What's Old is "New" and so delicious!

Believe it or not, I have never made a bread pudding. I've wanted to, but just too many other things get in the way and I run out of time. Being I was encouraged by my friend, Linda, to enter the Weekend Cookbook Challenge hosted by Carla of Chocolate Moosey, the recipe search began. The theme for April is "Vintage Cookbooks"...how fun is that!!! Great theme Carla and thanks for hosting this wonderful event.


I am a history junkie, in fact I minored in history, and so had a great time looking for a recipe. I found a wonderful Cookbook Archive at the Michigan State University Library. I was born in MI so visiting my home state was fun although I graduated from University of Michigan!

I downloaded and scanned several of the wonderful classic cookbooks and finally found a recipe in "The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book" by Fanny Merritt Farmer, published in 1896! The recipe for Bread Pudding sounded delicious and it was something I've been wanting to try for a long time now.

I mixed up the Chocolate Bread Pudding this morning and popped it in the oven. It smelled wonderful but when I took it out of the oven it looked odd and more like a meatloaf then a dessert. But the taste...OH MY, was wonderful. The recipe recommends 2 sauces but both were similar to a vanilla whipped cream and made with raw eggs. My friend Lucy suggested a simple Vanilla Sauce so I made her recipe instead and I added a little heavy cream and a dusting of powdered sugar.



Chocolate Bread Pudding
Recipe adapted from "The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book" by Fanny Merritt Farmer

2 c. stale bread crumbs
4 c. scalded milk
2 squares Baker's chocolate
2/3 c. sugar
2 eggs
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla

Soak bread in milk thirty minutes; melt chocolate in saucepan placed over hot water, add one-half sugar and enough milk taken from bread and milk to make of a consistency to pour; add to mixture with remaining sugar, salt, vanilla, and eggs slightly beaten; turn into buttered pudding dish and bake one hour in a moderate oven. Serve with Hard or Cream Sauce I.

Vanilla Sauce
Recipe adapted from "Southern Living"

1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 cup boiling water
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
dash salt
Optional: Rum or Brandy

In small saucepan combine sugar and cornstarch.

Stir in 1 cup boiling water. Simmer, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes. Stir in 2 tablespoons butter, vanilla extract and salt; blend well. Serve vanilla sauce warm with your favorite pudding or other dessert.

I added a 2 TBL of heavy cream to the sauce.



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