Bread and Butter Pudding with Violet Jelly, and Rose Cream
Bread and butter pudding is one of our favorite desserts. Bread pudding and bread and butter pudding are pretty much the same thing; the latter, with the addition of butter as the name implies. The bread is spread with a thin, rich layer of delicious golden butter. Oh, the butter makes it; when baked, it causes all of the exposed tops to brown and crisp in a very satisfying manner. Yum.
We sliced the bread into rounds, though the bread is sometimes cubed for a traditional bread pudding. The cubes of bread tend to soak up more custard, and make kind of a bread stuffing like texture. With the rounds, the custard settles on the bottom and sets up in a delicate, almost crème brûlée like consistency.
Of course you can change the flavors, and cut the bread however you'd like, though we highly suggest trying this recipe as is, first.
This dessert was inspired by Turkish Delight candies. If you've never had Turkish Delight, you should definitely get your hands on some. It comes in many varieties -- the most traditional being a floral, or citrus flavored gummy like candy, sometimes incorporated with chopped nuts such as walnuts or pistachios. We're quite partial to the chocolate covered rose variety.
This bread and butter pudding has the dainty, floral flavor (violet in this case), and jelly -- iconic Turkish Delight qualities. Sprinkling some chopped pistachios on top before baking would make this pudding sublime.
Let's start by making the jelly. You'll spread it on the bread later.
Violet Jelly -
1 1/3 cups of water
1 1/3 cups of granulated sugar
5 1/2 tsp. powdered pectin
1 tsp. of violet extract
Red and blue food coloring (optional)
Place the sugar in a medium sized bowl. In a small saucepan, combine the pectin and water, stir well. Bring the pectin and water to a rolling boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Once the mixture has boiled, cook for 1-2 minutes (increase the cooking time by a few minutes, if your altitude is over 1,000 ft. above sea level) over high heat, again stirring constantly.
Pour the hot pectin mixture over the sugar in the bowl. Stir well, until the sugar has dissolved. Add 1 tsp. of violet extract to the bowl, and stir. Next, if you're coloring the jelly, add one drop of blue food color and two drops of red. This will create a deep violet-purple color.
You can leave the jelly to set at room temperature for 24 hours, or chill it in the fridge or freezer to speed set it. This may take over an hour. Avoid freezing.
Once it has set, it will kind of resemble gelatin, and wobble rather than run when you tilt the bowl.
Keep the jelly refrigerated until you're ready to use it.
Bread and Butter Pudding-
A 21" baguette*
4 tbsp. salted butter - room temp. + some to grease the baking dish
4 tbsp. violet jelly
*You can use a gluten free baguette instead. We've done it before, and it's just as delicious!
Preheat your oven to 350°F. Slice the bread into round slices. Thoroughly rub a 13" x 9" baking dish with butter, making sure the entire interior surface is buttered.
Next, make the spread. Mix up 4 tbsp. of softened butter* in a small bowl. It should be somewhat loose and easy to manipulate, but not completely melted and soupy. Add 4 tbsp. of violet jelly to the butter. Gently fold the butter and jelly together, being sure to incorporate the two evenly. I'll be honest, it's not a pretty sight, but the flavor of this spread will pull through once baked -- I promise!
*You can use room temperature butter, or soften cold butter in the microwave for about 15 seconds. It's okay if the butter melts a little, just make sure you mix the butter solids thoroughly.
Next, spread each slice of bread with the butter/jelly mixture. You can do so in your cozy cat socks, if you'd like. I won't judge ;)
Arrange the bread slices in the baking dish. You'll be able to fit three slices across, then fill in, laying them like scales -- each consecutive slice on top of the last.
It's time to make the custard.
Custard:
1 cup of milk
1 cup of cream
1/4 cup of granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla bean paste
2 large eggs
Whisk the two eggs in a large bowl. Add the milk, cream, sugar, and vanilla. Whisk well, until the custard is a consistent pale cream color. Pour the custard over the arranged bread in the baking dish.
Bake the bread and butter pudding for 35 minutes, or until the custard has set and the tops of the bread are lightly golden brown.
Serve warm, or chilled.
Finish the bread and butter pudding with some rose fragranced whipped cream, and sprinkle candied violet petals on top, if you'd like.
We do hope you enjoy this dessert. It's very versatile, so please feel free to experiment with the flavoring.
-The Grey's Posy Team