Stollen Bread Pudding

You know that leftover loaf of stollen you've had tucked in the back of the freezer for a year now? No? Is that just me? Oh well. I suppose if you didn't have the foresight to start planning for this recipe a year in advance you can always use the fresh stuff. A pity you'll miss out on the freezer burn, though.

Every year when I buy a batch of Lebkuchen from Germany the collection includes a loaf of the one German treat I dislike: stollen. There's no earthly reason why I shouldn't like it since I'm a fan of all of the individual elements including raisins, nuts, and mixed peel. But when they're baked together the loaf is as abhorrent to me as fruitcake is to most Americans. I stashed last year's loaf in the freezer thinking that at some point I'd get desperate enough for dessert to thaw it out, but that doesn't seem to have happened in an entire year. With a fresh loaf in this Christmas' package I knew I needed to creatively use it all up.


I've had such good luck with bread pudding in cupcake form that I thought I'd hunt down a stollen bread pudding recipe. Fortunately, someone else out there is as weird as I and already had the same idea, so I quickly found a promising-looking recipe. I made a few adjustments, all for the best I'd say, with an extra special flavor coming from my secret ingredient:


That's right. Sugar & Spice Coffee-Mate, which I have an abundance of since I picked up some using a great coupon for only $0.50. Only trouble is I don't actually drink coffee so I've had a hard time using it up. This recipe helped me clear the freezer of that leftover stollen and my Coffee-mate. If you don't want to buy some specifically for this recipe feel free to substitute plain old milk in the recipe below and add a little extra sugar to compensate.

I'm pleased to report that this is one way to get me to happily eat my stollen. I should have guessed that, like most foods, it was improved with the addition of sugar and cream. And now I have a foolproof method to enjoy my stollen in future years. I almost can't wait for next Christmas' box!

Stollen Bread Pudding
Recipe adapted from InMamasKitchen.com

4 eggs
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup Sugar & Spice Coffee-mate
1 1/4 cups milk
1/2 pint (1 cup) heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 17.64-ounce loaves of stollen, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/3 cup chocolate chips

Whisk eggs and sugar until thoroughly combined. When blended, whisk in milk, cream and vanilla. Blend well. Pour one cup into a small saucepan and set aside.

Place stollen cubes into a bowl and pour milk mixture over it. Add chocolate chips and toss to coat. Pour into a baking dish and let sit for ten minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Set the baking dish into a larger pan and create a water bath. Bake in the oven for 60-80 minutes, or until set. Test center with finger, pressing lightly - it should be firm to the touch.

Heat the remaining milk mixture in a saucepan over low to medium-low heat, whisking constantly. When mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon it is finished. Do not increase the heat as there are eggs in the mixture.

When pudding is finished, let cool a little to firm before slicing. Put each slice on a serving plate and pour the sauce over.