Flo's Brown Sugar Bread Pudding

Turns out, getting married is hard work. Being married (so far) is a breeze, but the actual getting married part was a pain in the caboose. Luckily for Mark and I, the big day came and went and we survived.  It was actually quite lovely, even though most of our families and friends were there :) I am now a proud member of the deWolf family and as such, this is a very fitting first blog post as an old married lady. Mark's grandma, Florence was not necessarily known for her prowess in the kitchen. His dad tells the story that when he and his siblings went off to college, they all raved about how delicious the cafeteria food tasted! But Flo did have a few tasty recipes up her sleeve and this bread pudding is one of them. Tom made this with leftover Apple Cider Donuts from our wedding (you didn't think Mark would let us serve cake, when we could have Apple Cider Donuts, did you?). Since we decided to honeymoon in the Caribbean instead of scenic Southern New Jersey, we missed out on tasting this yummy dessert, but word around town is that it was fantastic. I can't wait to try it myself!

Flo's Brown Sugar Bread Pudding
Ingredients:
4 cups bread cubes (part day-old sugar buns are really good)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup raisins
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/4 cups milk
2 slightly beat egg yolks
2 Tbs. butter
Meringue:
2 egg whites
1/2 tsp vanilla
Dash of salt
4 T sugar

1. Slice the bread (whatever you choose - bread, donuts, sticky buns, etc.) into 1 inch cubes.

2. Combine the dry ingredients (first 5 listed) together in a large bowl.

3.  Add the milk, vanilla, and eggs and mix everything together slightly.  You don't want to smush up the bread, but rather leave it so that there are still whole cubes.

4. Turn into greased 1 qt. baking dish and dot with butter.

5. Bake in moderately slow oven (350) until inserted knife comes out clean. About 45 mins.
6. Remove from oven so you can top with Meringue.
You could certainly forgo the meringue step and serve with good vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream instead.  If you don't do the meringue, your bread pudding would lose it's delightfully retro appeal and fantastic presentation so it really is up to you - if you are a meringue person or not.

7. To make the meringue, beat egg whites, vanilla and salt until soft peaks form.

8. Gradually add sugar, beating until stiff and glossy and all sugar is dissolved.

9. Spread the meringue over bread pudding.

10. Bake at 425 for 5 minutes OR at 350 for 12 to 15 minutes until the peaks are golden brown.

11. Cool but try to keep out of drafts, so that your meringue doesn't settle.  One method is to open oven door and let pudding cool while oven does.

Editor's Note:  Tastes great first day – some say it’s even better next day…cold from refrigerator!

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