Yes, it’s January and we’re supposed to cook healthy, detox and eat more vegetables. While I did that with my roasted red pepper soup and even the roasted mushrooms, I could not resist trying this take on a bread pudding. And it’s January 27th – four weeks into the new year – so we need a little indulgence, right? While I’ve made my croissant and panetone version a while back, this one spotted in the Donna Hay magazine got my attention because of the ricotta.
Let me tell you – the tartness of the ricotta and the added lemon zest make this dessert/breakfast dish amazing! It’s sweet and comforting, but feels more grown up than other bread puddings I’ve had. I also loved making it in my small cake pans, which allowed me to give away some of it and not eat a big pan of it! As you can see, my little helper enjoyed it as well.
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups of whipping cream
- 3 eggs
- 1/3 cup of sugar
- 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons of finely grated lemon zest
- 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
- 1 small loaf of cranberry/raisin foccacia, thinly sliced. If you can't find it, use any fruit bread and tear it into large pieces
- 1 cup of ricotta
- cinnamon sugar:
- 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons of white sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Combine 1/4 of cinnamon with 2 tablespoons of white sugar and set aside.
- Gently heat cream in a medium saucepan until it just comes to a boil. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Place eggs, sugar, vanilla, lemon zest and cinnamon in a bowl and whisk until well combined. Gradually add warm cream, whisking until combined.
- Place slices of focciacia into a greased miniature loaf pan (my slices fit right in). Top each slice with 1-2 tablespoons of ricotta and layer another piece of bread on top. Repeat and end with bread. If your bread doesn't fit, tear it into large pieces and layer with ricotta.
- Pour cream mixture over each mini loaf pan until all bread is covered. Sprinkle with sugar mixture. Allow to stand for 5-10 minutes. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden and set. Allow to stand for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with more sugar if you wish.
