Mákos Guba (Poppyseed Bread Pudding)

This recipe has been a long time comin'.  In late July, I had one of the most amazing food experiences: traveling to Cered, Hungary to visit my friend Gergely, his village, and his lovely family.  This bread pudding is just one of the many, many delicious things we feasted upon.

With layers of sweet poppyseeds and custard, this makes one amazing dessert.  Where to buy poppyseeds, you might inquire?  I brought mine back from a small market in Budapest, but it turns out you can order them from Amazon if you don't have a specialty foods store nearby.  

I've adapted this recipe just a bit to account for shifts from the metric system and a few ingredients that aren't as accessible in America.  I think it stays true to the heart and soul of the original recipe.  

And for a song, you ask?  Here's The Teardrop Explodes' "Poppies in the Field."  [This is the only clip I could find featuring this song, incorrectly titled, of course!  My aesthetic apologies to Julian Cope.]

Ingredients:
--2 small baguettes, on the stale side
--4 c. whole milk
--4 large eggs
--1/2 c. granulated sugar
--1/2 c. turbinado sugar, + extra for sprinkling
--2 tsp. vanilla extract
--1/2 c. confectioner's sugar
--1 c. ground poppyseeds
--1 tbsp. butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cut the bread into approximately 1" cubes and set aside.  In a medium saucepan, heat the milk on medium-low until it is quite warm--do not let the milk boil!  In a large bowl, combine eggs, granulated sugar, turbinado sugar, and vanilla extract.  Slowly whisk into the milk and continue to cook over low heat until the sugar has dissolved.  Remove from heat and set aside, covered.

In a smaller bowl, combine the confectioner's sugar and ground poppyseeds.  Set aside.

Butter the inside of a large glass pyrex-style bowl.  Place a layer of the bread cubes on the bottom (about 1/3 of the cubes), pour approx. 1/3 of the milk & egg mixture on top so that each piece of bread has been covered, and then generously sprinkle the poppyseed mixture so that all the bread is covered (you want to have about 1/2" of poppyseeds on top of the bread--you shouldn't see any bread underneath).  Repeat these steps once more: bread--milk & egg--poppyseeds.  Place one final layer of the bread cubes on top, and pour the remaining milk & egg on top.  Sprinkle turbinado sugar on top, and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until custard is set in the center.  

For a topping, I made an *optional* lemon cream sauce, for which you'll need:
--1 c. whole milk
--1/2 c. granulated sugar
--1 tsp. lemon extract
--juice & zest of one lemon
--2 tbsp. cornstarch

In a small saucepan, heat milk and sugar over low heat until sugar has dissolved.  Keeping the saucepan over low heat, add lemon extract and lemon juice & zest, whisking them in.  Vigorously whisk in 2 tbsp. cornstarch, and continue to heat over low for 4-5 min., or until the sauce has thickened.  Remove from heat and pour over bread pudding before serving. 

We had our pudding with some amazing pálinka--Hungarian brandy homemade by Gergely's father--and served in tiny pálinka glasses I found at an antique store in central Virginia (what a find!).