Prep 15 min Bake 35 min Eat 50 min
This bread pudding is addictively good. I’ve served it three times now and no one can resist. Maybe its the gooey center formed from the custard. The fragrance from the vanilla and baking bread or the sweetness of the pineapple and golden raisins. Perhaps its the syrupy tequila sauce. It’s the kind of dessert that when you offer seconds to guests, they will accept with a bit of guilt on their face. Don’t have this around if you are on a diet. Make it for company and make only what you can eat, because the rest is going to disappear into your own tummy, unless you have lots of willpower.
We made what was called a Southwestern Bread Pudding in our Southwestern Fiesta Cooking Class and I found NONE to take home. Usually I find a serving or two left, but not with this. Every last bite was scooped up in class or in some take-home containers. I was very glad, except I did have some leftover bread calling to me and a can of crushed pineapple in my pantry. I wanted to plan a dinner party just to serve it again, but before I got to that, a small pan of it appeared in my oven and we portioned it out on three evenings. My waistline expanded, but I didn’t care! Yum!
The great thing about bread pudding is you are using up leftovers. Leftover stale bread? I cube any leftover bread I have and keep it in a zipper bag in the freezer…now ready to make this Bread Pudding anytime. Oh my, this is dangerous territory. However, it also means I can throw together this dessert for guests without going to the grocery store. Crushed pineapple and raisins in the pantry. Pine nuts in the freezer. Milk and eggs in the fridge. Check.
I found the recipe for Southwestern Bread Pudding in the Pink Adobe cookbook, a legendary Santa Fe restaurant that’s been around since 1944. It’s still on the menu. I’ve changed the recipe to suit the ingredients in my pantry and changed the name. There is nothing southwestern about it. No chiles. No corn. Tequila, yes. The pine nuts do have origins in the west as harvested by native Americans, but clearly the canned pineapple and raisins are a mid-century American addition.
Make this bread pudding for your next gathering and watch your guests eyes roll in delight! Enjoy!
Bread Pudding with Pineapple, Raisins and Tequila Sauce
- 1 pinch Cooking spray
- 8 cups stale French bread, cubed
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
- 1/2 cup butter (1 stick), melted
- 4 eggs, beaten
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 8 oz. can crushed pineapple in juice
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla
- 1/2 cup golden raisins
- 1/4 cup pine nuts
Tequila Sauce - 1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup tequila
- 1 teaspoon lime juice
1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Spray 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray. Spread bread cubes evenly in the pan. Pour 1 cup milk over the bread, mixing it around so that the milk is soaked up.
3. In separate bowl, combine remaining 1/2 cup milk, melted butter, eggs, and sugars, Stir to combine. Add in pineapple, vanilla, raisins and pine nuts. Stir again. Pour mixture over bread tucking the raisins and pine nuts in between the bread.
4. Bake uncovered for 35 minutes or until the custard is set. Serve with the Tequila Sauce
5. While the bread pudding is in the oven, make the tequila sauce. Melt butter in a medium saucepan. In a separate bowl, mix together the sugar and egg. Fold this mixture into the butter with a whisk and whisk until the sugar melts and the sauce is thickened by the egg. Add in tequila and cook a few minutes to cook out the alcohol. Remove from the heat and whisk in the lime juice. Pour over servings of the Bread Pudding.
Servings: 12 504 calories per serving.
Bread Pudding with Pineapple, Raisins and Tequila Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 pinch Cooking spray
- 8 cups stale French bread cubed
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
- 1/2 cup butter 1 stick, melted
- 4 eggs beaten
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 8 oz. can crushed pineapple in juice
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla
- 1/2 cup golden raisins
- 1/4 cup pine nuts
- Tequila Sauce
- 1/2 cup butter 1 stick
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup tequila
- 1 teaspoon lime juice
Instructions
- . Preheat oven to 350°.
- Spray 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray. Spread bread cubes evenly in the pan. Pour 1 cup milk over the bread, mixing it around so that the milk is soaked up.
- In separate bowl, combine remaining 1/2 cup milk, melted butter, eggs, and sugars, Stir to combine. Add in pineapple, vanilla, raisins and pine nuts. Stir again. Pour mixture over bread tucking the raisins and pine nuts in between the bread.
- Bake uncovered for 35 minutes or until the custard is set. Serve with the Tequila Sauce
- While the bread pudding is in the oven, make the tequila sauce. Melt butter in a medium saucepan. In a separate bowl, mix together the sugar and egg. Fold this mixture into the butter with a whisk and whisk until the sugar melts and the sauce is thickened by the egg. Add in tequila and cook a few minutes to cook out the alcohol. Remove from the heat and whisk in the lime juice. Pour over servings of the Bread Pudding.
- ENJOY THIS RECIPE FROM FreshFoodinaFlash.com
[…] Southwestern Bread Pudding with Tequila Sauce inspired by The Pink Adobe cookbook […]