Eggnog Panettone Bread Pudding

The nutmeg flavored eggnog bread pudding is cooked in muffin tins in a water bath in the oven. The individual servings make for a very nice presentation. The bread pudding may be served warm or cold with Vanilla Ice cream or whipped cream.

Yield: 12 servings.

Ingredients:

* 5 cups panettone, cubed
* 3 whole eggs
* 3 egg yolks
* 3/4 cups sugar
* 2 cups half-and-half
* 1/4 cup rum
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
* Vegetable cooking spray

Directions:

Preheat oven to 475 degrees F.

Place a tea-kettle of water on to boil for a water bath.  Reserve the cubed panettone in a large mixing bowl.

For the eggnog custard, in another bowl thoroughly whisk together the eggs, yolks, sugar, half and half, rum, vanilla extract, and a healthy grating of fresh nutmeg. Pour this over the bread cubes.

Spray a 12 hole muffin tin with vegetable cooking spray. Ladle the bread/eggnog mixture gently and evenly into the muffin tins. The big cubes sticking up look nice. Place the filled muffin tin in a tall sided cookie sheet or roasting pan. Transfer to the preheated oven and carefully pour the hot water from kettle onto sheet pan, creating a water bath for the muffin tin to sit in.

Bake 15 to 20 minutes until the tops are nicely browned, and a toothpick comes clean from the center.

Adapted from Foodnetwork.com.