French Bread Archives – Sarah’s Simple Solutions

When we needed dessert for a crowd, Stevens Catering would serve bread pudding. We would put three recipes to a hotel pan, bake it and hold it in a warmer until arriving on site. We kept it warm in a chafing dish and served it with its own sauce. We often served two kinds: French Bread Pudding with Rum Sauce and Very Berry Bread Pudding with Orange Sauce. Both recipes are very light and were a hit every time we served them. Here is the recipe for French Bread Pudding. Enjoy it!

French Bread Pudding

Inspired by Southern Living

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword french bread, Rum sauce

Servings 8

Equipment

8 inch square baking dish

Ingredients

1/2 cup pecans toasted and chopped
1/2 cup butter softened
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 3/4 cups milk
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
5 cups French bread cubes 1 inch

Rum Sauce

3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup whipping cream
2 tablespoons Rum
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Instructions

Cream butter; gradually add sugar, beating well. Add eggs, and beat well. Stir in milk, cinnamon, 1 1/2 teaspoons nutmeg, and vanilla, mixing well. Stir in pecans and bread cubes mixing just until moist. Spoon into a greased 8 inch square baking dish. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes; uncover and bake 10 minutes. Serve warm with Rum Sauce.
Rum Sauce: Melt butter in a small saucepan; whisk in flour and cook 5 minutes. Stir in sugar and whipping cream; cook 3 minutes. Stir in Rum, vanilla, and nutmeg, and simmer 5 minutes. Yield 1 1/2 cups

For Very Berry Bread Pudding with Orange Sauce click here.

Very Berry Bread Pudding with Orange Sauce

Bread pudding has always been so heavy, so I never cared for it. I was eating at a local tea room and was encouraged to order the Very Berry Bread Pudding. It was a delight– light, filled with berries and topped with a wonderful sauce. I had to have the recipe but it was not available. So that was my challenge to develop a recipe myself.

I started with a French bread pudding and left the spices and raisins out. I then added frozen mixed berries and took a Rum Sauce recipe to make an orange sauce. I left out the Rum and spices and added orange liquor and orange juice concentrate for flavoring. Orange juice could be used but I wanted the intense orange flavor, so I went with the orange juice concentrate. The recipe became a favorite at Stevens Catering events. I hope you enjoy the recipe!