Italian Bread Pudding with Blueberry Compote

I didn't even know that I liked bread pudding until I met Keith. This is a very strange fact, considering that I have a weakness for all thing bread and bread-related. As is turns out, this dessert is no exception. For this recipe, Keith quickly made up a simple tin of his famous bread pudding. He then dressed it up beautifully with fresh mascarpone cheese, orange zest, and a deliciously sweet blueberry compote. How on earth can one say no?
Whenever I ask Keith to make something sweet, he always suggests some variety of bread pudding. At first I did not understand his preoccupation with this simple dessert. But over the years, I have grown to understand and appreciate it. Bread pudding, by nature, is sweet (but not too much so), satisfying, and pretty easy to make. It is not a super rich or decadent dessert that I would normally prefer. Herein lies its beauty.I really love this particular recipe because it is made with very few simple and natural ingredients. It's the way Keith put them all together that make this bread pudding special. I am in love with the way he chose to present it: browned slices of "bread" stacked on top of one another with creamy mascarpone and fresh blueberry compote in between and orange zest grated over the top. These flavors blend together for the perfect satisfying, (not too sweet) bite.

Italian Bread Pudding with Blueberry Compote

★★★★★ 5 from 2 reviews

• Author: Superman Cooks
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 60 mins
• Total Time: 1 hour 15 mins
• Yield: 4-6 portions 1x
• Category: Dessert
• Cuisine: Italian

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Description

A light and not-too-sweet dessert that make you want to skip dinner

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Scale 1x2x3x

Ingredients

• About 3-4 Cups bread cut into 1/2 inch pieces (a hearty crusted bread works best)
• 3 eggs
• 1 C milk
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 tbsp butter or margarine
• 1/2 C brown sugar
• 1/4 C plus 1 tbsp white sugar
• zest of 1 orange
• 1 pint blueberries
• 8 oz mascarpone cheese

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Instructions

1. Place diced bread in a bread pan
2. In a mixing bowl, whisk eggs, milk, cinnamon, vanilla and the brown sugar until well combined
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
4. Pour egg mixture over bread and allow to soak in until all liquid is absorbed (about 15 min)
5. Cover with foil and bake for 45-60 minutes until bread pudding is firm and all liquid is gone.
6. Remove from oven and allow to cool for at least 30 minutes (this can be made in advance 1-3 days if needed).
7. In a mixing bowl, combine mascarpone cheese, 1 tbsp sugar, and orange zest until well combined. Refrigerate until ready to assemble dessert.
8. In a small sauce pan, combine blueberries + 1/4 C sugar and cook over medium heat smashing blueberries until blueberries turn bright purple (about 5-10 min)
9. To assemble: slice bread pudding into three 1/2 " thick pieces and sauté in a pan with the melted butter (about 1 minute on each side).
10. On a plate spread 1/2 C orange cheese mixture, then layer bread pudding slices and top with blueberry compote.
11. Enjoy.

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