It seems that I’ve been bitten by the bread pudding bug.
I mean, I usually try to mix up the desserts you see around here since, you know, variety is not only the spice of life but also the key to any successful longterm relationship. And I’d like to think we are in this together, guys. For the long haul.
But whereas the bread pudding I posted two weeks ago was rich in the way that only chocolate-smothered-pretzel bread can be, this is more of a breath of fresh air bread pudding situation.
It has vegetables (rhubarb). And fruit (blueberries). And if we just ignore the heavy cream, it is surely a health food and absolutely a complete meal.
Throw a berry on it and call it breakfast. That’s just how I roll during the summer months.
Words to live by. (FTW.)
And really, when you’ve had to endure two Mets v. Yankees games, an hour long traffic jam in the Citifield parking lot, and the realization that the class that you started med school with has graduated and will be, like, real live doctors while you will still be staring at fluorescent cells under a microscope and failing at cloning day in and day out…
..trust me, you will crave some carb on fruit (on veggie) action, too.
And then, with just one bite of this bread pudding all of this weight will be lifted. You’ll believe that anything, even the impossible – even the Mets sweeping the Yankees (which is pretty much beyond impossible) – could happen (AND.DID).
You’ll talk your mom down from some serious Citifield-induced road rage.
You’ll think, no worries, I’ll graduate some day.
That, my friends, is the power of bread pudding. Specifically, this one.
And in case you didn’t notice, it’s kind of got this red, white and blue thing going on.
A little late for Memorial Day but perfectly early for the 4th of July. Do it. You know you want to.
So, can we just talk about berries for a second? And why it is super important to buy organic.
You see, almost all berries fall onto the dirty dozen list. They have super thin skins which allows them to absorb a ton of the pesticides that non-organic farmers spray all over them. So when you’re deciding between whether to spend your money on organic berries or, say, organic avocados…it’s a much better idea to spend a little bit extra on the berries and get non-organic avocados because pesticides can’t really permeate their super thick shell and get to the edible insides.
I am also of the opinion that organic berries taste better than non-organic, but that is just me.
Whole Foods has a GREAT selection of organic berries to choose from and, in fact, they’re having a one day sale on organic blueberries TODAY which is the perfect excuse for you to get over to the store to buy the ingredients for this bread pudding. What kismet.
To encourage everyone to head on over to Whole Foods to pick up some organic berries, Whole Foods has offered a GIVEAWAY of a $75 gift card to my readers! All you have to do to enter is leave a comment telling me what your favorite use of berries is! Giveaway winner will be announced next Friday.
Also, the winner of the Carapelli olive oil giveaway from last week is Grace of A Southern Grace! Email me at [email protected] to get your prize!
One year ago…Pesto Pasta Salad with Roasted Asparagus, String Beans, Cherry Tomatoes and Olives
Two years ago..White Beans and Cabbage
Three years ago…POM Velvet Cupcakes with Pomegranate Cream Cheese Frosting
Rhubarb, Blueberry and Ginger Brioche Bread PuddingServes 10-12, adapted from Bon Appetit May 2010
Ingredients
- 1 cup raspberry preserves
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/3 cup chopped crystallized ginger
- 2 1/2 lb rhubarb, ends trimmed, stalks cut into 1/2-inch wide pieces
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 8 (or more) 1/2-inch-thick slices brioche or egg bread, cut lengthwise in half (I used whole wheat challah)
- 1 pint blueberries
Instructions
- Whisk the preserves and 1/2 cup water in a heavy large skillet over medium heat until the preserves dissolve. Sprinkle the ginger and rhubarb into the skillet. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring, until the rhubarb is tender but still intact, about 10 minutes. Pour the mixture into a large fine-mesh sieve set over a large pot. Let drain 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350.
- Whisk the sugar and eggs together in a medium bowl. Combine the milk and heavy cream in a heavy medium saucepan. Stir in the vanilla bean paste. Simmer. Slowly add the hot cream mixture to the egg/sugar mixture, whisking constantly so that the eggs temper and don’t cook.
- Butter a 9×13-inch baking pan. Arrange enough bread slices in it to cover the bottom (there will be some spaces). Spoon the strained rhubarb evenly over these. Top with the remaining read. Sprinkle with the blueberries. Pour the custard over.
- Bake the pudding until just set in the center, about 50 minutes. Remove from the oven.
- Boil the liquid that was strained from the rhubarb until it is reduced to 1 cup, about 10 minutes. Keep warm. Brush the top of the pudding with some of the rhubarb syrup. Serve pudding topped with more syrup and whipped cream.
Oh yes and yes. Love this, and I am not sick of your bread pudding recipes:-) I am currently addicted to blueberries.
I’m into bread pudding lately too…only mine is ugly so I haven’t been blogging about it. This is awesome though! Yum!
Congratulations to Grace! And hooray for the Mets! Two things worth celebrating with bread pudding. Yours looks awesome – I’d go with the fruit (and vegetable) version all the way.
I’ll tell you what, I am TOTALLY willing to overlook the cream. This is the kind of dessert I could eat all summer long, too!
And hmmmm…let’s see….my favorite use for berries is – POPSICLES! 😉
Oh lordy…I think all I need is a scoop of ice cream now
Anything containing rhubarb, berries, and ginger is a winner in my book. I love berries just by themselves over yogurt or in pies.
Blueberries are my FAVORITE. I love fresh blueberries plain by the handful. I love frozen blueberries added to my oatmeal or topped with almond milk (awesome cold dessert!). This bread pudding looks delicious!
so many good things in this bread pudding – no wonder it cancels out all your worries
I love to put berries in my oatmeal and on my yogurt!
My fav use of berries is either in smoothies or in my yogurt!
What an awesome bread pudding, Joanne!!
Perfect ripe berries are for eating, straight from the container standing in the kitchen. I refuse to use perfect berries in a recipe at the peak of ripeness. So yummy!
My favorite use of berries is EATING THEM.
Hi Joanne!
My favorite use of berries is making a fruit smoothie. I also like to just eat fresh berries from the farmers market.
Abby
I also love using frozen and fresh berries in my smoothies! Thanks!
Seanna
just had me a few handfuls of yummy blueberries… but my favorite way to eat them is while i am picking them of the blueberry bush…..
Wow! This looks so good!
I crave carbs constantly and this is a perfect creation for summer 🙂 I would love that gift card from whole cards and possibly make ice cream with berries.
I always buy berries intending to use in a crisp or to add to yogurt bowls, but they usually just end up getting eaten plain by the handful!
I live in London, so I love making a hot berry charlotte. We often need a bit of warmth, even during the summer.
Your bread pudding looks amazing!!!! My favorite use for berries is two ways, plain, just grab and eat or mashed up in my frozen yogurt! Yum!!
I made a beautiful fruit salad for a recent birthday cook-out and the star of the salad was beautiful fresh blueberries…the salad was delicious but the fruit most commented on was the blueberries Was in Whole Foods yesterday and saw the blueberries that are on sale today. Delish
STRAWBERRIES are my fave 😀
Ohh goodness this is gorgeous! I am visualizing taking a big ol’ scoop of vanilla ice cream and putting it on a warm slice of this. Yummm
I am really getting into fruit topped panna cottas lately. Plus a nice berry medley with a meringue topping can’t be beat. Neither are high in calories:D
I like to eat my berries straight out of the container, or pulsed in a smoothie/milkshake!
This looks delicious! I love blueberries right off the tree. My second favorite use of them is topped on a piece crusty bread with goat cheese, blueberries and honey! yum!
Blueberries are my absolute favorite berry!
My favorite use is just eating them straight up! Right now I’m digging cherries, but love blueberries as well!
My favorite way to eat berries is either fresh or in a fruit compote that I can spoon over yogurt, pancakes or waffles.
This looks glorious, Joanne. I love berries however they are served. I hope you are in the middle of a great week. Blessings…Mary
Berries are best all on their own. We eat them almost every morning at my house, my son is particularly fond of raspberries, speaking of, the organic raspberries at Whole Foods are so much more flavorful than any others I’ve tried. How marvelous that they are having a sale today!!
My favorite use of a berry is for strawberry shortcake, yum!
What a great bread pudding flavor! My favorite way to use berries it to pop them straight into my mouth raw. But if I have to bake them, my first choice is a shortcake.
Oh, I LOVE berries. My favorite use of them is a tie, I think (I can’t pick just one!). Either turned into homemade jam or tossed in fresh and ripe with my granola. Delicious!!
I love fruit filled desserts. This bread pudding is screaming my name!
I LOVE raspberries…especially when I can pick them myself!
I save all sorts of berry recipes every year and wait anxiously until they’re in season and I can make them . . . but my favorite use of berries is just to eat them raw, preferably straight off the bush!
Um, I’m totally down with this for breakfast. Or lunch. Or dinner. And p.s. I did not know rhubarb was a veggie. I mean, what else could it be? But…
I love making fresh jams and jellies!
Oh my goodness gracious, does this bread pudding look incredible! I love how full of berries it is. I could dig into a scoopful or two right now!
My favorite healthy way to eat berries is on top of greek yogurt; for an unhealthy but incredibly delicious and easy dessert, I love to top vanilla bean ice cream with berries and a splash (or several splashes) of amaretto… YUM!!
Throw some berries on it and call it breakfast? That absolutely sounds like my favourite use of berries….. actually, though. During the summer I often go for just berries and yogurt, but this recipe looks amazing and like a great thing to make next time I have people over for breakfast.. might try to switch up the heavy cream for yogurt so I don’t feel so bad about eating it for breakfast haha
Can’t lie…kind of envious of this relationship you have going. I love bread pudding. Have yet to make it in my own home. That needs to change!
Love rhubarb, and I’m always so excited to see it in the stores this time of year. This sounds fantastic!
I have never cooked (or even tasted) with rhubarb-so Im excited to try this. I love all types of berries-the more the merrier.
Blueberries in pancakes!!
I finally made something with rhubarb (for the first time!)last weekend so I’m super psyched to see this recipe!
Blueberries and raspberries are definitely my favorites!!
Mmm, that bread pudding looks like it would be just perfect for breakfast with a good cup of hot coffee! I guess my favorite way to use blueberries is the muffin recipe that my mom always used when we were growing up. Always brings back memories when I make them.
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I love making a blueberry pie with a country-style lattice crust, all butter crust with unbleached soft wheat pastry flour, and the butter has to be high quality such as Organic Valley, and the blueberries organic! I’m so psyched the organic blueberries are on sale today at Whole Foods!!! I also sometimes make a blueberry pie with a cheesecake bottom. Yum!
I pretty much just chomp down on a punnet of berries as a meal.
Oh the rhubarb + ginger sounds amazing! this is gorgeous, Joanne!
Blueberries are one of my favorite fruits ever–why have I never combined them with rhubarb before? (Probably because rhubarb is hard to find in CA…but I digress.) This bread pudding sounds amazing!
I’m normally not a fan of bread pudding but the colors alone in this bread pudding are giving me second thoughts…this looks really, really good!
I love to add them to my morning yogurt!
I got a bargain today from WF with organic blueberries on sale. They are so good, reminding me that with good berries, you need nothing at all to go with it. That said, bread pudding sure ain’t bad and my ultimate favorite way of using berries is probably in a fruit tart.
Berries are my favorite, and pairing them with Rhubarb for a bread pudding…. yes please! Recently, my favorite way of preparing berries is by roasting them along with various stone fruit and hitting that with a dash of cinnamon. Top that with a scoop of ice cream and it’s pretty much HEAVEN IN A BOWL!! It’s almost like cobbler but without the bready part, so it makes me think it’s healthier!
I like berries in a smoothie!
I am with you Joanne – I always buy oraganic berries for that very reason. The skins are so thin, it totally freaks me out to think about them being grown with pesticides
i love berries in yogurt! or plain 🙂
I love your bread puddings are delicious and love blueberries this look fantastic!!xo
I know maybe you cant send me a berry gift here LOL but I love berries in all you know: in desserts,cakes, puddings, juices, really in all!
Strawberries in smoothies!
I love eating just plain berries. This bread pudding looks delicious!
Oh my goodness, that looks so pretty! I just want to sink my teeth into that. 🙂 Perfect brunch food! Thanks for the recipe Joanne and have a great weekend!
I love berry smoothies!
My favorite way to eat berries is actually just all-natural. But I LOVE them in baked goods, too. This bread pudding looks out of this world!!! I want to dive right in!
oh.my. That looks delicious!
Kind of simple, but I love fresh berries in greek yogurt. Great summer breakfast!
That’s a really good point about the organic berries. I try to buy organic berries but they’re not always easy to find. This season there were a lot of organic blueberries around and they weren’t too much more expensive than the pesticide infested ones. Strawberries are a big problem. They are so heavily sprayed and there’s not too many farmers prepared to grow them organically – sad because there’s just no comparison when it comes to taste (and our health). Lovely looking bread pudding BTW xx
My favorite use of berries is either smoothies or make a strawberry shortcake out of them. Susan Broughton [email protected]
I make blueberry shortcakes that are a summer staple in our house. My husban cloves them.
G’day LOVE the flavor combinations, TRUE!
Love your multiple photos and now this IS on my list to do!
Cheers! Joanne
I always want to use berries in dishes, but they somehow disappear between the time I buy them and 5 minutes after I get home. We eat a lot of berries round here.
eaten out of hand.
fruitcrmble AT Comcast DOT net
I has mulberries for the first time today and they may be my new favorite berry! I am also a huge fan of strawberries and love strawberry shortcake.
This looks delicious! My favorite summer berry dish is simply fruit salad with mint!
I can’t decide between blackberries and blueberries…..yum!
My favorite berry dish is blueberry cobbler!
My favorite bread pudding is an English classic called Summer Pudding – made with red berries, red currents, and purple berries (whatever kind you have as long as the color is right) It’s wonderful – worth a trip to England LOL
My husband swears he hates bread pudding. Psssssssht. I love it. The blueberries are gorgeous, but I have to say that I love strawberries. Hands down. I see that Whole Foods is having a blueberry mega sale, today. I need to race down there and stock up. Oh, and I think heavy cream is good for you. It’s dairy and has calcium, right? Right.
My kids and I adore berries, all kinds of berries. I love the fresh and wide varieties at Whole Foods too. 🙂 My favorite way to enjoy berries would be eating them as is, sometimes with a little freshly whipped cream. My Little Boy likes them in his smoothies, so I freeze some along with banana and whip some one in no time. My Little Girl loves it in a Swiss Roll cake, her favorite is my Strawberry Swiss Roll. I can’t wait to try your Rhubarb blueberry and Ginger Bread Pudding. I have a feeling it’ll becomes our family’s new favorite. 😉 Thanks for hosting the giveaway. Have a wonderful weekend.
amy [at] utry [dot] it
I was lucky enough to get several lots of blueberries. Some I’ll eat fresh, some I’ll free for later. Yum! That recipe is one I’ll have to try.
I’m loving the rhubarb, blueberry, and ginger combination – sounds super delicious!! I’m kinda obsessed with eating blueberries dipped in chocolate these days 🙂
At first I was like vegetables??? But then I remembered the truth about good ol’ rhubarb. We love bread pudding…and I especially love adding seasonal berries. Blueberries are just starting to come to market here, and I can’t get enough of them. Thank you for sharing sweet friend! What a great giveaway! We could certainly use that gift certificate with baby time looming 🙂
I love berries in smoothies, on oatmeal, in yogurt, by themselves, on almost anything! And that looks heavenly btw.
sswpss at yahoo dot com
I love them oatmeal and in coffee cake. nicsuss972 at aol DOT com
Ha, I actually have about five pints in my fridge right now from the WF sale. Good summer berries I love eating straight up. For breakfast I’ll just have a huge bowl of blueberries and strawberries
Joanne you just created one of the prettiest and best looking brioche bread pudding ever! Good god my mouth is watering while looking at it. just perfect!
Is the giveaway worldwide? Wish I could participate. I am all for organic food. =)
This bread pudding looks AMAZING! I love rhubarb, and I love finding new ways to enjoy it. Yum!! My favorite way to use berries lately is just straight up on a plate with some cheese, and sharing it all with my toddler. Cute. Overload. Seriously.
This bread pudding is totally breakfast! Also, throw crystallized ginger into anything and I’m in!
This recipe looks amazing! I love to use fresh fruits in my smoothies
I love an old fashioned blueberry buckle. It is authentic colonial eating for around the fourth.
Ann
I love an old fashioned blueberry buckle. It is authentic colonial eating for around the fourth.
Ann
This time of year?
When blueberries are at their best flavor and texture?
Oh you bet, straight up.
Whole Foods has the best selection of berries–thank goodness.
Mmmm! I love bread pudding for breakfast! My favorite use for berries is frozen as a snack. So refreshing in the summer–almost like ice cream, but healthier!
I am so with you on staying clear of the dirty dozen!
What a delicious bread pudding! I have harvested my first-ever rhubarb from my very own little rhubarb patch that is waiting in the freezer for something just like this!
I love using berries in salads, especially fresh spinach salads.
I stocked up on blueberries at the Whole Foods sale – I am so excited to get baking with all of them! This bread pudding looks awesome, and makes me seriously bummed I haven’t baked with rhubarb yet this year. I need to remedy that stat.
I’m a sucker for a good old strawberry. Love them every which way, but perhaps the favorite is scones, or a simple galette. Love this pairing of rhubarb with blueberries.
It’s a tie for blueberries and raspberries!!! MMmmmmmm, summer berries are my ALL time favorite fruits
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My favorite way to use berries is to just eat them or mix them into plain yogurt. I also love freezing berries and eating them that way. So good!
LOVE this recipe. I like making crisps!
My favorite berry is definitely a raspberry. Love to eat it raw, make jam, or raspberry white chocolate bars.
My favorite use for berries is baking them in a pie.
[email protected]
The glorious blueberries definitely make this a better bread pudding for me 🙂
as bug bites go, that one’s not so bad. 🙂
i love berry jams and jellies!
This sounds amazing Joanne! I adore anything rhubarb and adding blueberry and ginger sound even more delicious! PS- I can’t wait to hear about EWR!!
My favorite way to use berries is to pick them and put them directly into my mouth.
garwoodmitchel at myfairpoint dot net
That is one crazy beautiful bread pudding! I don’t know how you did it, since mine always look like a mushy mess. No matter what it looks like though, there’s no denying how delicious it is, especially if it involves berries… My favorite use for berries is to wrap them up in crepes with coconut whipped cream, caramel sauce, and perhaps a few flakes of dark chocolate.
Everyday I put berries in my yogurt. Thanks for the giveaway.
k(dot)larsen(at)comcast(dot)net
I have just recently been introduced to the wonder that is bread pudding. And if this bread pudding is the “breathe of fresh air” version…I think it’s only right I make it so I can further this bread pudding relationship I’m developing:)
This is the prettiest bread pudding I have ever seen!
I love fresh blueberries by the handful, and strawberries with a touch of sugar, any kind of berry jam and a streusel topped blueberry muffin.
This bread pudding looks amazing! I love all berries and especially with whipped cream on top, or in my smoothies!
I can’t wait for strawberries to be in season (maybe another week?). I will be making homemade strawberry ice cream! Though I will have to save some, so that my husband can put them in his morning smoothies!
Berries for breakfast wrapped around dessert is the best summer breakfast! I would never be able to resist not digging right into this! It’s love. (I desperately need a Whole Foods to open up near me!)
OMG…this could be the BEST bread pudding I have ever seen! Absolutely irresistible!
I love making freeform galettes. Strawberries, peaches, raspberries…mmmm
I like snacking on berries…nothing else needed!
I just love a simple strawberry shortcake with angel food cake, berries, and homemade whipped cream
this looks incredible!! love the rhubarb 🙂 my favorite way to eat them this week has been with a spoonful of white chocolate whipped cream…
This looks fabulous! The perfect way to use rhubarb 🙂 I love it!
So this is what you did with that rhubarb! I never would have thought to use it in a bread pudding, but this looks perfect, especially for a cookout.
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Berries www I love it:)