Maple Cream Pudding in a Mug and Homemade Maple Syrup

This is a great treat for breakfast or dessert.  The taste is heaven in your mouth and it's served in a personal mug just for you.  Make this for your husband or wife for Mother's Day, Father's Day, or their birthday and they will feel the love in every bite!


Maple Cream Pudding in a Mug and Homemade Maple Syrup
by Tickled in Love

1 pound cubed french bread or croissants (bread that is a few days old tastes much better then fresh bread)
8 oz cream cheese
1 cup sugar
1 cup homemade maple syrup, recipe below  (homemade beats any store brand any day!)
3 eggs
4 cups milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 cup raw sugar

Grease 9x13 inch cake pan.

Cube bread into bite size pieces.  Set aside.

In a mixing bowl whip cream cheese until it is fluffy.  Add sugar and whip until blended.  Gradually drizzle in maple syrup and whip until blended.

In another mixing bowl beat eggs.  Pour milk into bowl, add vanilla, and cinnamon, mix until blended.

Use half of the bread to line bottom of cake pan.  Drizzle half of the cream cheese mixture over bread.  Cover cream with remaining half of cream cheese mixture.  Pour milk mixture over bread.  Press bread into milk mixture, ensuring that each piece of bread is soaked in milk.

Cover bread with tinfoil and place into fridge overnight.  If you didn't plan ahead of time let sit for an hour or two before baking.

IF you like dryer bread pudding: Remove dish from fridge, remove foil and sprinkle bread with sugar, replace foil, and place into 400 degree oven.  Bake for 35-40 minutes.  Test with fork to ensure bread is moist but not soggy.

If you like soggy bread pudding.  Remove dish from fridge, remove foil and sprinkle bread with sugar, replace foil, and place onto a cookie sheet.  Place cake pan and cookie sheet into 400 degree oven.  Carefully fill cookie sheet with water, covering the whole sheet.  Bake for 30-35 minutes.  Occasionally check water-bath, add boiling water as needed.

Serve warm or cold with maple syrup, cool whip, or ice cream.

Homemade Maple Syrup

This syrup is remarkably similar in flavor and texture to real maple syrup. It is thinner than commercial pancake syrups, but slightly thicker than real maple syrup. The taste is clean, simple and fresh. It does not linger in an envelope in your mouth the way some commercial syrups do.  This is the syrup we use at home.

2 c warm tap water

4 c sugar

2 T molasses

1-1/2 t maple flavoring

1/4 t butter flavoring (optional) 

In a three-quart saucepan combine the water, sugar and molasses. Put the pan on the stove over medium heat. Stir every now and then until the syrup comes to a rolling boil. Watch the syrup carefully because it has a tendency to foam and will boil over if your pan is too small. If this starts to happen, remove the pan from the heat and turn the heat down. After the syrup boils, cover the pot and simmer it for ten minutes over a low flame. Do not stir it for this ten minutes. Remove the pan from the heat. Take off the lid and let it cool on the counter for about 15 minutes. Stir in the maple flavoring (and butter flavoring if you're using it). Store the syrup in a clean quart canning jar or a clean ketchup bottle (32 oz). I use a funnel to pour the syrup into the jar because the hot syrup can get a little messy. Be careful not to burn yourself.