Cranberry Bread Pudding

When you have leftover brioche, challah or panettone sweet bread you can use it in a lovely bread pudding. A few ingredients and it can be left to wait overnight in your fridge and baked in the morning for a weekend or special brunch.

You will need:

• 6-7 cups dry bread chopped into 1 inch cubes. I have used both leftover brioche and panettone
• 1/3 cup chopped dried cranberries
• 2-3 tbsp bourbon or Cointreau liqueur
• 2 tbsp softened butter for pan
• 4 eggs- whisked in a small bowl
• 1 cup whipping/heavy cream
• 1 cup milk (any kind)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tbsp melted butter
• 1 tsp lemon zested finely
• 1 tsp orange zested finely
• 2 tbsp chopped chocolate (any kind you like)
• 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
• 1 more tbsp butter - into tiny chunks for top of bread
• 10-15 fresh raspberries
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds

Step 1: Gather all your ingredients. Chop bread into cubes and let dry out before using. I just leave it for a day before I make the recipe but, you can also dry it in a low oven.

Step 2: in a small bowl add chopped cranberries and liqueur. Place in microwave for 20 seconds and let sit for 10 minutes.

Step 3: In a large bowl add dry bread cubes, soaked cranberries, eggs, cream, milk, sugar, melted butter, lemon zest, orange zest, chopped chocolate and ricotta cheese. Mix well and place mix into a generously buttered pan.

Step 4: top with blobs of butter, fresh raspberries and some sliced almonds and even a sprinkling of  additional sugar. At this stage you can leave covered in the fridge overnight or a few hours before baking. You want the custard mix to soak into the dry bread before baking.

Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 30 minutes or until nicely browned as you like it.

You can serve with a classic vanilla custard or simply with a drizzle of maple syrup!! Enjoy warm with a big mug of coffee.