Aunt Rocky’s Low Carb Bread Pudding with Blackberries and Caramel Sauce

For the bread (see note below):
Grease 2 square microwaveable containers, approximately the size of a slice of bread. Set aside.

In a medium microwaveable mixing bowl, melt butter in the microwave (about 20 seconds). Add eggs and whisk well. Add remaining bread ingredients and quickly stir with a spoon to mix well. Scoop into the prepared containers. Smooth dough to edges of container.

Microwave containers one at a time for 1 minute 10 seconds, or until center is done to the touch. Turn out onto cooling rack to cool. As soon as bread is cool enough to handle, cut into 1/2-inch cubes to finish cooling and dry out a little. You can put them on a sheet pan in the refrigerator for a few minutes to speed things along, or leave out overnight to dry out more, if you are planning ahead.

For the pudding (see note below):
Grease a 7 x 11 baking dish. Preheat oven to 350ºF.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk eggs, milk substitute, cream, vanilla, sweeteners, and spices until creamy. Stir in chopped berries and completely cooled bread cubes. Mix well to get all of the bread completely coated.

Transfer to the greased baking dish and spread evenly in pan. Drizzle melted butter over the top. Bake 40 to 45 minutes, or until pudding is set and beginning to brown. Place on cooling rack, and allow to fully set for at least 10 minutes before cutting.

For the sauce (optional, see note below):
While pudding is cooling, make the sauce. Place all ingredients except the extract in a small pot. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until butter is melted and sweetener is fully dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Serve over warm bread pudding.

Notes:
• You may substitute 3 1/2 cups of any low carb bread cubes, but nutrition information presented here will be incorrect.
• Some people prefer to serve bread pudding with no sauce, top with sugar free syrup, pour cream over the warm pudding or just top with whipped cream. The sauce recipe is here for those who want to add it. I think it adds a lot of flavor to the pudding, with no additional carbs (just added fats). If you choose not to use the sauce, I recommend increasing sweeteners in the pudding to your own taste. Some sweetness will be lost in baking, so adjust accordingly.
• This sauce is also delicious served over pancakes, pound cake, low carb ice cream, or even in coffee. It can be stored in a small jar in the refrigerator, and warmed in the microwave when needed.
• Nutrition estimates are calculated per serving with My Fitness Pal’s online recipe analyzer. If you make any changes to the ingredients, your results may differ. The recipe is stored there and available to MFP users for logging in their food diaries. I do not include sugar alcohols or liquid Sucralose in my nutrition counts, as they are not absorbed by the body and rate zero on the glycemic index.
• I don’t get any commission or kickback for products I use or mention in my recipes. Brand names are included only to assure a similar outcome to mine, and more accurately assess nutritional estimates, which are based on exact ingredients I used.
• For more low lchf/keto recipes and cooking tips, look for Aunt Rocky’s Low Carb Recipes & Tips Group on Facebook, or follow me on Pinterest at auntrocky2.

Nutrition for 1 serving of pudding, without sauce:
Calories 258, Total Fat 22 g, Saturated Fat 13 g, Sodium 217 mg, Potassium 100 mg, Total Carbohydrate 8 g, Dietary Fiber 7 g Net Carbs 1 g, Sugars 2 g, Protein 11 g. Macros: 80% fat, 18% protein, 2% carbs.

© January 2, 2018 Roxana Lopez for Aunt Rocky’s