I woke up thinking about food this morning. Specifically, breakfast. We usually go out for breakfast one day on the weekend, but today I wanted to start the day at home. So, what would it be?
- 2 slices bread, each about 3/4″ thick, cut into cubes
- 1/2 cup mixed berries (I used a frozen mix of blueberries, raspberries and blackberries)
- 1 cup milk, plus more if needed (I used almond milk)
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1-1/2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Crumble Topping
- Start with any crumbs from the cutting board (why throw them out?)
- 1-1/2 tbsp whole wheat flour
- 1 tbsp wheat bran
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- sprinkle of cinnamon
- 1 tbsp butter or margarine
- some more berries for scattering on top
Combine the bread and berries in a bowl. Next, measure out a cup of milk in a two-cup measuring cup, add the egg, vanilla, sugar and cinnamon and whisk together. Pour this custard (that’s what you just made!) over the bread and berries, and toss together gently, ensuring all the bread is soaking in the liquid.
Next, prepare the topping. Put the crumbs, flour, bran, sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl, add the butter or margarine, and cut it all together well with a fork. You are looking for a somewhat crumbly texture, not a smooth mixture. (My go-to ingredient for a crumble topping is oatmeal, but Brent can’t eat oats, so I’m learning to think outside the box.)
By the time you are done preparing the topping, the bread should have soaked up the custard. You are looking for a fairly moist mixture. You can add a little more milk if you think that’s required. (I added about another 1/8 cup and gave it another gentle stir.)
Spoon heaping mounds of the bread, berry and custard mixture into the ramekins, sprinkle the crumble topping over them, and festoon with some more berries. I was getting to the bottom of my bag of frozen berries, so I had a lot of “berry bits” in addition to whole ones. No problem!
Place the ramekins on a parchment paper lined baking tray, and bake at 350° for 30 to 35 minutes. When they are done, they will be a little crispy around the edges, the crumble will be crunchy and the centre should be creamy and hot.
Great writing Hon. This was a wonderful start to the weekend!!!
This is far different from any bread pudding I’ve ever enjoyed but I do like the sound of it. The berries and cinnamon would, for me, move this dish off of the dessert cart and onto the breakfast table. Now, I’m not much of a breakfast person but this is one I want to try. Thanks, Mar!
It would be easy to turn this into a dessert, but I tried to keep the sweetness down to a reasonably sensible level for breakfast. The berries really made this dish sing!
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