Bread Pudding

This recipe is from my stash of old discoveries, and I hadn't tried it until Sunday. I thought the recipe looked interesting and couldn't imagine the meringue on top so I wanted to try it. We love bread pudding at my house.

1. Soak 5 cups coarse bread crumbs in 3 cups warm milk for 5 minutes.
I cut French bread into tiny cubes and measured 5 cups.
I think it was a little too much bread.

2. Beat 3 eggs slightly and add 1/3 cup sugar. Mix.

3. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg and
1/4 cup raisins
I only used a pinch of nutmeg and used 1 teaspoon cinnamon.
I didn't add the raisins because Elijah asked for it without.

4. Combine mixtures and pour into a 2 1/2 quart casserole.
I buttered the dish first.

5. Bake at 350 degrees F about 40 minutes.
Remove from oven and spread following mixture over the top:

6. Beat 3 egg whites until they are foamy;
add 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar and 1/4 teaspoon salt.
Continue beating until whites stand oon moist, glossy peaks.
Add 6 Tablespoons sugar slowly.
Beat well.

7. Spread meringue over top of bread mixture.

8. Return to oven and bake about 20 minutes longer.

The result was pretty. Meringue is pretty. But it was like a layer atop thick bread pudding. I'm not a big fan. It didn't taste terrible by any means. It just wasn't wonderful.

It would make more sense to me to mix the meringue mixture right into the bread mixture and bake it that way. The pudding wouldn't be as dense that way. I think I'll try it that way once before I give up on the recipe.