From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I know it's summer, and I know that 2010 has been declared The Year of the Pastry Chef. I'm okay with all that. It's not my intent to buck culinary trends, or the calendar for that matter. I know that sensible people don't make bread pudding in July and I suspect that most pastry chefs and food snobs feel this homely dish is not worthy of their attention. They're dead wrong. The Marquess de Queensbury Rules of the Kitchen clearly state that any dish, however homely, can be made at any time of year. The only condition attached to its execution is that the dish must be delicious. A stale loaf of bread and a glut of fresh field strawberries were my inspiration. My muse led me to a site called The Daily Loaf - The CL Cookbook where I found a recipe for strawberry bread pudding. I made a few minor changes to the recipe, put it in the oven and 40 minutes later had a wonderful dessert. The original recipe uses a caramel sauce for garnish. I thought that to be at odds with the strawberries, so I served ours with French vanilla ice cream. I really loved this and will use frozen berries to make it in the winter as well. I hope you'll try this simple dessert. It is wonderful. Here's the recipe.

Strawberry Bread Pudding...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite, inspired by the Daily Loaf

Ingredients:

4 eggs

2 cups whole milk

1/2 cup white granulated sugar

1/4 cup golden brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon salt

12 ounces crusty stale bread, torn or cut in bite-size pieces

2 cups fresh or frozen (thawed) strawberries, sliced

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease an 8 x 8 x-2-inch pan. Set aside.

2) Combine eggs, milk, sugar (white and brown, vanilla extract, spices and salt in a small bowl. Whisk until blended.

3) Place bread pieces into a large bowl. Pour milk mixture over bread and toss to combine. Let sit for 15 minutes to allow milk to be absorbed into bread.

4) Fold in strawberries and pour mixture into baking dish.

5) Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until raised and puffy. Insert a toothpick into center and if it comes out fairly clean, it’s done. Let cool for a few minutes before serving. Yield: 8 to 10 servings.

Caramel Sauce

Ingredients:

1/2 stick of butter

1/2 cup of brown sugar

Directions:

1) Put butter in a small pan or sauce pan over medium heat and let it melt.

2) Add brown sugar and stir until it’s combined. Lower heat. Stirring constantly, let sauce slightly simmer until sugar is completely dissolved and it is slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Serve drizzled over warm bread pudding.

You might also enjoy these recipes:

Cranberry Bread Pudding - One Perfect Bite

Chocolate Bread Pudding - One Perfect Bite

Chocolate Bread Pudding - Beyond Salmon

Bread Pudding - Simply Recipes

Summer Pudding - David Lebovitz

Bread Pudding with Kahlua Sauce - Ravenous Couple

Nutella Bread Pudding - Su Good Sweets

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Pink Saturday, sponsored by Beverly at How Sweet the Sound.