King's Hawaiian Raspberry Bread Pudding Bowl

Spring is in the air! That means rain showers and freak snowstorms. In the cooking world, you might be getting ready for a spring or Easter brunch. I'm partnering with Foodbuzz Tastemaker program and King's Hawaiian bread to bring you a perfectly scrumptious recipe for your next springtime brunch. They gave me a monetary stipend to create a recipe and I decided on a bread pudding baked in a bread bowl. I had originally wanted to make mini bread puddings, but the King's Hawaiian rolls are a bit small for the purpose.

My next idea was to use the giant round loaf, hollow it out, and bake the raspberry filling inside. Once it cools and sets, you can slice it like a pie and serve it with a raspberry-mango coulis. The coulis, a simple fruity sauce, almost looks like a dessert ketchup. The flavors are vibrant, tropical, and gives a great flavor to the bread pudding.

I always figured that King's Hawaiian bread had pineapple in it, but the ingredients say differently. It's simply a sweet potato bread that's very soft and fluffy.

Once you slice the top, you sort of scoop out the insides. I somehow managed to "scoop" layers, making it easier to slice into cubes.

I ended up with eight cups of bread cubes (including the top), which I toasted in the oven to dry out for a few minutes.

The custard is a simple milk, egg, and sugar mixture. I used lactose free milk, but I'm sure you can substitute regular milk as well. Since frozen raspberries are more economical, I opted to buy a pack for this recipe instead of the fresh variety. Since I used them frozen instead of letting them thaw they didn't bleed through the pudding very much.

All you have to do next is mix the toasted cubes of bread with the custard, stirring until it soaks up a little, stir in the raspberries, and pour the custard into the bread bowl. The giant loaf comes in a foil pie tin, though I placed it on a rimmed baking sheet so transferring it to and from the oven is easier. You'll need to cover the sides of the bread with foil strips to prevent the bread from burning as it bakes. The rim on the pie dish makes the foil stay on, so that's cool.

That's all there is to it! The pudding bakes a bit longer than most recipes since the bread pudding is sort of in a mound versus a shallow dish. I found it baked up well for about 1 hour and 50 minutes. A little longer than I liked, but what are you going to do?

The raspberry-mango coulis is simple to put together and can be prepared as the bread pudding bakes. I used 1 cup of frozen raspberries and 2 cups fresh mango. You can use frozen mango as well, if you'd like. I simmered the two fruits in a saucepan with a small amount of sugar for 10 minutes, then pureed the mixture, pressing it through a fine mesh sieve so the seeds from the raspberries are removed. A little lemon juice to enhance the tartness and it's all set.

The bread pudding can be made ahead of time, covered, and recrisped in the oven for 10 minutes just prior to serving. The flavors meld together and the unique preparation will make for a fun dessert for your next spring brunch. Enjoy!

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King's Hawaiian Raspberry Bread Pudding Bowl
Recipe by Christina Provo

Ingredients -

1 16 ounce loaf King's Hawaiian bread
1 2/3 cups whole milk
4 large eggs
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
8 cups day old cubed King's Hawaiian bread
2 cups frozen raspberries

Coulis ingredients -

1 cup frozen raspberries
2 cups cubed fresh or frozen mango chunks
1/4 cup granulated sugar
4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

directions -

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice the top off the loaf of bread, about 1/2 and inch thick. Using your hands, hollow out the bread, keeping sure keep the bottoms and sides even in thickness. You should have about 8 cups of cubed or torn bread. Place the bread cubes on a rimmed baking sheet and toast in the oven for 7-10 minutes, stirring halfway through. Watch carefully because it toasts quickly.


2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the milk, eggs, and sugar together. Add the toasted bread cubes, stirring just until the bread begins to soak in the liquid. Stir in frozen raspberries. Place the bread bowl onto the rimmed baking sheet and cover the exposed sides with foil; pour in the custard-bread mixture. Cover the top with a sheet of foil and bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Remove foil from top and continue baking for an additional 20-25 minutes, until bread pudding is puffed and set. The filling will jiggle when shook and a knife inserted in the center will come out with a few moist crumbs. Let cool.


3. Meanwhile, place frozen raspberries, mangoes, and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook at a simmer for about 10 minutes, until the liquid is extracted and the fruit cooks down. Pour into a blender with 1/4 cup water and puree until smooth. Press through a sieve to remove seeds. Stir in lemon juice.


4. Spread coulis onto bottom of serving plates. Position a slice of bread pudding in the middle. Serve with additional sauce if desires.

Bread pudding may be cooked in advance. Cover and refrigerate overnight. To reheat, bake in an oven at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.