Some Things Are Just Meant To Be Together.

Posted on by

It's really hard to make aslice of bread pudding look pretty. Sorry. 🙁

The best of them of course being my husband and I but that’s another story. 😛

But think peanut butter and jelly, bacon and eggs, Abbott and Costello, duck and orange sauce, gin and tonic, Scarlett and Rhett (though he put up with her crap, I’ll never know), Luke and Laura (even if she did go totally insane and he moved on), apples and caramel and on and on and on. I bet you could name quite a few classic pairs that are rarely seen one without the other. As a matter of fact, why not let me know ones you thought of here in the comments? I like getting recipe inspirations from where ever I can get them 😀

One of my favorite combos is cranberries and orange. I’m not sure what makes them pair up so well but they do. It’s like the fruit equivalent of Tai Babilonia and Randy Gardner. They can make it alone but oh my, when they’re together, it’s magic. Then if you add cinnamon to them, they make a fantastic ménage à trois *blushes at having seen the cranberries, oranges and cinnamon in such a compromising situation*

So yesterday I made the bread pudding that converted me to bread pudding. Well, other than those dry tasteless things that call themselves bread pudding the same way Milli Vanilli called themselves singers… they are sheer imposters. A GOOD bread pudding should be moist and creamy, almost like a dense custard and overflowing with the flavors of whatever was used in it; in this, that would be cranberries and oranges… and that cinnamon I mentioned *blushes again* This is my all time favorite bread pudding and it meets all of the criteria above. It’s great still warm but it really shines when chilled. It firms up and gets oh so creamy. So go get out one of those bags of cranberries you shoved in the freezer… I have a recipe that you can use them in w/out waiting until next Thanksgiving to make cranberry sauce. You can thank me later.

Warning- this is not diet food. I repeat; this is NOT diet food. Please back away from this recipe if you don’t want to gain 17 pounds in one sitting.

Cranberry Orange Bread Pudding

  • 6 extra large eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 2 1/2 cupsheavy cream
  • 1/2 cup milk  (I have also used eggnog)
  • 1/4 cup butter , melted
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon orange zest
  • 1/2 cup orange juice concentrate , non diluted
  • 1/4 teaspoonsalt
  • 1 1/2 loaves Kings Hawaiian Bread , all crusts removed and cut into 1/2 inch cubes (24 ounces, I just tear it into small pieces after i take the crusts off it makes for much less work)
  • 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped cranberries
  • 1/2 cup orange marmalade
  1. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar
  2. Add the milk and cream, melted butter, vanilla, o.j.,,orange zest, cinnamon and salt and whisk until well blended Add bread cubes and stir extremely well with a spoon
  3. Cover with plastic wrap and put into the fridge.
  4. After it has soaked 1 1/2 hours, remove from fridge & stir it well.
  5. Spray a 13 X 9 inch pan with cooking spray.
  6. Take pudding out of the fridge, stir well.
  7. Add cranberries and stir, mixing well.
  8. Pour half of the pudding into the prepared pan.
  9. With a spoon, put globs of the marmalade in rows up and down the pudding. (If you like marmalade, feel free to put extra; if you don’ like it at all, feel free to omit it).
  10. Carefully spoon rest of pudding into pan; it will be very full so be careful.
  11. Bake in a preheated 325 degree oven for approximately 50 to 70 minutes.
  12. Test for doneness by inserting a knife into the center of the pudding. If, when pulled out, there is no liquidy custard clinging to it and the pudding only has a very slight jiggle in the middle, it is done.
  13. Serve warm or chilled, but like I mentioned, chilled seems to be best with this particular bread pudding
  14. Since you’re going for broke with calories with this ANYWAY, I can attest to the fact that this is fantastic served in a puddle of cream.
Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Website Pin Facebook Twitter Myspace Friendfeed Technorati del.icio.us Digg Google StumbleUpon Premium Responsive

20 thoughts on “Some Things Are Just Meant To Be Together.”

  1. I do have a weakness for custardy bread pudding and this looks like a wonderful indulgence-yum. Cranberry & orange are a great duet of flavors. Since you have focused on the non diet aspect of this I will need cut down the size of this recipe. I do not have the number of eaters at my house that you do! Great recipe, enjoy the weekend!

    Reply ↓

  2. Okay. We can talk about things that are meant to go together in a minute. First i just gotta ya that you have mentioned one of my buzz words. Or buzz phrases, in this case. BREAD PUDDING! Yes, as you said, “A GOOD bread pudding should be moist and creamy, almost like a dense custard and overflowing with the flavors of whatever was used in it…” AMEN! There’s absolutely no telling how many bread pudding recipes I have in my files. And that’s okay. At least I didn’t post every single one of them on La Belle Cuisine. Yet. I am, however, going to post this one (with your kind permission, of course). Why? Because this one is exceptional. Because this one has that mystical, magical combination of cranberry and orange flavors. Mercy!
    Other great combinations: peanut butter and CHOCOLATE, coffee and CHOCOLATE, cherries and CHOCOLATE… Sorry. Sometimes I get carried away. Let me end with this one, an all-time fave: cafe au lait and beignets! mmmmmm…

    Reply ↓

  3. I just finished the last bite of bread pudding I made this week. Well, actually croissant pudding. With cranberries and finished with a zabaglione sauce and candied cranberries. But did I have enough? Apparently not. I could eat this right now too. The one thing I did like about the croissants beyond how wonderful the combination tasted? They do look pretty!

    Reply ↓

  5. Mmmm, I haven’t met a bread pudding recipe that I haven’t liked (and that hasn’t liked my hips), but I am kind of flummoxed with the orange and cranberry part. Definitely an American take on bread pudding! (No cranberries in Germany, no Sir!). I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t risk the 17 pounds to try some! 😉

    Reply ↓

  13. I think you did a great job of making bread pudding look pretty! I am a lover of bread puddings from way back; I love this cranberry-orange combo. This would be perfect for the holidays!

    Reply ↓

  15. Girl this is smashing and worth the 17 pounds for sure. You know my fave is pistachios and cherries. Best couple- Lucy and Ethel, I know I know but they crack me up so I’m making allowances.

    Reply ↓

  16. I have never made a bread pudding before, but seriously think that a cranberry/orange recipe is the one to start with! I love this combination too 🙂 PS: I have a giveaway going on now that I think you might be in to!

    Reply ↓

  18. This sounds fantabulous! I am glad it is not diet food, it sounds decadent just as bread pudding should be! I love all of the orange goodness that has been added to it. Hope you had a lovely weekend :)!

    Reply ↓

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *