JESSE GOLDSTEIN / THE LOVELESS CAFE
2 loaves French Bread, Sliced ¼ inch thick
Custard:
8 ea Egg Yolks
1 cup Sugar
2 cups Heavy Cream
1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
1.5 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
Sugarplum Addition:
½ stick Butter
1 cup Brown Sugar
½ cup Diced Dried Pears
½ cup Diced Dried Apricots
½ cup Chopped Dried Plums
2 ounces Myers Rum (or other spirit)
Meringue:
8 ea Egg Whites
1 cup Sugar
Cream egg yolks and sugar. Add cream, cinnamon and vanilla. Pour mixture over bread and let it completely saturate the bread.
In a small saucepan, add butter and brown sugar. Stir until dissolved and add dried pears, apricots and rum and simmer for two minutes. Add dried plums and fold the sugarplum mixture in with the bread pudding.
Whip egg whites and sugar into a stiff meringue and fold into the pudding mixture until well combined.
Fill well-greased baking dish with bread and custard mixture and bake for 40 minutes in a 325 degree oven.
Serve warm with fresh whipped cream. Enjoy!
