Recipe Talk

My italian aunt had a raisin bread pudding she used to make, and 15 years ago when she died, the recipe died with her. I have searched the internet for years, made hundreds [literally] of different types of bread puddings, and have only come close to duplicating the consistancy of her pudding.

Pudding description
It was purplish/brownish in color [not from blueberries]
It was thick enough to cut with a knife and eat with your hands
It was made in the oven by using a water bath with the pan inside of it baking for the thickness consistancy

My mother says there was chocolate in it, I have tried coacoa, it doesnt taste the same. I have tried molasses, prunes, prune juice, you name it, and nothing has duplicated it. She was very old and the recipe was not that difficult to make! I used to watch her.

It had white bread, milk, raisins, and I used to watch her boil something on the stove, then she'd put it in the oven. If ANYONE has any idea of what could have given it this color please please please email me! My email is shelearns@yahoo.com and I would be forever greatful.

I have contacted cooking shows, restaurant chefs from north america and beyond, and no one has any idea what it could be.

Thanks tons

ITALIAN BREAD PUDDING/GALLIANO® GLACE'
This is a bread pudding to die for!
MUSIC NOW PLAYING: - Italian Folk Music

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INGREDIENTS:
1 large panettone, about 2 pounds
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 cups whole milk
Zest of 1/2 lemon
4 extra large eggs
1 stick butter, melted
Equipment: 6-cup souffle dish with vertical sides. Ideal dimensions: 6-inch diameter by 4-inch height.

Cut off the domed top and the side and bottom crust of the panettone leaving about a bit over a pound's worth. Trim the pannettone further so that it fits very snugly into the dish you have chosen and comes just to the top edge of the dish. Slice it crosswise into 1/2-inch thick slices. Leave them exposed overnight to the air or put them on a cookie sheet in a very low oven for an hour or so, until the panettone has dried out a bit.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the water with 3/4 cup of the sugar in a heavy, 2-quart saucepan. Stir over high heat until the sugar is dissolved and the liquid clears. Cook undisturbed until the edges start to brown; then swirl the pan continuosly and vigorously until all the sugar has caramelized to a golden amber color. Immediately pour the caramel into the souffle dish. As the caramel cools and hardens, turn the dish in all directions so that the inside is evenly coated. The caramel will spread further in baking.

In a saucepan, bring the milk and lemon zest to a simmer, remove from the heat and allow to cool for a few minutes. In a large bowl, mix well the remaining 3/4 cup sugar with the eggs. Gradually stir in the hot milk.

Trim one slice of panettone so that it fits into the bottom of the souffle dish. Spoon 2 or 3 tablespoons of melted butter over it and then enough of the custard mixture to cover the panettone. Let it absorb the custard, adding more if necessary to cover. Repeat with additional slices of panettone, melted butter, and custard until the dish is filled to the very top. With each slice (and especially the last), use your palm to hold down the panettone until it completely submerged and saturated with custard. Do not compress the panettone, or the pudding will be too dense. Drizzle any remaining butter over the top.

Place the souffle dish into a larger pan filled with enough very hot tap water to come three-quarters of the way up the side of the dish. Bake for about an hour and a half. The top should be puffed and brown, the pudding should begin to pull away from the sides of the dish, and the internal temperature should rise to between 160 and 170 degrees. Allow the pudding to cool for at least 15 minutes. Just before serving, run a thin knife around the inside of the dish and unmold the pudding by inverting the souffle dish onto a large plate. Serve warm, cut into wedges and drizzle Galliano Glace' over the top of the wedges.

GALLIANO® GLACE'
1 cup heavy cream
2 oz. unsalted butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. Orange Zest
2 oz. Galliano Liqueur®
2 tsp. corn starch

In a saucepan, add the cream, butter sugar and orange zest and bring to a light boil. Blend the corn starch completely in the Galliano® and add to the boiling cream mixture. Stir continously until the glace' thickens. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. Drizzle over the wedges of bread pudding.

PANNETONE
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup seedless golden raisins
1/2 cup seedless dark raisins
1/2 cup Black Mission figs -- cut in 1/2-inch
1/2 cup Calimyrna figs -- cut in 1/2-inch
3/4 cup cognac
POOLISH:
1/2 cupmilk -- at room temperature
4 teaspoons moist yeast or 2 tsps. dry yeast
3/4 cup organic all-purpose white flour*
FINAL DOUGH:
9 tablespoons unsalted butter -- softened
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 vanilla bean halved horizontally, or
1 teaspoonvanilla extract
2 large eggs -- at room temperature
4 egg yolks -- at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
3 cups organic all-purpose white flour* -- (3 to 4)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter -- melted

*Note: These are approximate measures. You may use more or less depending on
the weight and absorbency of your flour. Note: Allow 8 hours to soak the
fruits. Allow 1 hour to ferment the poolish. Total preparation and baking
time (not including fermenting the poolish or soaking the fruits): 7 hours,
15 minutes. A classic in Italy and France at holiday time, this bread is so
light and well packed with fruit that it's almost a confection. It's good
anytime you want something sweet with tea or coffee. I make it in a
springform pan, as authentic panettone pans are difficult to locate. If you
have one, use my recipe in a well-buttered mold, but experiment with the
baking time--it may take longer.

PREPARATION:
-Prepare the dried fruit (allow 8 hours or overnight): Combine the raisins
and figs in a bowl. Heat the cognac in a small saucepan until just warm, then
pour over raisin mixture. Set aside at least 8 hours or overnight. Stir
occasionally if possible.
-Make and ferment the poolish (allow 1 hour): Combine the milk and yeast in a
medium bowl. Stir with a wooden spoon until yeast dissolves. Add the flour
and stir until the mixture is the consistency of a batter, about 100 strokes.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Cover with a clean
damp towel or plastic wrap, and put in a moderately warm (74o-80oF)
draft-free place until puffy and domed.
-Mix and knead the final dough (20 minutes): Measure the ingredients. Combine
the butter and sugar in the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer fitted with a paddle
blade. Beat on medium speed until smooth, about 1 1/2 minutes. Using the tip
of a small sharp knife, scrape the seeds out of the vanilla bean. Discard the
pod. Add the poolish, eggs and egg yolks, salt and vanilla seeds; beat on
medium speed 5 minutes, then gradually add 1 c. of the flour. Fit the mixer
with the dough hook. Add 2 1/2 c. of the remaining flour and continue beating
at medium speed for 10 minutes. Drain the fruit well, if necessary, and add,
beating 2 minutes more. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead,
until smooth and slightly sticky, adding more flour if necessary, about 3
minutes.
-Ferment the dough (about 2 1/2 hours): Shape the dough into a ball and place
smooth side down in a well-buttered 6-qt. bowl. Turn the dough to coat the
top with butter. Take the dough's temperature: the ideal is 78 degrees F. Cover with
a clean damp towel or plastic wrap and place in a moderately warm (74-80 degrees F)
draft-free place until doubled in volume.
-Note: If the dough temperature is higher than 78 degrees F, put it in a cooler than
78 degrees F place like the refrigerator, until the dough cools to 78 degrees F. If it is
lower than 78oF, put it in a warmer than 78 degrees F place until the dough warms to
78 degrees F. The point is to try to keep the dough at 78 degrees F during it fermentation.
If you do have to move the dough, be gentle and don't jostle it, or the dough
may deflate. Divide the dough and shape into a loaf (about 10 minutes):
Deflate the dough by pushing down in the center and pulling up on the sides.
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead briefly. Shape
into a log.
-Proof the loaf (2 to 3 hours): Butter a 10-inch springform pan or panettone
pan. Press the loaf into the prepared pan. Cover with a clean damp towel or
plastic wrap and put in a moderately warm (74 -80 degrees F) draft-free place until
the dough rises nearly to the rim of the pan.
-Bake the loaf (45 minutes): Forty-five minutes to 1 hour before baking,
preheat the oven and homemade hearth or baking stone on the center rack of
the oven to 400 degrees F. Bake 20 minutes. Cover the top loosely with foil and
continue baking until the loaf is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in
the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Remove from oven and brush the
top with the melted butter. Cool on a wire rack 20 minutes. Unmold and cool
completely before serving.

Makes 1 round 10-inch loaf.

Yield: 8 servings.

Try this recipe. You can mix or match some of your ingredients with the ones listed below. (for example add raisins to it) I'm wondering if the white chocolate mixture is what your aunt was cooking on topthe stove.

I made it for my husband, he's very hard to please when it comes to food and he LOVED it.
Let me know what you think...

3 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
3 cups whipping cream
10 ounces white chocolate
1 cup milk
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
8 egg yolks
1 loaf French bread, sliced into 1/4 inch pieces and dried in the oven
White Chocolate Sauce (see recipe below)

Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Pour butter into a 13x9-inch baking pan.

In the top of a double boiler over hot water, combine cream and white chocolate; stir until white chocolate is melted. Remove from heat and set aside.

In the top of another double boiler over hot water, heat the milk, sugar, eggs and egg yolks until warm. Blend the egg mixture into the chocolate mixture.

Place the bread slices into prepared baking pan. Pour 1/2 of the mixture over the bread and let settle for a while, making sure the bread soaks up all the mixture. Top with the rest of the mixture. Cover with aluminum foil and bake 1 hour. Remove the foil an bake for an additional 15 minutes until the top is golden brown. To serve, cut into squares and put into individual serving dishes. Serve warm with White Chocolate Sauce.

White Chocolate Sauce:
8 ounces white chocolate
3 ounces heavy cream

In the top of a double boiler over hot water, melt white chocolate. Remove from heat and mix in heavy cream. Spoon over bread pudding.

You can try Epicurious.com, there is a recipe there for Pannetone Bread Pudding which uses prunes and a water bath. I have made it and it is delicious.