Almond Bread Pudding Recipes

ALMOND BREAD PUDDING

Steps:

• Place raisins in a small bowl with the rum and allow to soak.
• Remove the crusts from the bread. Determine how much bread you will need by lining the sides bottom and top of a 8 or 9 inch loaf pan and use all the butter to coat both sides of the slices of bread.
• Line the sides and bottom with the buttered bread slices and set aside the slices that will go on top.
• Pour the milk into a small saucepan and heat it over low heat till you see steam rising when it is stirred - do not boil.
• While the milk is heating (keep an eye on it!), put the eggs and 4 T of sugar in the bowl of a mixer. Beat at high speed till the mixture is pale yellow and forms ribbons on the beaters when lifted (about 2-3 minutes).
• With the mixer at low speed, slowly add the hot milk. When about half of the milk has been incorporated, you can add the rest more quickly.
• Place the almonds and remaining 3 T sugar in a food processor and pulse until the reach the consistency of coarsely ground black pepper. Mix the almond mixture into the custard.
• Pour the custard into the bread lined loaf pan, holding back about 1/2 cup.
• If the loaf pan fills to the top and you have more than 1/2 cup custard left, it is probably because it is too foamy. Let it stand a bit till it settles.
• Take the raisins that have been soaking in the rum and distribute them over the custard in the loaf pan. Save the rum that is left over.
• Preheat the oven to 325.
• Cover the top of the filled loaf pan with the remaining buttered bread slices and pour the rest of the custard over the layer of bread.
• Let stand for about 15 minutes so that the bread becomes well soaked.
• Place the bread pudding on the middle rack of the preheated oven and bake till it looks firm with the pan is jiggled, about 40 minutes.
• Remove it from the oven and allow it to cool for about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
• Once the pudding is cool enough to handle, flip it over onto a flat serving platter. The pudding should unmold easily so that you can remove the loaf pan.
• Serve either chilled or at room temperature.
• Cut into 1/2 inch slices and sprinkle each serving with a few drops of the left over rum used to soak the raisins.
• This can be made up to 5 days ahead and stored in the refrigerator.

ALMOND BREAD PUDDING

Steps:

• Cut croissants into 1/2-in. pieces; place in a greased 13x9-in. baking dish. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, milk, sugar and extracts. Pour over croissants; let stand for 10 minutes. Dot with almond paste; sprinkle with almonds (dish will be full). , Bake at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. , Meanwhile, in a heavy saucepan over medium heat, cook and stir sugar with a wooden spoon until sugar has melted and turned a deep amber color, about 20 minutes. , Add 1 cup cream (mixture will bubble). Stir in remaining cream; cook 10-15 minutes longer or until caramelized sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from the heat; stir in strawberries. Serve with bread pudding.

LAYERED ALMOND CREAM CHEESE BREAD PUDDING WITH AMARETTO CREAM SAUCE

Steps:

• Coat a 13 by 9 by 3-inch pan with cooking spray. Arrange 4 1/2 bread slices in bottom of prepared pan, cutting slices, as necessary, to fit pan.
• Beat cream cheese, 1 egg, 1/4 cup sugar, and 1 teaspoon vanilla with an electric mixer until smooth. Spread half of cream cheese mixture over bread.
• Whisk together 1 1/4 cups almond filling and 1/2 cup melted butter. Spread half of almond mixture over cream cheese mixture. Repeat layers once, using 4 1/2 bread slices, remaining cream cheese mixture, and remaining almond mixture.
• Cut remaining bread slices into 1-inch cubes, sprinkle evenly over almond mixture.
• Whisk together remaining 8 eggs, remaining 2 teaspoons vanilla, half-and-half, and salt; pour over bread cubes. Cover and chill 30 minutes or until most of egg mixture is absorbed.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Whisk together remaining 1/2 cup melted butter, 2 tablespoons almond filling, 2 tablespoons sugar, and egg yolk until blended. Drizzle evenly over bread pudding; sprinkle with almonds.
• Bake for 1 hour or until set. Serve warm or chilled with Amaretto Cream Sauce.
• Combine amaretto and cornstarch, stirring until smooth.
• Cook cream in a heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring often, just until bubbles appear; gradually stir in amaretto mixture. Bring to a boil over medium heat, and boil, stirring constantly, 30 seconds. Remove from heat; stir in sugar, and let cool completely.

SUNNY'S EASY BREAKFAST BREAD PUDDING ALMONDINE

Steps:

• Whisk together the egg, cinnamon sugar and salt in a large bowl until the cinnamon is distributed and the sugar less gritty, then whisk in the orange juice and almond milk.
• Add the bread cubes to the custard and toss. Let soak for 5 minutes, folding gently occasionally to maintain the cubes' integrity but still allow them to soak up the liquid. (Not all of it may be absorbed.) Coat the bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking dish with cooking spray. Add the strawberries to the bread and fold, then immediately pour into the prepared dish.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Add the almonds, butter, brown sugar and flour to a medium bowl and mix with a fork until crumbly; set aside. Bake the bread pudding 40 minutes, then scatter the almond mixture over the top and continue to bake until the center is set and not squishy and the almonds are toasted, about 10 minutes more. Serve warm with maple syrup, if using.

ALMOND BREAD PUDDING WITH SALTED CARAMEL SAUCE

Steps:

• For almond butter:
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Spread out almonds on a rimmed baking sheet; toast, tossing halfway through, until beginning to brown, 12-15 minutes. Let cool.
• Transfer cooled almonds to a food processor. Add butter, almond extract, if using, and salt, and process until mixture is the texture of coarsely ground peanut butter. Set aside.
• For caramel sauce:
• Whisk sugar, cream of tartar, and 3 tablespoons water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Cook, without stirring, until mixture begins to caramelize in spots. Using a heatproof spatula, stir mixture to ensure even caramelization. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture is the color of honey, 10-12 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until caramel is a deep amber color, about 5 minutes longer.
• Remove caramel from heat; carefully whisk in butter (mixture will bubble vigorously), then cream and salt. Let cool slightly in pan, then pour into a small bowl. DO AHEAD: Caramel sauce can be made 2 weeks ahead. Let cool completely, cover, and chill. Rewarm before using.
• For pudding and assembly:
• Combine half-and-half and cream in a medium saucepan. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add bean. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat; remove from heat.
• Whisk egg yolks, eggs, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl to blend. Gradually whisk hot cream mixture into egg mixture. Cover custard with plastic wrap and let stand for 30 minutes for flavors to meld. Strain custard into a large bowl; discard vanilla bean.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter cake pan; set aside. Using biscuit cutter, cut out circles from each slice of bread, reserving scraps. Arrange bread scraps in pan in an even layer and press lightly to compact.
• Spread each bread round with almond butter (you will have a little left over; save to spread on toast for breakfast). Place all but 1 bread round almond butter side down in pan (on top of scraps), overlapping slightly to create a shingled circle. Place the last round in the center (bread will come about 3/4"-1" above rim of pan).
• Pour custard evenly over bread. Sprinkle with almonds and raw sugar.
• Place cake pan in a large roasting pan. Pour hot water into roasting pan to come halfway up the sides of cake pan. Cover roasting pan with foil, tenting slightly in center if needed to avoid touching bread.
• Bake pudding until top no longer jiggles but center is not quite set, 25-30 minutes. Remove foil from pan and increase oven temperature to 375°F. Bake pudding until custard is set in the center and top is golden brown and crisp, about 25 minutes longer.
• Remove cake pan from roasting pan. Let cool slightly. Dust pudding with powdered sugar. Slice into wedges. Place on plates, drizzle caramel sauce over and top with a dollop of crème fraîche.

ALMOND-CROISSANT BREAD PUDDING

Steps:

• Preheat oven 350ºF.
• Butter a 13x9" pan and place the smallest rounds in a layer at the bottom, then top with a layer of the larger ones.
• Whisk eggs and sugar well together, then add half-and-half, Amaretto, vanilla and almond extracts, mixing well.
• Pour over croissant rounds.
• Sprinkle with almond paste and push down with a spoon so that the bread absorbs all the liquid.
• Let set for 10 minutes at room temperature.
• Sprinkle almonds and chocolate chips all over the top and bake for 35-40 minutes or until golden and puffed.
• Serve warm or room temperature.

ORANGE-ALMOND BREAD PUDDING

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, warm the milk, cream, orange zest, and the 1/2 cup (100 g) sugar, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove from the heat, cover, and let steep for 1 hour.
• Reheat the milk-cream mixture until it's quite warm. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks, then gradually whisk in the warm milk-cream mixture, whisking constantly as you pour to prevent the eggs from cooking. Whisk in the vanilla and almond extracts, orange liqueur, and cinnamon. Pour the mixture through a mesh strainer into a bowl or large pitcher. Set aside.
• Butter a 2-quart (2-liter) shallow baking dish or soufflé mold.
• In a small bowl, beat together the egg white and almond paste until smooth. Spread a spoonful of almond paste over one side of each bread slice. Layer the bread slices in the prepared baking dish, almond paste side down. (If you are using a round or oval dish, halve each slice of bread diagonally to form triangles, then make layers of triangles arranged in a pinwheel pattern.) Pour the milk-egg yolk mixture over the bread and gently press the bread down, submerging the layers in the liquid. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate the pudding for at least 1 hour or up to overnight, pressing down the bread from time to time so that it becomes completely saturated.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
• Sprinkle the top of the pudding very liberally with sugar. Set the baking dish in a larger roasting pan and pour warm water into the pan to reach halfway up the sides of the baking dish. Bake until the bread pudding is puffed in the center and the top is rich golden brown, about 1 hour. Let cool until warm.
• Bread pudding is best served warm. It's good all by itself, but it's great with a ladleful of Rich Caramel Sauce (page 241) or Tangerine Butterscotch Sauce (page 242).
• The unbaked pudding should be chilled for at least 1 hour or up to 1 day before baking. Once baked, it can be refrigerated overnight and rewarmed in a low oven, covered with aluminum foil.
• To make a chocolate-studded bread pudding, add 10 ounces (280 g) coarsely chopped dark or milk chocolate, distributing some in the bottom of the baking dish and between the layers of bread as you arrange them in the dish.

ALMOND BROWNIE BREAD PUDDING

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Lightly butter one 2 quart baking dish.
• Melt the chocolate in a microwave-safe glass or ceramic bowl in 30-second intervals, stirring after each melting, for 1 to 3 minutes (depending on your microwave). Do not overheat or chocolate will scorch. Set aside.
• Place brownie chunks into prepared baking dish. Beat the eggs in a large bowl. Whisk in melted chocolate, milk, brown sugar, white sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, and half of the almonds. Pour milk mixture over brownie cubes and sprinkle with the remaining almonds. Bake until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes.

CHOCOLATE ALMOND BREAD PUDDING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Pour melted butter over bread cubes in a 9x13-inch baking dish; toss to coat. Stir chocolate chips and almonds into bread mixture.
• Whisk eggs, milk, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla extract, almond extract, and nutmeg in a bowl; pour over bread mixture, lightly pressing bread with a spatula until egg mixture is absorbed.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the top of the bread pudding springs back when lightly pressed, about 45 minutes.