Lemon-Blueberry Bread Pudding

This lemon-blueberry bread pudding is not overly sweet and is one of the simplest desserts you can make! A zesty summer delight and comfort food at its finest with a punch of lemon and plump blueberries mixed throughout baked and served in your very own special jar makes it all the more decadent.

I like a dessert that can also substitute as breakfast……..put it in a jar so I can take it with me, and it’s gold!

The trend of food in jars is not only practical but oh so cute.  The concept of desserts in jars, a portable dessert, eliminates the worries about transporting your scrumptious handiwork that you have slaved over being ruined on the way to your dinner party or BBQ.

So it’s only fitting that my sweet friend Shaina Olmanson of Food For My Family recently published  Desserts in Jars: 50 Sweet Treats that Shine, her first cookbook! Shaina is a wife and mother of four, who amazes me every day with what all she does, and still has time to be a great friend and makes it look so effortless, and now she has added “author” to her list of titles.

Desserts in Jars is a treasure,  full of fifty recipes completely dedicated to desserts all in cute little jars. Shaina walks you through the basics of using jars for all kinds of dessert and then provides mouthwatering recipes along with stunning photography for everything from cakes to pies, to custards and puddings, to frozen treats and mixes for gifting.

I wasted no time digging into every page trying to choose what I wanted to make first, and the Lemon-Blueberry Bread Pudding seemed to call my name.  I think it was the temptation of bread pudding bursting with a little summer delight that drew me in, and this recipe did not fail! I MAY have just had one for breakfast and another for a late afternoon snack yesterday alone.  Good thing this recipe was easy to cut in half or my hips would be in BIG trouble.

I only slightly adapted Shaina’s recipe because I forgot to pick up mascarpone cheese, so I substituted with cream cheese.

I also, did not have any stale bread on hand, so even though I filled my jars about 1/2 -3/4 full, they did not fluff up as much as stale bread would have…………but that did not affect the taste at all, or if it did, I can’t imagine the results tasting any better than how these beauties turned out.

Don’t forget to pour the sweetened heavy cream over each jar before serving………It’s worth every calorie.

You’re going to want to add this bread pudding to your summer baking list!!

Giveaway – ENDED

Shaina has graciously offered to give one lucky Cetcu reader a copy of her cookbook Desserts in Jars, 50 Sweet Treats That Shine (Harvard Common Press). You’ll fall in love from the moment you open the cover.

 GIVEAWAY has ended

Congrats to the winner, comment #71 Teresa

Official Rules: No purchase necessary. Open to US residents only . Must be over 18. Giveaway begins on July 23, 2012 will end on July 30, 2012 at 5:00 pm CST. Prize value $16.95.  The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. One winner with a valid entry will be selected at random using random.org. Winner will be notified by email by August 4, 2012 and will have 48 hours to claim their prize or another winner will be selected. Cetcu, and Harvard Common Press are not responsible for lost or undelivered emails. Winner will be posted on this blog post by August 4, 2012.  VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.  By entering this giveaway, you have agreed to these rules.  Giveaway sponsored by Harvard Common Press .

Find more details on Desserts in Jars, author Shaina Olmanson, and view her beautiful video trailer DessertsinJars.com

Lemon-Blueberry Bread Pudding

Yield: 12 servings
Additional Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes

A zesty summer delight and comfort food at its finest with a punch of lemon and plump blueberries mixed throughout baked and served in your very own special jar makes bread pudding all the more decadent. For the original recipe, purchase Shaina's cookbook HERE.

Ingredients

• 1 pound rustic artisan bread, crusts included (preferably stale)
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• ½ cup cream cheese (or mascarpone cheese)
• 3 cups whole milk (I used 2%)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• zest of one lemon
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1½ cups blueberries, fresh or frozen
• ¾ cup heavy cream
• 2 teaspoons agave nectar
• 12 - 8 ounce jars

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 350°. Grease twelve 8-ounce jars. cut the bread into 1½ inch cubes, place in a large bowl, and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, beat the eggs and mix in the sugar and cheese. Add the milk, vanilla, lemon zest, and lemon juice and beat until evenly combined. Stir in the melted butter.
3. Pour the milk and egg mixture over the bread cubes and stir until all the pieces of bread are completely soaked. Allow the bread to sit for 20 minutes.
4. Stir the blueberries into the pudding mixture and immediately spoon into the jars, filling each only half full. Place the jars on a large baking sheet 2 inches apart. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the tops of the puddings are evenly browned.
5. Remove from the oven, set on a clean, dry towel, and let rest 15-20 minutes. Just before serving, pour the cream and agave nectar into a lidded jar and shake to combine. Drizzle over the top of the bread puddings and serve.

Notes

VERY SLIGHTLY ADAPTED FROM DESSERTS IN JARS BY SHAINA OLMANSON.

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Disclosure: I was given a copy of Desserts in Jars to keep and another copy to giveaway.  All views, opinions and my love for Shaina and desserts of any kind are all my own.