Panettone Bread Pudding with Coconut
All bread pudding recipes call for the same set of ingredients: dry bread, milk, cream, eggs and sugar. This particular version is both familiar and new at the same time. For the bread, I used panettone left-over from the holidays that got a little dry. I also added coconut cream to the traditional heavy cream to pump up the flavor.
We served the bread pudding at a large family gathering, alongside a deliciously decadent caramel-rum sauce. Check back tomorrow to get the recipe for the bread pudding sauce!
Ingredients
Yields: 6 small loaves
1 (1.65-pound) whole panettone (750 grams)1 cup coconut cream
1 cup whole milk
2 cups half and half
8 eggs
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon coconut extract
1 teaspoon imitation rum extract
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup potato flour
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, + extra for greasing the molds
1 tablespoon coconut flakes
Directions
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
In a saucepan, slightly toast the coconut flakes for about 30 seconds. Transfer to a plate. Set aside.
In a small bowl, combine the coconut cream, half and half and milk.
Trim off and discard the bottom crust of the panettone; dice the rest into 1- ½" cubes. Place in a large mixing bowl. Add the dairy mixture. Soak for about 15-30 minutes.
Separate the egg yolks from the whites.
For the custard, beat the egg yolks in a mixing bowl with half the amount of granulated sugar until you get a pale, yellow foam; the texture of the egg yolks will be thicker. Add the vanilla, rum and coconut extracts.
In a separate bowl, sift the potato flour.
Combine the egg yolk mixture, potato flour and coconut flakes. Add the panettone mixture and butter.
In another bowl, add salt to the egg whites and whisk for about 2 minutes at a low speed. Add the rest of the granulated sugar, increase the speed of your mixer and keep beating for another 2-3 minutes until it forms stiff peaks. Don't over-beat or the texture will become grainy.
Using a silicone spatula, mix 1/3 of the whipped egg whites with the egg yolk mixture to soften it. Add the rest of the whipped egg whites and gently fold in the eggs to get an airy batter.
Apply a thin layer of butter (approximately 1 tablespoon total) to 6 mini loaf pans, previously lined with a rectangle of parchment paper. Pour in the bread pudding batter; even it out using a spreader. Bake for 5 minutes at 375°F; lower the temperature to 350°F and bake for another 40 minutes. The texture of the panettone pudding should be very soft and moist.
Stay tuned for the coconut-flavored caramel-rum sauce 
.
Tips
The recipe yields 6 small loaf pans. I also baked the bread pudding in mini paper shot cups (as pictured); 25 minutes is enough time to bake in these shot cups until golden.
Similar to other cake recipes, I use potato flour for a lighter, fluffier result.
Toasting the coconut shreds brings out the coconut flavor in the bread pudding. For a different texture, you can also use powdered coconut strips or powdered coconut candies as I used in my pandan and coconut brioche.
Depending on your preference, you can either use any "dairy" products such as heavy cream, half and half, milk, coconut cream, coconut milk or all the above.
For more flavor, you can substitute the grains scraped from a vanilla bean for the vanilla extract.
For an adult version, you can drizzle a little rum over the warm bread pudding.
Published By: on January 4, 2010.
