Peach Bread Pudding

Today, I made Peach Bread Pudding, a recipe from my Moosewood dessert book. I chopped up 6 peaches and used 1 tbs of Appleton Estate rum, which my sister brought back from Jamaica last year. For the bread cubes, I used 2 slices of Pepperidge Farm Cinnamon Raisin bread and half of a loaf of homemade cinnamon raisin bread.

The Moosewood Collective recommends serving this with raspberry sauce, rum custard sauce, and/or a dollop of whipped cream. It would also be delightful with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!PEACH BREAD PUDDING

serves 8 to 10

5 c French, Italian or cinnamon raisin bread or challah, cut into small cubes
4 c milk
4 large eggs
1 tbs pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 c packed brown sugar
3 c chopped, peeled fresh or frozen peaches
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
2 tbs rum (optional)
2 tbs butter

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Place the bread cubes in a large mixing bowl. Whisk together the milk, eggs, vanilla, and 1 c of the brown sugar. Pour over the bread cubes, stir lightly, and set aside.

In a separate bowl, toss the peaches with the remaining 1/4 c of brown sugar and the cinnamon, nutmeg, and rum, if desired. Stir into the bread mixture. Melt the butter right in a 9x13" baking pan in the oven and when the butter has melted, tilt the pan to coat.

Pour the bread and peach mixture evenly into the buttered baking pan and bake until puffed and golden, about 50 minutes. Serve warm or cold.