Dreamy French Bread Pudding

Total Time: 1 hr 5 mins Cook Time: 1 hr 5 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 8
• 1 lb loaf french bread, day old
• 4 eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 3 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups unbleached cane sugar
• 1/4 cup fresh orange juice
• 2 teaspoons orange zest, finely minced
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3 cups rice milk (rice dream enriched, vanilla flavored)
• 1/2 cup raisins or 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds (optional)

Recipe

• 1 preheat oven to 375°f.
• 2 lightly grease a 13" x 9" baking dish. tear or cube the french bread into 1" pieces and place in the baking dish.
• 3 in a mixing bowl, beat the eggs, egg yolks, butter, 1 1/4 cups sugar, orange juice, zest and vanilla extract. set 1/4 cup of sugar aside.
• 4 add the nutmeg, cinnamon and rice dream to the egg mixture; whisking well until blended. stir in the raisins and nuts if using.
• 5 pour the mixture over the french bread then lightly stir the mixture to coat and to prevent the bread pudding from burning.
• 6 let stand for 10 minutes to allow the bread to absorb the mixture.
• 7 cover the baking dish with aluminum foil. bake for 35 minutes, remove foil and sprinkle top with the remaining 1/4 cup sugar.
• 8 baked uncovered for another 30-40 minutes, or until the top is golden and pudding "puffs" up. add the almonds last 10-15 minutes of baking.
• 9 serve warm. dollop with non dairy topping or fresh whipping cream if desired.