Bread Pudding:
5 tablespoons butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
4 cups half-and-half cream (warmed)
4 tablespoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons cinnamon
5 eggs, separated
1 loaf French bread, torn into chunks
1/2 cup white raisins
Meringue Topping:
5 egg whites (reserved from first step)
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoons vanilla extract
new orleans food
Makes 12 Servings
Preheat oven to 300°F.
Beat 4 tablespoons of the butter and sugar together until well creamed. Add the half-and-half, vanilla, cinnamon, and egg yolks (reserve the whites for the meringue) and mix until custard is well combined. Add enough bread so that the mixture remains very juicy; don’t add so much as to make it dry. Stir in the raisins.
Grease 12 pockets in muffin tins with the remaining butter. Spoon the pudding mixture into the greased pockets, filling just barely to the top of each. Set the muffin tins in a baking pan and add enough warm water to come half way up the sides of the tins. Bake for 45 minutes. Remove and cool.
In a completely clean, grease-free bowl, beat egg whites with cream of tartar at high speed until peaks begin to form. Gradually add the sugar, followed by vanilla, until completely blended.
After bread pudding has cooled for 15 minutes, raise oven temperature to 350°F.
Carefully lift each bread pudding out of the tin and place one on each of 12 individual baking dishes. Using a rubber spatula, cover the puddings with as thick a layer of meringue as you can. Little swirls and peaks are desirable. Bake until the meringue is browned, about 5 minutes. Serve immediately.
