Panettone Bread Pudding

I totally stole this one from Giada. I love panettone as toast at Christmas but it's hard for me to justify buying one since I live by myself. They are just so big and though they do freeze well, I'm never in the mood for panetonne at any other time of the year. I found this recipe and thought it would be a great way to get in my panettone fix without all the waste!



INGREDIENTS

Pudding
1 pound panettone, top crust removed
8 eggs
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
2 1/2 cups whole milk
1 1/4 cups of sugar

Sauce
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup water
2 tablespoons whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon


DIRECTIONS

1) Lightly butter a 9x13 inch baking dish. Slice the panettone into one inch cubes and arrange in the baking dish.

Panettone, why you gotta be so awesome?

2) In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, whipping cream, milk and sugar. Pour the mixture over the bread cubes. Press down on the bread with a spatula, ensuring that all are well soaked. Let stand at least 30 minutes before baking but no more than 2 hours. Bake at 350F for at least an hour (mine took about an hour and fifteen minutes).

3) For the sauce, combine the water and brown sugar in a pot and boil for about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the whipping cream and cinnamon. Either serve immediately over the pudding or refrigerate and reheat when ready to serve.

Key things I learned while making this recipe:

1) Bread pudding is not easily transported. Do not choose to make this if you are required to bring it to another location. I wrapped this with copious amounts of plastic wrap and a plastic bag and when I got to my mom's, half of the liquid was in the bag. We decided that no one was going to die if we just dumped the spilled liquid from the bag back into the dish. And no one did die.

2) Do not make a dessert that needs to be baked for over an hour post commencement of the meal. This is especially true when your guests have the attention span of my cat posing for a photo. You could have cut the tension with a knife over the fact that the dessert was taking so long. Might I add that it was approximately 6pm. Chill out people. Thank God this dessert was freaking marvelous, as the lengthy wait time was quickly forgotten.


Update 13/12/25: My brother thought this year's bread pudding was far superior to last year's. We contemplated why that would be, seeing as I did nothing differently. Then he figured it out, "it must be because this year, you omitted the drama".

Cranberry Steamed Pudding

This is a secret recipe that I am about to disclose. The first time I had this was at Christmas in Victoria at my Aunt and Uncle's. I just about died it was so good. Now it has become tradition that I host a Christmas Eve get together for my mom and brother, and this is the required dessert.


INGREDIENTS

Pudding
3 cups fresh, whole cranberries (1 bag)

Brother - "it's like eating a hug!"

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/3 cups flour
1 egg, beaten
1/3 cups boiling water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Sauce
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup cream
1 tablespoon cornstarch


DIRECTIONS

1) Beat the egg. Add the dry ingredients, then the molasses. I use cooking molasses which gives this a very strong flavor. Make sure to use fancy molasses if you want it more subtle. *Tip: spray the inside of the measuring cup with cooking spray before measuring your molasses in it. This really minimizes the sticky mess.*

2) Now add the boiling water and vanilla extract. Stir in the cranberries. If you think to yourself "this looks terrible, I must have screwed something up!" Chill, it means your nailing it. Compare yours to this picture to decrease your stress level.



Check out my pathetic spatula!

3) Spray the inside of a large can (I think the one I have is an old coffee can) with one end removed. Pour mixture in can and cover with foil.

4) Place the can in a large pot and fill it with water until it's halfway up the can. Cover the pot and steam for about an hour. What does "steam" mean? I have no idea, I just wing it. I basically keep the water at a really gentle boil. Check it often when you've almost reached the hour mark and stick a toothpick in it to test the doneness.

5) Now what I like to do is prep the sauce meaning combine all the ingredients in a pot and leave it on the stove for when it's time to get the dessert ready. This foresight is critical because when it's time to serve, I've already had one bottle of wine, and at least one rum and eggnog. There is no measuring going on in that state. Just turn the stove on and stir. Fight that urge to start dancing to "Holly Jolly Christmas", and watch the damn sauce. You will know when it's thick enough because it coats the back of the spoon.



Disclaimer: this picture is several years old but a gem none the less. 

To serve, remove from the can (seen above), cut the pudding in approximately one centimeter wide slices and place in a bowl. Drench with low calorie sauce from Jesus.