Earlier this year, when I visited many of my MySpace friends in Tampa, we enjoyed an amazing bread pudding dish that Amanda made.  I thought of Amanda’s bread pudding when I came home from the farm this morning with a new loaf of Multigrain bread, and realized I still had the majority of the last one left.  Now wanting to waste it, I decided to try to re-create Amanda’s amazing bread pudding, with my own twist.  Here’s what I came up with:

Ingredients:

• 3 cups stale multigrain bread, cubed
• 5 eggs
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2/3 cup honey
• 2 cups milk
• ¼ cup banana rum
• 2 tablespoons cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon vanilla powder
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon cloves
• 1 cup dried blueberries
• 1 tablespoon toasted pecan pieces
• 1 tablespoon shredded coconut

Method:
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a large casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray.
• In a saucepan, heat the milk (on low) until it starts to froth (don’t let it boil), then turn down the heat and add the butter, keeping it warm just long enough of the butter to melt.  Turn off heat and allow to cool to a lukewarm temperature
• Combine the honey, spices and eggs in an electric mixer.
• While the mixer is going, cube the bread.
• Combine the bread, dried blueberries and pecan pieces together and fill the casserole dish with the dry mixture.
• Top the casserole with the coconut shavings and set aside
• Once the milk has cooled down, slowly add it to the egg mixture in the mixer.
• Pour egg mixture over the bread, coating the bread pieces, and bake for 40 minutes (or until top becomes golden brown)

Carmel Topping:
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• Sprinkle of water

• In a saucepan, heat the sugar and the light sprinkle of water until it turns brown, but doesn’t burn
• Drizzle on top of finished bread pudding