Martha Stewart's Bread Pudding

I have always been a little bit in awe of Martha Stewart. I used to say I was going to be the next Martha Stewart minus the prison time. She has just been such a great DIY inspiration for so long in so many people's homes. Out of the hundreds of Stewart recipes I have collected, I decided to try out her Maple-Pecan Bread Pudding. 

This is another very simple recipe to pull off. There's a bit of mixing and that's about it for the preparation. I substituted walnuts for the pecans, and mixed the maple syrup in with cheaper syrup. These instructions are pretty exactly the same as Martha Stewart's with a few add-ins. 

Maple Walnut Bread Pudding
Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients:
Butter, room temperature, for baking dish
1 baguette (8 ounces), thinly sliced
2 cups half-and-half
2 large eggs
2/3 cup pure maple syrup (preferably Grade B), plus more for serving
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
Heavy cream, for serving (optional)

• 
  
• Instructions:

• 1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter a 2-quart baking dish and set aside. Arrange bread on two large rimmed baking sheets; bake until dry (but not browned), about 15 minutes. Let cool.

• 2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together half-and-half, eggs, syrup, vanilla, and salt. Add bread to custard and toss. In prepared dish, stand slices upright in rows. Pour any remaining custard in bowl over top and let stand 10 minutes.

• 3. Sprinkle bread pudding with walnuts and bake until center is hot and most of custard is absorbed, about 30 minutes. Let cool slightly. Serve with maple syrup and cream, if desired.

I have to say this was quite awesome. My mother, who claims to not like maple syrup, even seemed to really enjoy it. The pudding was very moist yet firm and not sloppy. It was very well flavored and I am really quite a fan of this recipe now. I have a tendency to never repeat recipes (there are so many, I have to try them all!) but I can already say that I would consider using this one multiple times.

Enjoy.