Oh, yes M'am. This is my maternal grandmother's receipe she was born in Germany. Grandma Bartols lived with us after her husband died from my age 5 to my age 16. She was wonderfully soft and plump and it was great to cuddle up to her. Earth mother. She made dolly dresses, desserts, sewed my Jr. High School projects so I wouldn't fail, etc)

This of course is adapted from watching her:

1/4 C margarine creamed til soft and smooth
7-8 slices white bread
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 C seedless raisins
3 large eggs
2/3 C white sugar
2 C very hot milk
1 tsp vanilla

Spread margarine on the bread. Leave crusts on, it helps the texture. Cut each slice into 4 squares, or smaller. Cover bottom of baking dish with half of the bread. Sprinkle with cinnamon and raisins. Top with remaining bread margarine side up. Beat eggs with "rotary" egg beater until light adding sugar gradually. (Any one remember those beaters with the crank handle on the side?) Add hot milk very slowly to eggs, beating very slowly and constantly. Beat in vanilla. Pour egg and milk mixture over bread and let sit for awhile (1/2 hr?or more? I do what works time wise for me). Set baking dish in a large pan of hot water and bake in moderate (350) over for 50-60 minutes.

Serve with good quality vanilla ice cream, or my favorite, hard sauce. (Prepare pudding in advance and cook it while you are eating dinner so it is hot and crunchy when you are ready for dessert )

Bet Rachel has a better receipe for hard sauce than I do. And I prefer it with hard sauce. Just butter, sugar and some flavoring. Adding some Bourbon along the way would not be bad. Plumping the raisins in it would be good. Remember Grandma was poor. When I take in a spoonful, I want it to TASTE THE SAME. I am sure changing the original margarine to butter would be better as would other changes, I just can't do it myself. The simple version is extremely good.
- jeanne 12-19-2002 1:57 am [add a comment]

Sounds like a good pudding Jeanne. Here's a Brandy Butter recipe from Nigella Lawson (what's better than booze, butter and sugar? Hope there are no vegans in the vicinity when you serve it.)

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons softened unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup ground almonds
3 tablespoons brandy, or to taste

Cream butter until soft and add confectioners' sugar and beat them together till pale and creamy. Mix in ground almonds and when all is smooth add the brandy. Add a tablespoon at first, then taste, then another and see if you want more. You may find 3 is far from enough. If you can find golden unrefined confectioners' sugar (sometimes at Dean & Deluca) it adds a great fudginess to the flavor.
- rachael 12-19-2002 2:32 am [add a comment]

thanks, ladies! i'm going to try it out for christmas dinner and i'll let you know how it turns out.
- linda 12-19-2002 3:53 pm [add a comment]

If you want to go totally overboard on the pudding go to FoodTV.com and search by show. Barefoot Contesssa has a croissant bread pudding that I have not made but reads wonderfully. I have two of her cookbooks and everything I have ever tried turns out wonderfully.

I think I would go with Rachel's suggestion for the Brandy Butter Sauce on Grandma's.
- jeanne 12-19-2002 6:07 pm [add a comment]

ohmygod, croissant pudding ... yummmmm ... even i couldn't possibly screw that one up i'm sure. though considering my questionable dessert-making history, i like the idea of tried and true recipes. and this way i'll think of you both when i serve.
- linda 12-19-2002 6:34 pm [add a comment]