Lemon Bread Pudding

Ah, another lemony recipe for you! To be honest, I never saw myself voluntarily making bread pudding, it was just never a recipe that appealed to me. However, these last few years I've been finding it to be such a hearty and delicious dessert, and a very resourceful way of using up stale bread! This recipe came to be after realizing that a bag of beautiful kaiser rolls I had in my pantry were starting to stale. And nothing is more of an abomination to me then wasted food, it makes me a very sad panda.

This recipe is delicious, very easy to make, and can very easily serve a big crowd. And if you make it with skim milk, it's really not very calorie laden at all. I also love the brightness of the lemon sauce, it makes it a very unique dessert. Next time you have bread that's getting a bit crusty, try this out, it calls for all the things you will most likely already have in your fridge and pantry!

Lemon Bread Pudding
Found in Taste of Home Baking Book

Ingredients

3 slices day old bread, cubed
3/4 cups raisins
2 cups milk
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
LEMON SAUCE:
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup water
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
1 tablespoon butter

Directions

1. Toss bread and raisins in an ungreased 1-1/2 qt. baking dish. Ina small saucepan, combine the milk, sugar, butter, and salt; cook and stir until butter is melted. Remove from the heat. Whisk eggs and vanilla in a small bowl. Stir a small amount of the hot milk mixture into the egg mixture; return all to the pan, stirring constantly. Pour over bread and raisins.

2. Place dish in a larger baking pan. Fill larger pan with hot water to a depth of 1 inch. Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 50-60 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.

3. For sauce, combine the sugar and cornstarch in a saucepan. Stir in water until smooth. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes, or until thickened. Remove from the heat. Stir in lemon juice, peel and butter until butter melt. Serve over warm or cold pudding. Refrigerate leftovers.