Old-Fashioned Bread Pudding - in the Microwave!!!

I've been going through some of my cookbooks - just browsing for ideas, you know.  I've come across some recipes I didn't even know were in them!  This is one.

When the kids were much younger, and Lazarus department store was a thing, we used to go to their second-floor restaurant for the buffet lunch when we were in the mall.  It was a great place for people watching because the windows overlooked the fountain in the very center of the mall - the busiest spot.  One of our favorites there was the bread pudding - yum!  When Lazarus was bought out by Macy's, the restaurant was no more, which, for us, meant no more bread pudding!  

I tried a couple of recipes here and there, but they were, well, meh.  Not bad, but not great.  Nothing I'd want to go to the trouble of making, especially because you had to bake it in the oven for an hour.  And if something's not all that, why bother?

Well!  I was leafing through my ancient (1984) microwave cookbook that came with my very first microwave oven and spied a recipe for bread pudding!  What?!?!?!?!?  How did I never notice that?  I mean, I use that cookbook a LOT.  There are several recipes in there I use frequently!

Oh, well.  I guess I have blinders on when I'm cooking.

Anyway, it's EASY and FAST, and because it's cooked in the microwave, it doesn't burn and requires no watching.  My kind of recipe!

I've seen bread pudding listed with recipes for breakfast, which gave me pause at the time.  But then, after thinking about it a bit, bread pudding is pretty similar to french toast casserole, except the bread is in smaller pieces.

So here it is!  The original recipe assumes a 750-watt microwave oven, but I've adapted it to a 1,100-watt oven.


Quick and Easy Bread Pudding

8 oz bread, cubed (fresh, not dried or toasted)
3/4 c dark brown sugar, packed
1 1/2 t nutmeg
1/2 t salt
1/4 c raisins (optional, but they impart a deeper, more complex flavor - I prefer golden raisins)
2 c milk
1/4 c butter
2 eggs, beaten

Spread bread cubes evenly in an 8-inch, round (see NOTE below) microwave-safe dish.  Mix together brown sugar, nutmeg, and salt, then sprinkle evenly over the bread cubes, followed by the raisins.  

Measure the milk into a 1-quart microwaveable measuring cup and add the butter.  Microwave on high power for about 2 minutes, or until the butter is completely melted and the milk is warm (not hot).

Rapidly stir in the eggs with a fork and mix well, then pour over the bread cubes.

Microwave at 50% power for 10 to 11 minutes.  The center may still be slightly soft, but it will set up as the pudding cools.  Serve warm or chilled (but warm is best!).

[NOTE:  Using a ROUND dish in the microwave will allow the pudding to cook evenly, with no weird overcooked corners.]

Persimmon Pudding - It's a Hoosier Thing!

One of our nephews texted me a couple of years ago asking for the recipe for "permission pudding."  I'm sure autocorrect caused that, but I got a big laugh out it!

If you're from the midwest, you've probably heard about persimmon pudding, even if you haven't ever eaten it.  It's a Hoosier thing, like sugar cream pie.  One of those regional things that natives take for granted and incomers need to learn about!

Persimmon pudding is "pudding" in the British sense, where "pudding" means "dessert."  Instead of a creamy custard-like dessert, it's more like a super-moist cake.

Mitchell, a small town in southern Indiana, puts on a persimmon festival in late September.   It's also home to Spring Mill State Park, and persimmon pudding is always on the menu at the Spring Mill Inn dining room.  The park is also home to a pioneer village, and at the beginning of the path to the village from the parking lot is a stand of persimmon trees.

Persimmon trees don't grow very tall.  In the late summer and fall, you'll find the 1 1/2-inch round, orange-y fruits hanging on the tree, but don't pick them!  Until they fall from the tree, they're super sour and will pucker up your mouth and shrivel your entire body (not really, but it will feel that way if you eat them)!  After the first hard frost, they'll fall, and at that point they are soft, sticky, and sweet, ready to be gathered and processed into pulp.

Those without a source of home-processed persimmon pulp can find it frozen at farm stands and markets.  We're lucky - another of our nephews has persimmon trees in his yard and he brings frozen pulp at Thanksgiving.

Here's the recipe I got about 30 years ago from a friend of my parents.  There are plenty more recipes online, some more like regular cake, some wetter.  This is one of the moderately wet types, but by no means is it the wettest I've had.

Persimmon Pudding

1 c persimmon pulp

2 eggs, beaten

3/4 c milk

2 T melted butter

1/2 t vanilla

3/4 c sugar

1 c flour

1/4 t baking soda

1/4 t cinnamon

1/4 t nutmeg

1/2 t salt

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Spray an 8" x 8" baking pan.  Mix the wet ingredients together in a bowl.  Add the sugar and mix well.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the rest of the dry ingredients, then add to the wet mixture and mix well.  Pour into the baking pan.  Bake 1 hour.  The "pudding" will be VERY moist.  Serve warm with whipped cream.  Refrigerate to store.