Thursday, June 3, 2010

strawberry rhubarb bread pudding.


It has been a long, long time! I took a break from this blog after a busy garden/CSA/canning season to just step away from it for the winter, and come back when growing season was in swing again. I have a lot of ideas and recipes this year - and I'm excited about trying some new things, stretching my food preservation muscles even more, and exploring all the goodness around me.

This week has been the beginning of strawberry season. The garden has been giving us spring greens for awhile, but it really seems like summer is starting when the strawberries are ripe. As we all know, strawberries and rhubarb are quite the duo. I love the preserves and crisps and pies that I always make, but I wanted to combine the flavors of the two with a more comfy cozy dessert - bread pudding. It turned out so good!

I based it on my favorite basic bread pudding recipe, with some tweaks for flavor and ingredients!


::strawberry rhubarb bread pudding::

1 cup chopped rhubarb
2 cups sliced strawberries
4 cups sliced or cubed bread
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup honey
1 cup milk
4 large eggs
4 egg whites
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
pinch nutmeg
zest of one lemon

1/4 cup grated unsweetened coconut
2 Tbsp brown sugar

Pre-heat oven to 350º.

Place your bread into your baking dish. Add the rhubarb & strawberries making sure it is all mixed in between the bread pieces.

In a separate bowl whisk together the eggs, honey, vanilla, milk and spices (room temp eggs work best to help mix honey).


Pour the mixture over your bread/fruit mix. Add the zest over the top. Bake in the oven for 40 minutes.

Add the coconut & brown sugar to the top. We don't like things too sweet, so we add only enough brown sugar to mix well with the coconut for a nice topping - if you like sweet you can add a bit more.

Put back into the oven for another 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven, and let sit a few before serving.


I'm ready for summer!

4 comments:

Annie said...

Oh my goodness! Yum!

Unknown said...

Welcome back! Your bread pudding looks good! I love the strawberry rhubarb combo! :)

;) said...

A "gourmand" post ! Thanks for the recipe ! Yum yum... I'm on my way to taste...

Lise said...

Mmm...this looks so good! I'll try it out this winter with my frozen berries and rhubarb, since I've missed the season now. Will be a welcome taste of summer.