Days of fresh fruit desserts and long hot summers are gone and Fall has definitely arrived.  Loving it!   Time to switch gears and make warm, cozy desserts and a bread pudding soufflé makes that request easy to fulfill.  You can use all types of bread for this (Challah, Italian, Brioche, or any artisan-style bread) but I prefer to use to be traditional Sour Dough French Bread which adds a more acidic and tangy taste to the desert. It also helps to make the bread pudding rise similar to a soufflé, but without all that extra work and worry associated with it.  Same flavors, but a different texture from a bread pudding recipe where you end up with a very dense, moist pudding – this is light and airy, and lovely.  Make sure whatever bread you choose, that it should be at least a day old (up to a week).  Sprinkle some powdered sugar on top, set a bowl of freshly whipped cream on the side, and you are ready for a lovely, cozy, dessert to enjoy cuddled up watching your favorite TV show, or reading that book you have meant to start.  Me?  I have just started the latest Janet Evanovich “The Scam” – along with a nice bowl of French Bread Pudding Soufflé

I soooo love Fall!!

Ingredients:

Loaf of day old Sour Dough French bread, cut into 1″ squares

2-1/2 cups of milk

1 cup sugar

3 whole eggs

2 Tbl vanilla extract

Kosher Salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp allspice

3 Tbl butter, unsalted

1/4 cup Grand Marnier

Method:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
1. Butter the sides and bottom of a souffle dish.  Take day old bread and cut into 1″ squares and add to the souffle dish.

2 . Combine milk, sugar, eggs, vanilla, spices, pinch of Kosher salt, and the Grand Marnier.  Whisk till thoroughly combined. Pour this mixture over the bread cubes and cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4-6 hours.

Remove bread mixture from the refrigerator and let sit out for about 30 minutes.

Place bread pudding in oven and cook for 30-45 minutes.  The pudding is done when it starts to rise and the top and edges get brown.  Sprinkle powdered sugar on top and serve with some freshly whipped cream.

Now go cuddle up in your favorite chair and start that book that has sat on your night stand for a month!

 

 

Check out these other great Bread Pudding recipes:

http://bijouxs.com/blog/2012/04/15/meyer-lemon-bread-pudding

http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/bread_pudding/