I won't keep you in suspense any longer, last night the currants were transformed into this:
Bread and Butter Pudding with Fresh Currants and Raspberries. And it was delicious! It was a bit of a fuss, but not too much, really. Here is the recipe (from the June issue of Country Living magazine):
1 12-oz. loaf challah bread, cut into 3/4 inch slices and dried overnight
1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup fresh red currants
3/4 cup fresh raspberries
3 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar, plus 1 tablespoon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup whole milk
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
Heat the oven to 325F. Brush each slice of bread on both sides with the softened butter and cut each piece in half. Arrange the bread in a 9-inch deep dish pie plate, overlapping the slices in concentric circles to resemble a flower design. Tuck 1/2 cup each of currants and raspberries between the bread slices. Whisk the eggs, yolks, 3/4 cup sugar, salt, vanilla, milk and heavy cream together and pour over the bread. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup each of currants and and raspberries on top, cover with 2 layers of aluminum foil and seal around the rim. Press gently to help the bread absorb the liquid. Let sit for 30 minutes. Bake for 40 minutes, remove the foil, sprinkle the pudding with the remaining 1 table spoon sugar and increase the oven temperature to 350F. Bake until the pudding is set and the top is golden brown - 25 more minutes or so. Cool on a a wire rack.
Tips: The bread can also be dried by placing it in a 200F oven for 30 minutes, then allowing to cool. I don't have a 9-in deep dish pie plate, but my 10-in stoneware pie plate worked just fine. And although we had fresh raspberries when we got home from Central Market, they disappeared onto ice cream so I used frozen whole raspberries, which worked fine. Fresh would have probably been better, but this was really all about the currants, and they were fantastic... very tart and sweet, perfect for a fairly rich dish like this. Two yums up!
And I must give proper thanks to the two who are mostly responsible, my son who nipped out to the market for additional ingredients, and Ro who drove the process so we weren't eating after midnight. As it was, it was rather late before it was cool enough to eat, and they were very patient when I snatched it from under their noses so I could take its portrait. The blog must be fed, too!
If I see fresh currants again at the market, I will snap them up and try another one of the recipes, possibly the tart. I would have given it a go, but lacked a tart pan. Thanks for sharing my anticipation!
Onward!
Jenny
That looks great! Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Posted by: Lauren | July 07, 2006 at 10:06 AM
Oh how yummy. I love bread pudding. Looks delicious with the red currants!
Posted by: roz | July 07, 2006 at 10:08 AM
Oh my Lord, that looks yummy. It does look a little fussy, but I'm sure it was worth it!
Posted by: Alicia A. | July 07, 2006 at 10:12 AM
That looks DELICIOUS. I have tons of red currants in my freezer from my Grandma - and now I know what I'm going to do with them!
Posted by: Rebecca | July 07, 2006 at 12:33 PM
Oooohhh, I had wanted to try that recipe. Now I'm definitely going to make it! Which is better -- desserts or Country Living Magazine with dessert recipes? Hard to decide...
Posted by: Leanne | July 07, 2006 at 12:51 PM
It looks gorgeous. I've never made anything with fresh currants. Glad it turned out well!
Posted by: Leta | July 07, 2006 at 02:25 PM
Yummy Goodness! The picture of the friut yesterday was exquisite. They were all so perfecly round and red - they seemed surreal. I'm glad you found a great recipe!
Posted by: AmyDe | July 07, 2006 at 02:30 PM
Yummy !
You made the right decision, obviously ~ looks divine !
Posted by: Mother-of-C | July 08, 2006 at 06:31 AM
Wow! Yum! And it even matches your blog's background :)
Posted by: Georgia | July 08, 2006 at 07:01 AM
that looks *so* incredible... i don't suppose you need any help finishing it off, do you?!?
Posted by: kelly | July 08, 2006 at 09:55 AM
Incredible! It looks so good. I have that Country Living and loved all the beautiful pictures - the fresh currants are quite lovely. If I can find them, I'll be making this!
Posted by: jackie | July 08, 2006 at 03:30 PM
I bet that was yummy! If we lived closer I would've been glad to have loaned you my tart pan for a small bite.
Posted by: ~Vicki | July 09, 2006 at 12:38 AM
Ohh I am so hungry and looks soooo amazing. Thank you for sharing. Clarice
Posted by: Clarice | July 09, 2006 at 08:45 AM
looks amazing, bet it was good
Posted by: koffiekitten | July 23, 2006 at 11:42 AM