up. I made it once thinking I’d be so smart and set the oven to a timed cook while I was off opening presents with family so it would be perfectly ready for its icing and transport to the Christmas brunch. But I set the oven timer wrong and it didn’t cook in time for the festivities. So I let it cook later in the day, iced it and stuck it in the fridge. The next day I heated it up and it was still delicious. I wouldn’t recommend doing that though. But if you cook the bread pudding, pour over the icing and let it sit while you eat the main meal, it will be nice and warm and saucy for dessert.
All that being said, I also like it on the buffet with a large brunch spread, not just as a dessert. It is not cloyingly sweet, just a nice hint of rum and spice and that perfectly Christmas taste of egg nog. While I prefer it warm, I can assure you it is equally good at room temperature, so it can hang around while everyone makes their way through the buffet. The icing could be served as a sauce to pour over, but I find it so much easier to during the hectic holiday cooking to serve it all in one dish with no sauce boat or ladle hanging around.
- For the Bread Pudding
- 1 (1 pound) loaf of soft crust Italian bread or challah
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- 5 eggs
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ teaspoons nutmeg
- 1 quart (4 cups) dairy egg nog
- ½ cup (1 stick) butter
- 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- dash of ground cloves
- dash of allspice
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ¼ cup dark rum
- Cut the loaf of bread into small chinks and spread on a baking sheet. Cover lightly with a clean tea towel and leave dry out for several hours, or overnight.
- Grease a 9 by 13 inch baking dish and spread the bread cubes evenly in the dish. Sprinkle the cranberries between the bread, doing your best to distribute them evenly. Whisk the eggs, sugar and nutmeg together in a large bowl, until well combined, then whisk in the egg nog. Pour the mixture evenly over the bread and press down the cubes of bread so they are submerged in the liquid. Cover the dish with foil and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
- When you are ready to cook the bread pudding, preheat the oven to 350. Take the dish out of the refrigerator and leave it to take the chill off for about 15 – 20 minutes, then put in the oven, still covered with foil, and bake for 45 – 50 minutes, until the custard is set. Remove the foil cover and cook for a further 5 -10 minutes until the bread turns a lovely golden brown. Take the bread pudding from the oven and immediately prepare the icing.
- Put the butter in a large saucepan over medium high heat to melt. Sift the powdered sugar and spices together in a bowl, and when the butter is melted, remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the powdered sugar. Add the cream slowly, whisking until the icing is smooth, then whisk in the rum. While the bread pudding is still warm, pour the icing evenly over the top, making sure to cover it all. Leave the icing to soak in for a few minutes, then serve the bread pudding. The icing does not totally soak into the pudding, but the remainder forms a nice puddle of sauce for each serving.
I want some!!!