Recipe: Mixed Whatevers Bread Pudding

Frankly speaking, I ignore bread pudding whenever it is served on the table because I'm not convinced that it's worth the stomach space. It wasn't until I saw Chef Michael Smith whip up the dish that made me say "maybe".  His recipe got stuck in my head that I managed to make one when the bread's expiration date came into view. Destiny has called forth my food angel to inspire me that I may get rid of many leftover ingredients hanging in the ref and pantry, all it the name of stale bread. 

Unfortunately the only ingredients I remembered from Chef at Home were bread, milk, eggs, vanilla, and heaping spoons of brown sugar. The proportions and procedure I had to search online. Here's what I came up with.


Basic Bread Pudding Recipe:
4 Eggs
2 cups Milk
6 slices of White Bread (or as some call it Pinoy Tasty, or as I call it Pan de Amerikano)
1 cup Brown Sugar (but I think it must've been more since I didn't measure)
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Procedure:

Just mix everything and bake in an oven. The trick is to sprinkle a light layer of brown sugar on top so that it will caramelize into a sweet-crispy-glistening crust! I don't know about temperatures, but it was around medium heat  for a couple of minutes...and I'm guessing it took me 30mins that resulted to a golden brown crust and a thin burnt bottom. I like it served hot...but my brother likes it fresh out of the refrigerator, so it doesn't matter. But we both like it with à la mode. 


As for the Mixed Whatevers, I placed the following:

Lots of cinnamon
A dust of clove 
An apple, cubed with the skin on since my brother refused to peel it
Grated carrot that's as big as four clumps of crayons
Dates, sliced into random chunks (can be bought at Santi's or S&R)
Dried Mangoes, sliced lengthwise
Butter, just random slathers
Maple Syrup, just about a tablespoon since it's expensive
Condensed Milk
Orange Zest (I didn't actually add this since I didn't have an orange available, but I sure would've done so if there was one lying around)
Chopped Walnuts...but I also didn't have walnuts on hand...just suggesting 

I simply added the ingredients to the basic recipe and carefully watched as the pudding raise to double its size as it was baking, waited for the crust to turn golden brown, and the kitchen to smell like toasted custard bread before I took it out. Don't be surprised when the dome collapses though, I was disappointed when it did. </3

To serve, I added scoops of vanilla ice cream and drizzled it with three different flavors: cherry flavored cola syrup, chocolate syrup, and maple syrup. The combination was divine! Especially the Dr. Pepper sauce on the ice cream! 

Now I'm learning to appreciate bread pudding because it helped me get rid of a lot of ingredients that have been in storage long enough.  

Pardon the photos, I was not in the "career mode".