Berry Pudding Recipes

Steps:

• The day before you plan to serve the pudding, line a mixing bowl with plastic wrap. Line the plastic wrap with the bread slices, trimming the pieces so that they fit together neatly. Save enough bread to cover the top of the pudding. In a saucepan, combine the apple juice concentrate and all the berries. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook until the strawberries begin to soften, about 1 minute. Immediately turn off the heat. Stirring, dissolve the gelatin in the water, then add the mixture to the berries and stir to combine. Spoon the mixture into the bread-lined bowl. Cover with remaining bread slices. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill overnight. When ready to serve, whip the cream until soft peaks form. Remove the pudding from the refrigerator and remove the plastic wrap on top of the bowl. Carefully turn the pudding out onto a platter and serve in spoonfuls with whipped cream on top.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Toss blueberries with cinnamon and lemon juice; pour into a greased 8-in. square baking dish. In a small bowl, combine flour, sugar and baking powder; stir in milk and butter. Spoon over berries. , Combine sugar and cornstarch; sprinkle over batter. Slowly pour boiling water over all. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the cake portion comes out clean, 45-50 minutes. Serve warm. If desired, top with whipped cream and additional blueberries.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 9-inch pie plate.
• Place blueberries in medium bowl.
• Combine 1/4 cup of the brown sugar and 1 Tbsp.
• of the flour; toss with blueberries to coat.
• Spoon mixture into pie plate.
• In separate bowl, rub remaining 1 cup flour and butter together with fingertips until well blended.
• Mix in remaining 1/2 cup brown sugar.
• Add milk, egg, lemon peel and vanilla, and blend well.
• Pour batter over blueberry mixture.
• Bake until firm and golden brown, about 55 minutes.
• Cool at least 10 minutes before serving.
• Top with whipped topping if desired.

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, add the fruit (reserving a few berries for garnish). Add the sugar and cook until the fruit is starting to release some liquid, is tender and beginning to burst, but still holds its shape, about 5 minutes.
• Line a large 6-cup pudding bowl with plastic wrap, allowing lots of overhang.
• Remove the crusts from 10 to 12 slices of bread. Press the bread slices briefly in the juices at the top of the berries in the pot then lay them into the bowl, juice-side down, ensuring there are no spaces. Use smaller pieces to overlap or close gaps in spaces, as needed.
• Remove the berries from the heat, and cool slightly. Using a slotted spoon, spoon the fruit into the bread-lined bowl, and top with a final layer of bread and spoon a bit more of the juices over the top to color the top layer of bread evenly. Reserve the remaining cooking juices for serving. Cover with the plastic wrap and place a plate over the top. Add a large heavy can or a 2-pound weight to the plate and let sit at least 8 hours, or overnight, refrigerated.
• On serving, whip the cream until soft peaks just begin to form. Add the sugar and whip until almost stiff.
• Gently invert the bowl onto a large serving dish, shaking it lightly to loosen. Peel the plastic wrap off, and spoon the reserved juice all over, to soak any bits of bread that still look white. Serve with a bowl of whipped cream on the side, or cut individual wedges, and add a dollop of cream and a berry or two for garnish.

Steps:

• Generously butter a 9x13 inch baking dish. Arrange the bread slices in the dish so they are packed in a little bit tight. In a medium bowl, whisk together the 4 eggs, milk, white sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon. Pour the liquid over the bread, and let it sit for an hour in the refrigerator. Press down the top with a spatula occasionally to help the bread absorb the liquid. After about 30 minutes, sprinkle the berries over the pudding, and press them down inside a bit to distribute.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bake the bread pudding for 45 to 50 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the top is golden, and the middle is firm. While the pudding is baking, make the brown sugar sauce.
• Melt the unsalted butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the brown sugar, water, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Cook, stirring constantly for about 2 minutes. Remove from heat, and whisk in the egg. Return to the burner, and cook stirring constantly until thickened, about 1 minute. Serve hot over the hot bread pudding.

Steps:

• NOTE: I have found that people tend to fight over the browned top crust of bread pudding so I solved that problem by baking mine in a 10" round x 4" deep Pyrex casserole, ensuring everyone of receiving a large portion of browned pudding with enough soft pudding underneath. This meant that I had to use a 17" x 13" x 2" deep broiler pan for the Bain Marie or water bath. If you choose to use a different size baking dish, results may vary, such as a longer baking time. My bread pudding ended up being 2.5" deep.
• Directions for bread pudding:.
• Preheat oven to 335 degrees. Fill tea kettle with enough water to fill a 13" x 17" pan, half way up with boiling water. Bring water to boil, then turn down heat to a simmer, for later use. Butter the casserole dish; set aside.
• Place the 2 cups of milk in a large saucepan, uncovered, over medium heat. Let the milk heat in the pan, without stirring, until a skin forms on top and it is scalded. Or, if this makes you uneasy, stir the milk and continue heating until small bubbles form along the edges of the pan. Remove from heat.
• Meanwhile, place the eggs and yolks in a large mixing container with a pouring spout. Beat or whisk briefly, only to mix, not until they are foamy or light. (This beats too much air into the custard)
• Gradually add the sugar, vanilla and almond extracts, ground cinnamon, ground ginger and salt, beating only until well mixed.
• Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, slowly add 1/4 cup amounts of the hot milk to the egg mixture, stirring gently. When 1 cup of warm milk has been added into the egg mixture, add the remaining milk and stir gently. This process is called "tempering", making sure that your eggs don't "scramble" in the pan from the heat of the milk! Set aside custard mixture.
• In a large bowl, tear the Hawaiian rolls apart into large chunks, totaling 6 cups. Using a large mesh strainer, pour your custard mixture slowly over the bread roll cubes. (Straining the custard catches any lumpy egg whites.) Stir very gently, making sure that the bread rolls are all thoroughly coated. Allow to rest in the bowl for 10 minutes. Stir twice.
• While the bread is soaking up the custard, measure out your frozen berries. I'm lucky enough to have a deep freezer so I have individual bags of the berries, but a quality brand of mixed berries with blueberries, strawberries, raspberries and black raspberries can be used. They should NOT be mashed!
• Gently fold the 2 cups of mixed frozen berries into the custard/bread mixture. Pour this into the prepared casserole dish, using a spoon to make sure that the berries are well distributed and that the raspberries are pushed down into the custard, to fill their little centers.
• Place the casserole dish into the broiler pan and place this into the oven, leaving the oven door open. Carefully pour the hot, boiling water into the pan, going up to 1/2 the height of the casserole. NOTE: PLEASE BE CAREFUL! I have a long-necked tea kettle so there is no risk of burning myself. However, if you feel more comfortable filling the broiler pan with the hot water prior to placing it into the oven, do what makes sense for YOU!
• Bake for 50 to 60 minutes until a sharp knife inserted 1 inch into the middle of the custard comes out clean. Carefully remove the broiler pan and place on a heat-proof surface. Lift the casserole out of the water, place it on a wire rack and cool for 1 hour or until a comfortable eating temperature. Allow water in broiler pan to cool, dump out when safe to the touch.
• Serve warm, cool, cold. Plain or with topping of choice. Just enjoy it, however you please!
• Directions for Orange Whipped Cream:.
• Have ALL of your ingredients and equipment ice cold! I store the beaters in the bowl in my frig and have a small dish of the sifted powdered sugar in there, too. (Sifting the powdered sugar after you've measured it eliminates nasty sugar lumps!)
• Remove bowl, beaters, whipping cream and powdered sugar from the refrigerator. Insert beaters into machine, shake whipping cream multiple times to integrate the butter fat; pour into the bowl.
• Starting out at the lowest speed, beat whipping cream until it slightly thickens. Starting out at a lower speed prevents splashing all over.
• Once cream begins to thicken, increase speed to medium high and whip until soft peaks begin to form. Increase speed to high and slowly add the powdered sugar to the whipped cream, being sure to reach all corners of the bowl if doing this with a hand mixer.
• When firm peaks have formed, add vanilla extract and 2-3 drops of orange oil (or orange zest) and blend only until combined, about 10 seconds.
• Serve a dollop of this on top of the still warm Very Berry Bread Pudding. The whipped cream is also good in your coffee, with a dash of cinnamon!