Jelly doughnut bread pudding is Valentine's Day red

In addition to bread pudding and chocolate, what really makes my mouth water is a jelly doughnut. Or actually more than one jelly doughnut. So when I saw this recipe for Jelly Doughnut Pudding, of course I was intrigued. It was posted by Alex Witchel in The New York Times this past week, and thanks to Nancy Mosher of New York for alerting me to the article.

On a richness scale, this one scores as close to a Ten as you can get, with heavy cream, eggs and egg yolks, and of course the doughnuts themselves. We’d like to try it, but there’s usually not a crumb left when we have jelly donuts in the house. It does sound very pretty for Valentine’s Day, however, with alternating layers of sliced donuts and custard.

JELLY DOUGHNUT PUDDING
(Time: About 2 1/2 hours)

3 1/2 cups heavy cream, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups whole milk, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar
8 large eggs
4 large egg yolks
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
14 jelly doughnuts, preferably filled with raspberry jam
Butter, for greasing pan

1. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Fill a kettle with water and place over high heat to bring to a boil. In a large mixing bowl, combine cream, milk, 1 1/2 cups sugar, eggs, egg yolks and vanilla. Whisk to blend.
2. Using a serrated knife, gently slice doughnuts from top to bottom in 1/4-inch slices. Butter a 9-by-12-inch baking pan and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar. Pour about 1/2 inch of the cream mixture into pan. Arrange a layer of sliced doughnuts in pan, overlapping them slightly. Top with another layer, pressing them down slightly to moisten them. Top with a small amount of cream mixture.
3. Arrange 2 more layers of sliced doughnuts, and pour remaining liquid evenly over top. Press down gently to moisten. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon sugar. Cover pan tightly with foil, and place in a larger pan. Fill larger pan with boiling water until three-quarters up the side of pan.
4. Bake for 1 hour 50 minutes. Remove foil and continue to bake until top is golden brown, about 15 minutes. Turn off oven, open door slightly, and leave in oven for an additional 10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Yield: 8 to 10 servings.
(Recipe posted by Alex Witchel in The New York Times, January 28, 2009)