mixed berry bread pudding.

ingredients

4 eggs

2 c heavy cream or half-and-half

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp almond extract optional

4-5 c 1-in cubes day old french bread dried**

1 c fresh or frozen blueberries, thawed

½ c fresh or frozen strawberries, thawed and quartered

¼ c sugar

¼ tsp salt

nonstick cooking spray or butter

powdered sugar optional

instructions

preheat oven to 350°. in a large bowl, whisk together eggs, cream, almond and vanilla extract.

add french bread cubes and toss to coat. let sit until mixture becomes slightly soggy, about 10 minutes.

in a medium bowl, toss blueberries and strawberries with sugar and salt. gently fold fruit into bread mixture with a rubber spatula.

transfer to 2-quart baking dish.

bake for 45 minutes uncovered, until golden brown and puffed and a knife comes out clean, rotating once halfway through baking. let cool 10 minutes. top with powered sugar.

drying bread **

if you don’t have day old bread, spread bread cubes evenly on a baking sheet; cover loosely with a kitchen towel and let stand overnight. or you can bake the cubes at 300° for 10 to 15 minutes in oven.