Old-Fashioned Bread Pudding With Meringue

A satiny smooth bread pudding with fluffy meringue peaks. (Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock)

My mother made a satiny smooth bread pudding with fluffy meringue peaks.

Her preference was to cut the crusts off the bread slices so the resulting pudding was an even shade of pale yellow. If you’re wary of making meringue, just reserve the egg whites for another use and top your bread pudding with whipped cream or caramel sauce.

Serves 8

For the bread pudding:

• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla 
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 6 egg yolks (reserve whites)
• 1 1/4 cups milk
• 24 slices stale white bread, crusts removed, broken into small pieces
• 1/2 cup raisins

For the meringue: 

• 6 egg whites
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar 

Make the bread pudding: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 7-inch x 11-inch oblong baking pan.

In a large bowl, combine vanilla, butter, and sugar. Beat with a mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add the egg yolks one at a time, beating after each addition. Add the milk and bread pieces and beat until the mixture takes on a creamy texture. Stir in the raisins.

Pour the bread pudding into the buttered baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 35–40 minutes. Remove from oven.

Make the meringue: Whip egg whites until frothy. Combine sugar and cream of tartar. Continue beating the egg whites while adding the sugar mixture a little at a time. Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. 

Spread the meringue over the top of the bread pudding. Return the pudding to the oven and bake for 10 minutes or until meringue browns. Allow pudding to cool before serving.

Recipe from “Roux Memories: A Cajun-Creole Love Story With Recipes” by Belinda Hulin Crissman