Vanilla chai bread pudding is easy and delicious

One of my most favorite places to shop for food in the whole wide world is Trader Joe’s. Whenever I get up to Massachusetts I stop in the Trader’s in Framingham, where I load up my cart. So when I came across this bread pudding I knew it had to be great, flavored with Trader’s chai mix.

Using chai tea and also agave nectar in a bread pudding is also a neat and original idea. It was posted on the Cooking with Trader Joe’s blog by Deana Gunn, under the vegetarian and vegan recipes. Ahhh, I can just smell the wonderful aroma … sigh …

VANILLA CHAI BREAD PUDDING

A little more than 1/2 of a 1-lb challah loaf cubed into 1/2-inch chunks (about 6 cups worth)

3 eggs

1 cup heavy cream

1 1/2 tablespoons Spicy Chai Latte Mix powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup agave nectar

You will also need six 6-ounce ramekins (These are the smaller size ones which are 3.5 inch diameter)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.Place cubed bread in medium sized bowl.

3. In separate bowl, combine eggs, cream, powder, vanilla, and agave. Whisk together until mixture is smooth and all powder has dissolved.

4. Pour mixture over bread and let it soak for 10 minutes. Do not stir since that will create a mush. Once or twice, using large spoon or spatula, gently flip some of the bread over so that mixture soaks in evenly.

5. Fill each well-buttered or oiled ramekin with some of the bread. Press gently to compact slightly.

6. Place ramekins in baking dish and fill baking dish with hot water until water is halfway up sides of ramekins.

7. Place in oven (carefully!), drape with foil, and bake for about 30 minutes until bread pudding is firm in center.

8.Pop out of ramekin if desired. Serve warm with ice cream, frozen yogurt, or drizzle with chocolate sauce. (Note from Deana Gunn: In the photos, I garnished it with a piece of candied ginger.

(Recipe posted by Deana Gunn on the blog, Cooking with Trader Joes, 2009)