Bread Pudding with Raisins and Lemon Custard

(Brasserie Beck)

Bread Pudding served with a drizzling of Lemon Custard, topped with rehydrated Raisins, a dusting of Powdered and a scoop of Ice Cream.

Cook Time:

Prep Time:

Total Time:1 hours30 min

Servings: 8

Ingredients:

3 large eggs

1 1/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 cup melted unsalted butter

2 cup whole milk

5 cup Bread, cubed [recommended stale or lightly toasted brioche or croissants]

1/2 cup raisins [for garnish]

Powdered sugar to taste

1 cup sugar

2 cup heavy cream

2 cup 1/2 and 1/2

1 cup egg yolks

The juice and zest of 3 lemons

Preparation:

Whisk eggs, sugar, vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon and butter in a bowl until all ingredients are incorporated. Heat milk to a simmer and temper into egg mixture, slowly adding with a whisk to bring up to temperature until completely mixed.

Place bread cubes into a large mixing bowl and pour egg mixture over until it just covers the bread – ensure that some custard is reserved for later. Do this while it is still hot. Let that sit for 30 minutes or so to allow the custard to absorb into the bread. Add more custard as needed if it becomes too dry. Next, add the bread mixture to a lightly greased 8” x 10” loaf pan or 8 individual ramekins and then drizzle remaining custard on top of the bread.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Place pan or ramekins in oven at 350 degrees and then immediately lower to 300. Cook for roughly 30-40 minutes until it becomes firm in the center. Once firm, increase the temperature to 425 degrees and bake for another 10-15 minutes until it and puffs up and reaches a golden brown color. At that point, remove the bread pudding from the oven and allow it rest for 10 minutes.

Before serving, rehydrate raisins by placing them in a pot with water or brandy and heating until plump. Serve over the Bread Pudding [see assembly instructions below.]

Serve warm and cut the loaf into 8 equal squares as individual portions or carefully remove from the ramekins. Serve in a shallow bowl atop Lemon Custard [see recipe below] with rehydrated raisins, a sprinkling of powdered sugar, and a scoop of ice cream, if desired.

Place half of the sugar in a pot with both creams and lemon zest. In a separate bowl whisk the remaining half cup of sugar into the egg yolks until light and creamy. Heat the cream to a boil and slowly add the yolk mixture by drizzling. Reduce to a low heat and stir with a spoon until the mixture has thickened and coats the back of the spoon. Be careful not to overcook at this point to avoid curdling the mixture. Strain the mixture and chill in a bowl over an ice bath. Before serving, add lemon juice to taste. Place on the bottom of a bowl under the Bread Pudding [see full assembly instructions above.]