I am back! Over the past year, I have lacked the motivation to write. I just couldn’t find the strength to keep writing about the joy of food when I was struggling so much mentally. After a long slump, I am feeling better and ready to write again. I have so many post ideas for this summer, but I figured I’d start with a new recipe of mine.
This recipe may seem weird, but I assure you, this is an enjoyable treat. I came up with this idea when I bought a pack of really bagels from the grocery store. The bagels from Stop & Shop are horrendously dry and don’t have that nice chew that I like in a bagel. One bagel was enough for me to realize I could not possibly eat the rest. However, I hate wasting food, so I thought about what I could possibly do with these bagels. This bread pudding recipe is the result. I turned these subpar bagels into a lovely custardy bread pudding with cream cheese sauce. Here is the recipe:
Blueberry Bagel Bread Pudding
Ingredients
For the bread pudding
- 9 cups roughly torn blueberry bagels (from about 4-5 bagels)
- 8 large eggs, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated sugar
- 2 cups milk
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup fresh blueberries
For the warm cream cheese sauce:
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread out torn bagel pieces on two sheet trays in a single later and bake until golden brown and noticeably dried out. Remove from oven and spread into a buttered 9×13 cake pan. Sprinkle the fresh blueberries on top of the toasted bagels. Place the cake pan inside of a roasting pan.
In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, milk, heavy cream, vanilla extract, and salt. Pour the custard mixture evenly on top of the toasted bagel pieces. Carefully pour hot water into the roasting pan until it reaches halfway up the sides of the cake pan. Transfer to the oven, taking care to not splash the water into the dish. Bake for about 50 minutes, until custard is just set. Remove baking dish from the roasting pan and allow to cool on a rack.
While bread pudding is cooling, make the cream cheese sauce: Place cream cheese, butter, and powdered sugar in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave in 30 second increments until melted. Whisk until smooth and then stir in vanilla extract.
To serve, cut bread pudding into squares and serve each square drizzled with the cream cheese sauce. The bread pudding is best served at room temperature but could also be served cold. The cream cheese sauce is best served warm.
Leftovers should be kept in the fridge for a few days. Allow bread pudding to reach room temperature (if desired) and reheat cream cheese sauce in the microwave until pourable again.
Catie Cooks 