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Date and Almond Bread Pudding with Amaretto Sauce 
from the kitchen of Sharmagne Leland-St. John

8 cups egg bread with crust cut into 1 ½ inch cubes
2 ¼ cups chopped, pitted medjool dates
½ cup sliced almonds
6 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1 cup baker’s sugar
3 ½ cups half and half
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
¼ rounded teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
Confectioner’s sugar

Arrange bread crumbs in a single layer on a
rimmed baking sheet. Let stand at room
temperature to dry overnight.

Transfer bread crumbs to a 13 x 9 x 2 inch
buttered glass baking dish. In a medium bowl
mix the dates and almonds. Sprinkle the date/nut
mixture over the bread crumbs and toss to mix
evenly. Let stand uncovered at room temperature.
In a large bowl, beat the whole eggs and yolks
until frothy. Add one cup sugar and continue
beating until mixture thickens and turns a pale
yellow. (Approximately 5 minutes.) Add the
half and half, vanilla and ground nutmeg. Beat
until just blended. Chill custard for 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Rewhisk the custard, then
pour over the bread mixture patting lightly with a
rubber spatula. Let stand for 15 minutes,
occasionally pressing lightly to submerge the
bread. Bake bread pudding 25 minutes; then
using a large spoon, press bread down, allowing
custard to rise to the surface. Spoon custard
evenly over bread mixture. Bake an additional
20 minutes, or until a knife inserted into centre
comes out clean. Remove form ven let stand 10
minutes. Sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar.
Serve warm, with amaretto sauce over the top. 

Amaretto Sauce

½ cup whipping cream
½  cup whole milk
3 tablespoons sugar
¼ cup amaretto liquer
2 teaspoons cornstarch

Bring the cream, milk, and sugar to a boil in a
heavy small saucepan, over medium heat, stirring
frequently. In a small bowl, mix the amaretto and
cornstarch to blend and then whisk into the cream
mixture. Simmer over medium-low heat until the
sauce thickens, stirring constantly, about 2
minutes. Set aside and keep warm. (The amaretto
sauce can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and
refrigerate. Rewarm before serving.)
 

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