Simone Beck's Bread Pudding with Prunes and Apricots

I am of the school that finds bread pudding to be one of the world's most perfect desserts (since you can also eat it for breakfast or as a midnight snack and don't we all know that that kind of versatility is what makes a dessert an Important Dessert?). Stale bread, light custard, a few flavorings: this is nursery food at its best. And this bread pudding might be one of the most delicious things I've ever eaten. It doesn't necessarily photograph well to show off its full splendor, but it is Out Of This World. I made it to follow our slightly ascetic meal of vegetable soup the other day, which was smart thinking, because I was able to eat an entire plate (dessert plate, but still) of the stuff, quite unencumbered and happily indeed.

If Simone Beck's name seems familiar to you, it's because it has for decades followed the more famous name on the spine of Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Julia Child befriended Simone Beck along with Louisette Bertholle when she lived in Paris as a young woman. Together these ladies founded a cooking school and then went to be immortalized on kitchen shelves everywhere. Simone Beck wrote a book of her own in the early 80's, and it was from this book that Amy Scattergood pulled the bread pudding recipe published in an article on dried fruit in the LA Times in February.

There are a few amendments I have to make to that recipe, the most important being to cut the sugar in half because good God, I can't imagine the sweetness if I had used the entire cup. And I have a sweet tooth, people. So, I cut the sugar in half, totally forgot about the cinnamon and added an ounce of bittersweet chocolate that I'd chopped into a pile of shavings and rubble (because nothing - but nothing - makes prunes more delicious than a little bit of chocolate. Or?).

Thanks to Balducci's on 8th Avenue, I used dried Blenheim apricots instead of the regular Turkish ones, and I tell you, they may be the very things that transport you straight to heaven. Their cost is proportional to their incandescent taste, but it's money well-spent, especially since we good-fruit-starved East Coasters have to go to extreme measures to acquaint ourselves with the kind of produce those darn Californians can enjoy by just going down to the farmer's market. One last thing: if you make this, do yourself and your guests a favor and chop those pitted prunes up a bit. Left whole, they overwhelm each serving. The apricots do a better job of melding into the fabric of the pudding.

Served fresh and warm, the pudding was creamy, tender, resplendent with flavors and textures. Aromatic orange peel, rich chocolate tones, barely-there custard with supple bread suspended amongst the soft, zesty apricots and moist prunes. The few almonds on top added texture to the glorious spoonfood below. Eaten chilled the next day, the pudding had firmed up a bit, but the deliciousness was in no way diminished. The flavor almost reminded me of Panettone eaten on holidays, but it was even better that that - richer, fruitier, creamier. Perfection.

Bread Pudding with Prunes and Apricots
Serves 6

1/2 pound pitted prunes
4 ounces dried apricots
1 cup good red wine or strong tea (I used tea)
1 teaspoon cinnamon (I left this out)
4 ounces fresh white sandwich bread, crust removed, and broken into small pieces
2/3 cup milk
1 cup sugar (I used 1/2 cup)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
Finely grated zest of 1 orange
3 eggs, lightly beaten
3 tablespoons dark rum (optional - I used 1 1/2 tablespoons)
1/4 cup sliced almonds

1. To plump the prunes and apricots, place them in a medium saucepan with the wine or tea and cinnamon. Cover and simmer until the fruit is very tender and has absorbed most of the liquid, about 15 to 20 minutes.

2. Soak the bread briefly in the milk, then add it to the pan, off heat, along with the sugar, butter, orange zest, eggs and rum, if using. Stir gently to combine.

3. Turn the mixture into a well-buttered 1 1/2-quart Pyrex casserole or a medium-size oval gratin dish and bake in a 375-degree oven for 15 minutes.

4. Sprinkle on the sliced almonds and continue baking for another 15 minutes, or until the pudding is firm and the almonds are nicely browned. Allow to cool slightly before serving.

Comments

[Molly]

Oh, wow! That sounds *astoundingly* good. Bread, custard, prunes, chocolate(!), and Blenheim(!!) apricots? It's almost enough to make a girl fly across the country for the leftovers alone - but something tells me that there are none, right?

[Adrienne]

My word this sounds too good to be true! I too love bread pudding, especially the non-raisin sort, I will have to give this one a try.

[lindy]

Bread pudding is such a wonder. Rich and comforting, economical and luxurious, soft, but pleasantly chewy, infinitely variable, yet reassuringly the same. And, as you note, it does for any number of different occasions.

I have a favorite variant, made with leftover croissants that I'm thinking I should make again soon. It is so cool, because it goes all puffy from the croissant dough.

I wonder if it would be too much to add prunes to that one.

[Julie]

Oh, yes!

That looks totally, completely, utterly wonderful.

[Emeril Lagasse]

Bread pudding is excellent, but don't be afraid to kick it up a notch! Bam!

[From Our Kitchen]

I love bread pudding! But no one in my family does and I don't get to make it very often. Your's sounds great though.

[lobstersquad]

I agree, versatility is the name of the game for puddings.
I always hope for a breakfast of leftovers. And while chocolate charlottes, cheesecake, or ganache straight from the jar have their points, this is definitely much more friendly in the morning.

[ann]

bread pudding is insanely good, but it's so pigeonholed! my favorite variation is a savory one with wild mushrooms that i had a restaurant once.
they stopped serving it, and i've stopped going there. out of spite, you know?

[Sarah]

Prunes! Such a misunderstood, thoroughly delicious food! This. Sounds. Amazing.

[Ivonne]

Wow!

Ciao Luisa ... that is a gorgeous bread pudding. You have hit the nail on the head ... bread pudding really is one of the world's most perfect sweets. It has everything all in one place ... bread ... butter ... sweet ...

I have to find Blenheim apricots one of these days. I've never seen in them Toronto.

Lovely!

[Rebecca]

This recipe sounds divine, especially with your addition of chocolate. I never heard of Blenheim apricots, but I agree that the Turkish dried apricots are disgusting and I'm always looking for the California ones; they're really hard to find. There's absolutely no comparison between the two.
I want to make this before it gets too hot to bake.

[Melissa]

Oh yum! Prunes and apricots and bread pudding... sounds perfect for this time of the year in Scotland as nothing is yet in season and we're all still running around in our winter coats!!

[Ange]

This sounds like a delicious bread & butter pudding

[misha]

bread pudding is one of my favorite desserts- so frugal and luxurious. my bp is one from my creole granny's cache of old-old recipies.the custard of 4 whole eggs and one yoke and whole milk is flavored with nutmeg and laced with good burbon. the top crust is of only partially submerged cubes of bread that have been brushed with butter and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. rasins and pecans are added to the submerged bread mix, which is made of pain de mie or a good white (homemade)sandwich bread.a sause of burbon,sugar,butter and cream is drizzeled over the patially cooled (but still very warm) pud before searving!that's how we do it down south!