Fall spices make it a great time to bake bread pudding

Bread pudding is comfort food, plain and simple. But it can be an extraordinary dessert in the hands of a pastry chef.

Jamie Chernesky has crafted the perfect holiday bread pudding not just for the Coast Guard House in Narragansett but for home cooks. She demonstrated her dish and technique in The Journal's latest Small Bites cooking videos.

"I think people like it because it's moist on the inside and crusty on the outside," she said of bread pudding.

Chernesky got her culinary degree from Newbury College in Brookline, Massachusetts. Though she started work as a manager at the Coast Guard House, she became the pastry chef 2 1/2 years ago.

She said she thought about all the great fall spices — nutmeg, cinnamon, cardamon and ginger — when she came up with her Spiced Bread Pudding. She also made the dish flexible for home cooks. You can bake it in a 13-inch by 9-inch Pyrex dish or in single-serving ramekins. All you have to do is alter the time. "The bigger the batch, the longer the cooking time," she said.

To fill ramekins, she likes to use an ice cream scoop for a nice rounded pudding.

To be successful making the dish, Chernesky offered a few tips. She said to make sure every piece of bread is covered by the liquid. Also, let the bread sit in the liquid for 20 minutes before proceeding to the next step. Finally, she said to cut the bread the night before you will make the dessert. Leave it in a bowl uncovered to dry out. That way it will absorb the liquid better.

Though she suggests challah or a pullman loaf, she said any bread will do. A brioche is sweet and so will make for a sweeter dessert.

By the way, the Coast Guard House is open Thanksgiving with a buffet for $39.95 ($19.95 for children 5-10).

The Journal's Small Bites videos are created in collaboration with the Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau. They are shot in a demonstration kitchen at Hope & Main, the food-business incubator in Warren. Find the video at providencejournal.com/topics/small-bites.

Spiced Bread Pudding

2 loaves challah bread or pullman loaf

4 cups milk

2 cups heavy cream

½ cup molasses

3 tablespoons cinnamon

1 tablespoon nutmeg

1 tablespoon ground ginger

1 tablespoon cardamom

5 eggs

½ cup sugar

½ cup brown sugar

Cut bread into cubes. Put into a large mixing bowl.

In a saucepan, heat milk and cream with molasses and all the spices to a boil. 

Whisk sugars with eggs in a bowl.

Once milk mixture is brought to a boil, whisk in the egg mixture. Whisk and bring back to a boil.

Pour mixture over the bread. Using hands, combine the liquid and bread, making sure all the bread gets coated and soaked. Allow to sit for 15-20 minutes. Mix again to make sure bread is all moist.

Mixture can be put into a greased 13-inch by 9-inch baking dish. Or grease ramekins and place an ice cream scoop worth of bread mixture into dishes. 

Bake at 325 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

Serve the bread pudding warm with a variety of toppings including Mascarpone Whipped Cream, Caramel Sauce and Nut Brittle.

If using a baking dish, cover with tin foil for the first 20 minutes. This creates a nice added moisture keeper, removing for the last 15 to crisp up the top.

Using a similar base, the spices can easily be replaced with things such as chocolate or fruit.

Mascarpone Whipped Cream

16-ounce container mascarpone

½ cup heavy cream

¼ cup (more for desired sweetness) powdered sugar

Using a bowl and spatula, slowly push the heavy cream and powdered sugar into the mascarpone. Use the side to press out lumps and create a smooth creamy whip.

Caramel Sauce

2 cups sugar

Enough to make the sugar wet (not soaked)

2 cups heavy cream

2 tablespoons butter

Heat sugar and water till amber in color. Take off heat and add butter. Whisk to combine.

Add cream slowly while whisking continuously.

Additions can be made including liquor, chocolate, peanut butter and more. For example, chef used local Sons of Liberty Gala Apple whiskey, about ½ cup. 

If adding liquor, whisk in after butter. Be careful! It will cook out the alcohol. Then continue with the heavy cream.

Nut Brittle

2 cups brown sugar

½ cup corn syrup

1 tablespoon vanilla

1 stick butter

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 pounds nuts, of your choice

Heat brown sugar, corn syrup, vanilla, and butter in saucepan and stir.

When brought to slight boil, add in baking soda and stir to combine. Mixture will foam a little and become light in color.

Fold over nuts of choice. For example chef used pecans.

Lay on sheet pan that is well sprayed and or non-stick. Bake in 300 degree oven for 25-30 minutes. Every 7 minutes or so, using spatula to move around the nuts on the pan.

When dark brown color pull and allow cooling, doing one last push around the pan to ensure they don’t stick.

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