Recipe: Rhubarb-Raspberry Bread Pudding

It was only a couple of years ago I realized that I liked bread pudding.  Up until then, something about the name had put me off; perhaps it made me think of that oft-served school lunch staple, rice pudding (shudder). 

The first time I actually tried bread pudding was in New Orleans, at Nola.  The first bite was a revelation - a billowy, soft custard with a syrupy glaze and just a hint of crunch.  It was like nothing I'd had before, and I couldn't believe I'd gone so many years without really knowing what the dish had the potential to be.  I never looked back - I've been baking bread puddings ever since.

In the winter months, my favorite recipe is a pumpkin bread pudding with brown sugar caramel. As pumpkin isn't exactly a summer staple, I decided to give a rhubarb and orange pudding a try.  The following recipe is loosely based on this one from Bon Appetit - I was missing some of the ingredients and wanted to refrigerate overnight, so I adapted as written below.

Starting with good bread is essential.  I made my own brioche for this one, but any stale, rich bread will do.

Rhubarb-Raspberry Bread Pudding
1 cup seedless raspberry preserves
1/2 cup orange juice
2 lbs rhubarb, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
1 cup raspberries
1 tbsp orange zest
3/4 cup brown sugar
4 large eggs
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup whole milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 recipe homemade brioche cut into 1-inch pieces (or substitute a loaf of thick egg bread)

Whisk preserves and orange juice in a saucepan over medium heat.  When dissolved, add rhubarb , raspberries, and orange zest.  Cook until rhubarb is tender, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Pour mixture through a strainer set over a large bowl. Press on solids then allow to drain, about 15 minutes.  Reserve solids; at this point, sauce can be refrigerated.

Combine sugar, eggs, whipping cream, milk, and vanilla in a mixer.  With a wooden spoon, stir in the bread cubes and rhubarb solids, then pour the enture mixture into a greased 9 x 13 pan.  Press down on pudding with a wooden spoon to evenly distribute through the pan. Cover with foil and refrigerate at least 2 hours, or up to overnight.

When ready to cook, take the bread pudding out of the refrigerator and preheat the oven to 350 F.  Sprinkle the top of the pudding with a little brown sugar, then bake 30 minutes covered.  Uncover the pudding and bake for 15 more minutes, or until pudding is puffed and golden.

Meanwhile, take syrup out of the refrigerator and check for tartness - depending on your preserves and orange juice, you may need to whisk in up to 1/2 cup of sugar. Bring syrup to a boil and reduce to 1 cup, about 10 minutes.  Keep warm.

Serve puddings topped with warm syrup and whipped cream or (my favorite) ice cream.  Makes 16 servings.

Recipe: Homemade Brioche

Brioche has a dense, slightly sweet taste that makes it a great base for bread pudding, which I tend to make all the time. It seems I can never find brioche when I need it for a recipe, but luckily it's not hard to make from scratch. If brioche isn't readily available in your local grocery store, it's worth the effort to make your own.

I researched a couple of different baking methods and ended up with the recipe below - it makes one loaf plus enough for 12 individual brioches baked in a muffin tin (or two loaves). Of course, you could easily halve the recipe if you don't need this much on your hands!

Homemade Brioche
3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbsp active dry yeast, or 2 packets
5 oz (10 tbsp) butter at room temperature
2/3 cup warm milk
4 large eggs at room temperature
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg yolk and a dash sugar for glaze

In a mixer with a dough hook, combine flour with yeast, then add warm milk in a slow stream.  Mix in sugar and salt, then add the softened butter one tablespoon at a time.  Add the eggs one by one, making sure that each egg is completely mixed in before adding the next. Work the dough just until it starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl.

Transfer to a greased bowl, then cover dough and leave it in a warm place until it doubles in size, about two hours (or, as I did, hold it on your lap during the car ride to Okoboji.  I do not particularly recommend this method).  Punch down dough and refrigerate overnight.

In the morning, remove the dough and let rest, covered, for 15 minutes on a floured countertop.  Divide dough in half.

Divide the first half into four balls and arrange in a greased loaf pan.  Divide the second half into twelve balls placed into a greased muffin tin. Cover both pans and let rise in a warm place for about an hour.

Preheat oven to 375 F. Use a kitchen scissors to make small cuts in the top of each ball, then brush the brioches with beaten egg yolk mixed with a little sugar. 

Bake smaller brioches for 15-20 minutes and loaf for 30-35 minutes.

Remove all from baking pans and allow to cool on a rack.

Recipe: Poached Eggs over Spinach and Prosciutto

Fact #1:  I love poached eggs. The delicate and barely-set whites, the runny yolk - it all works so well when you can manage to get that perfect spherical shape by dropping an egg into simmering water. 

Fact #2:  I am woefully unable to poach eggs.  I've tried every which way: gently dropping an egg into the center of a pan while swirling the water, adding vinegar, constant stirring, experimenting with water temperatures and pan sizes - you name it, I've tried it.  Inevitably, half the white flakes off into the water and I end up with a nice runny yolk which is surrounded by a scant millimeter of egg white.  After several years of struggling, I've finally accepted that I may never be able to poach an egg - at least, not well enough to measure up to my own standards. After all, I am no chef.

And that's why I don't mind cheating a little bit.  This past weekend, I was at Kitchen Collage when I suddenly spotted a gadget I didn't even know I'd been missing all my life: poaching pods.  Shaped like little conical baskets, these pods are made of flexible silicone and are designed to float in simmering water, thus protecting your cooked egg whites from flaking away.  While you do lose some of the wonderful shirred texture that I love in a properly executed poached egg, just managing to get an entire poached egg onto a plate at all is an accomplishment for me regardless of texture. 

Naturally, I bought two. 

Though I love poached eggs on toast, this past Sunday I found myself with two new poaching pods burning a hole in my kitchen drawer and no bread to be found.  Not to be deterred from the prospect of finally preparing a suitable poached egg, I decided spinach and prosciutto would be a reasonable accompaniment.

If you are poaching-challenged like me and decide to give the pods a whirl, feel free to follow this recipe.

Poached Eggs over Spinach and Prosciutto

2 large farm-fresh eggs

1 clove garlic, minced

Large handful spinach, washed and roughly chopped

3-5 slices prosciutto, torn into bite-sized pieces

Bring 2 inches of water to a boil in a saucepan, then reduce to a simmer.  Coat the inside of two poaching pods with nonstick spray or butter, then crack an egg into each.  Float pods in simmering water.  Cover and cook, undisturbed, until whites are just set - about 4-6 minutes.

In a large skillet, saute prosciutto over medium heat until crispy, about 5 minutes.  Drain on paper towels. 

Heat 1 tsp butter over medium heat and saute garlic for a couple of minutes until it starts to soften.  Add spinach and saute for another few minutes, until just wilted. Season with salt and pepper, then remove from heat.

Arrange spinach and prosciutto on plates for serving.

Carefully remove pods from the simmering water with a slotted spoon (silicone will be hot). 

Gently loosen egg whites from the edges of pods using a spoon, then invert onto paper towels to drain any excess water from the eggs.  

Arrange eggs over spinach and prosciutto. Season with salt and pepper before serving.

Serves 2.