Why Hello, gorgeous? Are you really a bread pudding? I didn’t even know bread pudding can be so delicious. And pretty. And my ‘I don’t like sweet” husband can eat you for breakfast, dinner and then ask if there is enough for breakfast in the morning. No Chris, there is not. You ate it all!!! What’s happening to you? :)))
(Or is it this bread pudding? Yeah, I think so.)
It is November, which means it is the blueberry month. As in U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council Contest month. And it’s even bigger and better than last year! Why? Because it’s more challenging. And we are weird, so challenge is good. It’s great! I love the combinations required for the contest and I really hope I get to make and submit more recipes before the month is over, unfortunately I got a late start, so cross everything for me. This blueberry and rosemary combo is calling my name. And banana. And all of them!
Why coconut then? Coconut is one of my favorite things, I feel like I can never get enough of it because my mom, dad and brother back home all hate coconut and I really almost never got to eat it growing up. So every chance I can get, I go coconutty.
I actually participated last year in this contest and I was so happy to learn that I won the runner-up prize. Probably the first thing I ever won. Or contest I’ve been in. it is so much fun, so thank you!
The recipe I submitted last year were my homemade Blueberry Pop Tarts and I have to admit, those are awesome. Having said that, I love this bread pudding even more, and I’m not even crazy about bread pudding!
So Daniela, if you are not crazy about bread pudding, are you crazy to go and make a bread pudding for a recipe contest? Lots of crazy going around here.
Well, maybe. But everything came together in my head, and it is a challenge, right? So I decided to make something average to me, into something awesome for everyone!
I am plenty insecure person you know, but if I cook something good, it will be one of the things I’m not embarrassed to say. This is a good bread pudding and I am proud of it. In fact, I will take it over a lot of cakes, because it’s wonderfully moist and flavorful, and I have issued with most frosting’s.
Blueberry Coconut Bread Pudding
1 loaf of french bread, old is better
5 eggs
2 cups of milk
1 cup of heavy cream
2 cups of blueberries
1 1/2 cup of shredded coconut + 1 cup to make toasted coconut topping
1 tsp of coconut extract (if you don’t have it you can use vanilla)
1/4 cup of Mascarpone cheese
for the sauce:
1 cup blueberries
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp of lemon juice
If you are making this for breakfast, night before cut up the bread on 1 to 1 1/2″ cubes and put into a big bowl, add shredded coconut to it and toss. In a separate bowl beat the eggs and add milk and the heavy cream and mix well. Add coconut extract and mix again, then pour over the bread and coconut and mix a little bit. Transfer it all into a buttered baking dish, I used my 9X13 casserole dish, cover it with plastic wrap and put into fridge until morning. Easy peasy. This is when you can also prepare your toppings, toasted coconut and blueberry sauce if you wish to use them. If you are not preparing this for breakfast, make sure you allow the pudding to rest at least two hours in the fridge before baking it.
Toasted coconut
Take 1 cup of shredded coconut and put on a cookie sheet and put into the oven that’s been preheated to 325 F. This only takes 10 minutes or so, and you can let it go for 5 minutes then mix it up a little bit so it doesn’t start to burn. Mix again after 3 minutes and see if it need a couple more minutes after that or not. Mine was pretty much done after this point, but some people like it roasted more. Let it cool completely and put into a plastic bag or container to use later.
Blueberry Sauce:
1 cup of Blueberries
1/2 cup of sugar
1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
Put all the ingredients into a small pot and cook for about 15 minutes until it starts to thicken. Usually I blend it at this point with my immersion mixer, but I wanted a little bit more rustic look this time so I just smashed it a bit with the back of my wooden spoon. Do whatever you prefer and then put into a small mason jar or plastic container until you are ready to use it. I like to reheat mine a little before pouring over the bread pudding.
When you are ready to bake the pudding, preheat the oven to 350 and remove it from the fridge so it can warm up a little and you can add the last ingredients.
Mix your blueberries into the pudding and top it with little chunks of Mascarpone cheese (bean size chunks). Bake it for 40-50 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Serve warm with toasted coconut or blueberry Sauce. Or both.
