Monday, July 02, 2007

Happy Birthday Peabody!


When we were sitting at lunch in Seattle in June, Peabody, of Culinary Concoctions by Peabody, mentioned that she loves bread pudding. When I was trying to think of what to make for her birthday, I remembered that I had this great recipe from the stone ages…well 1971 actually, but close enough. My friend Gale was active in her church and they did a lot of pot lucks. She said that this was her favorite thing to bring and when she didn’t bring it, she got grief.

What makes this bread pudding a stand out is the dark red cherries. A can is about 14 or 15 oz., but you can substitute about a cup to 1 ¼ cup of fresh, pitted cherries if you want to. I used some drained cherries from a jar that I bought when I went to Hatam’s with Anna of Anna’s Cool Finds. I suspect that a cup or so of any stone fruit or even berries in season would work well with this bread pudding. Peabody, hope that you find this to be a fun birthday gift…just wish you were here to have some.


Gale’s Bread Pudding with Cherries
A recipe from 1971, from a Fredicksburg, Maryland friend

4 cups dry bread cubes
3 cups milk, scalded
1 tablespoon butter
4 slightly beaten eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 can dark red cherries, drained

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2) Melt the butter in the milk. Add a little of the milk to the beaten eggs, then add eggs to rest of milk. Stir in the sugar, lemon zest, salt, and vanilla.
3) Put the bread cubes in a large bowl. Pour the egg/milk mixture over, stir gently, and let sit 15 minutes.
4) Butter a large baking pan. A deep one will give a softer center, a shallower one will give more crispy crust. Gently stir drained cherries into bread mixture and pour into baking pan.
5) Bake in a pan of hot water until firm, about 1 hour. Serve warm.





11 comments :

  1. Elle, your Daring Baker Birthday treats are always so yummy looking and such a nice tribute to our crew. How wonderfully thoughtful you are!

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  2. That was so sweet of you to make this for Peabody's birthday. It looks amazing.

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  3. I constantly need to be convinced that bread pudding is good, cherries help that cause.

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  4. Amrita, It was good...hard to stop eating it.

    Breadchick, It's great incentive to bake. Some months I might have to just do one or two for a group since the DBs are getting to be such a large group.

    Cheryl, Thanks.

    Brilynn, Try this one. The bread is very custardy near the bottom (I bake it in a deep dish) and the cherries make all the difference.

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  5. You are so sweet, Elle - this is a great post!

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  6. Elle, thank you for the birthday wishes and your very warm welcome to the Daring Bakers. I sure hope I can keep up with you folks :)

    Ok, so here is what I want for my birthday next year. A bread pudding just like the one you made for Peabody (lol)

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  7. YUM, YUM, YUM. Thank you for the lovely birhtday bread pudding...if only I were there!

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  8. your bread pudding looks gorgeous, reminds me of my mum bread pudding too.

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  9. Patricia, Thank you.

    Cynthia, I'm sure you will do fine and hopefully have as much fun as the DBs have been having. I'll make a note of when your birthday is and make you a bread pudding...but it will probably be a little different...boring to make same thing twice.

    Peabody, Hope your birthday was great...maybe next year I can figure out a way to have the pudding not be virtual :)

    Big Boys, Yes, except for the cherries it's pretty traditional pudding.

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  10. Anonymous7:35 AM

    So sweet of you to think of her on her birthday. This looks really good.

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