I got the best Mother’s Day present ever last week, when my son surprised me by coming home from school earlier than I thought he would! I really did not expect to see him until sometime before school starts again in August. I miss him terribly, and he is so far away, but I know he has his own life at school and with summer school and working, I never get to see him enough! So, imagine my surprise when he walked in the front door around 5 pm on the Friday before Mother’s Day. BEST MOTHER’S DAY EVER! I had such fun cooking all his favorites, and spoiling him with treats while he was here. One of those treats was bread pudding. Bread pudding has long been a favorite of mine, but my son likes his a little different than I do. So, I made it two different ways, making small personal servings. I made mine and my husbands with apple chunks and golden raisins. My son likes his plain, no apples or raisins, and we all like it topped with ice cream. I used some bread that I bought a while ago. It is called Kings Hawaiian Sweet Sliced Bread. Now, I love the rolls, but the bread was way to dense for our taste, so I just froze it because I thought it would make great bread pudding. Plus, I have a hard time throwing something away that I just bought.! 
Apple and Raisin Bread Pudding
I used 6 ounce ramekins, and this recipe makes 4.
I also made it with 8 ounce ramekins, and the recipe makes 2.
Kings Hawaiian Sweet Bread
2/3 cup Sugar
1/4 cup Butter
2 Eggs
1 cup Whipping Cream
1/2 Granny Smith Apple
3 tablespoons Golden Raisins
2 teaspoons Vanilla
Dashes of Cinnamon
Cut 2-3 slices of bread into cubes.
Fill the ramekin to the top with the cubes.
Cut the 1/2 apple and cut into small bite size pieces.
Place into each ramekin.
Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.
Beat the sugar and butter till creamy.
Add your eggs, and beat until fluffy.
Stir in the whipping cream and vanilla.
Distribute the raisins evenly over the bread and apple.
Pour the egg mixture into each of the ramekins, filling
to the top. Push the bread, apple, and raisins
down into the mix, so everything is covered.
Sprinkle cinnamon over each of the mixtures.
Make a water bath, also called a bain marie, to cook the
bread pudding. This is a french technique designed to cook delicate dishes
such as custards and sauces without breaking or curdling them.
It can also be used to keep cooked foods warm.
To do this, place the ramekins into a
baking dish that will hold all 4, or 2 if you are
making the larger servings.
Boil some water, and pour the boiling water into the baking dish,
so you end up with approx. 1″ of water in the dish.
Bake for 40-50 minutes. Check the puddings at 35 minutes by
placing a toothpick in them. If it comes out clean,
they are done. Carefully remove the dishes from the hot water.
Serve warm with a scoop of ice cream, or….
serve plain.
Warm or cold, it is delicious!
Enjoy!