So yesterday, after I got all of the food prepping for take to work lunches done for the week, I decided it was going to be a "spend a lot of time in the kitchen" kind of day. I checked over a recipe for spicy Sicilian chicken stew that had been passed along to me from a friend's mother and luckily, I had everything I needed to make it on hand. Which gave me the perfect excuse to make a (hopefully) kick ass dessert to follow up a delicious meal.
I haven't made a citrus flavored bread pudding but I LOVE lemon things. And lime things. Tart and sweet are my friends. The boyfriend also loves lemon and/or lime desserts so I figured this would be the perfect new thing to try out.
It did not suck.
I posted a picture on my instagram account because what else are food pictures good for other than to take up space on the internet? Anyway, a few people asked if I'd share the recipe. I had already planned to put it up somewhere and this is a better place for a food post than The Book of Faces.
Limoncello Bread Pudding
Ingredients
Bread Pudding:
6 cups cubed challah bread (or whatever you prefer)
3 large eggs
2 cups half-and-half
1/2 cup limoncello
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
3 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
1 tsp freshly grated lemon zest
Unsalted butter or cooking spray, for buttering the casserole dish
Topping:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp limoncello
1 tsp freshly grated lemon zest
Whipped cream:
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tbsp granulated sugar
Directions:
Bread pudding:
In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, half-and-half, limoncello, lemon juice, sugar, vanilla, salt and lemon zest.
Butter a 2-quart casserole dish and add the bread cubes to the dish. Pour the wet ingredients over the bread and let sit, refrigerated for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Cover the casserole dish with foil and bake for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, uncover the dish and continue to bake 20 minutes or until the bread has puffed up and is nicely golden on top. Allow to set for a few minutes after removing from oven.
Sauce to top bread pudding: In a small sauce pan over low heat, whisk together powdered sugar, fresh lemon juice, limoncello and lemon zest until powdered sugar is dissolved and smooth.
Whipped cream: Place a metal mixing bowl and metal whisk into the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes. Place the sugar into the chilled mixing bowl and add the whipping cream. Whisk just until the cream reaches stiff peaks.
Once the bread pudding is ready to serve, cut out a piece and top with the glaze and whipped cream to your liking.
I like to put about a tablespoon of sauce on mine while the boyfriend ended up putting several tablespoons on top of his and about twice the amount of whipped cream as well. Either way it was delicious and I'm not sad that there was plenty left over.
Enjoy!
PS and totally unrelated: I'll have the final post and pictures up from the 2016 Toys for Tots fundraiser up here soon! If we're buds on The Book of Faces, the pictures are already up there for your viewing enjoyment.
