Isn’t it wonderful that today begins the season of us Southern gals being “allowed” to wear white jeans, capri’s and sandals. Because we all know that in the South, if you wear white before Easter, the fashion police can stop you at any time, anywhere and threaten to post your picture on the front of Southern Living with us wearing white! So, now, it is legal to step out the door in white. And to celebrate this great time, I wanted to have a very Southern dessert tonight. Who better to go to than Paula Deen, the true Southern belle herself.

Just pulled out this bread pudding out of the oven and all I can say is “WOW, DOUBLE WOW”   Yesterday a friend of mine, Cecilia posted on FB that she had made it and it got me in the mood for bread pudding. Looking up the recipe, I realized that I had everything on hand to make it and wala……..we have been standing at the stove, just eating it by the spoon full while it is still hot. It really is the best bread pudding I think I have ever had. And we don’t even have the sauce made yet to drizzle over it. Also, because I don’t have brandy I am going to use the butter sauce I use to drizzle over the Kentucky Butter Cake. Because I had a loaf of chocolate almond brioche bread in the freezer I had picked up one day at Walmart, I used it in place of the Italian bread she uses.  If you are out and shopping for bread for a bread pudding or even just to slice and toast, Walmart has the best brioches breads for about $4 a loaf. We have had the Vanilla, the Chocolate Almond (that is what I used this time for the BP), Chocolate Marble and sometimes during the fall they have Pumpkin Spice brioche. They simply are divine.

Since your mouth is probably watering already just thinking and seeing this beautiful dessert, let me post the recipe without further ado. One more thing, Paula, you never disappoint us with your amazing desserts. Next summer if we get to come to Savannah, I hope to get to see you in Lady & Son’s and, forgetting social distancing, give you a hug for all the wonderful recipes you have shared throughout the years! Lord willing and the creek don’t rise!

2 cups sugar

5 large eggs

2 cups milk

2 teas vanilla

3 cups cubed Italian bread (remember about the brioche that is great to use also)

Cube bread and allow to stale overnight in a bowl.

In a mixing bowl, combine the sugar, eggs, milk and vanilla. Whisk until well combined.

Place dry cubed bread in a butter greased 9×13 baking dish. Pour milk mixture over the cubes and mash the cubes down with a spatula to be sure the bread cubes are all covered with the egg-milk mixture.

In a smaller mixing bowl, place 1/4 cup of softened butter and mix together with 1 cup of light brown sugar. Sprinkle this over the top of the bread mixture.

Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for about 35 minutes or until set. Remove from oven.

If you have any left after standing over it and eating it when it comes out of the oven, you can make a sauce of either Paulas, which is:

Mix together 1 cup granulated sugar, 1/2 cup melted butter, 1 egg and 2 teas vanilla in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir together until the sugar is dissolved and sugar is melted. Stir in 1/4 cup brandy, until well combined. Serve the bread pudding warm or cold drizzling this sauce over the top.

OR

In a saucepan, combine 3/4 cup sugar, 1/3 cup butter, 3 tables water. Cook over medium heat stirring until sugar has dissolved. When sugar is well dissolved, remove from heat and add 1 teas vanilla. This will keep covered and then warm it before pouring over bread pudding to serve.

So before we get those white pants out and our legs with hail damage shows through, do yourself a favor and make this. You won’t be sorry!

If you know me at all, you know that I would rather eat dessert than anything. This cake is by far, one of the best and most delicious cakes, EVER!!!!

Years ago, when I lived in Corpus Christi we belonged to a club that the chef would make this cake about once a week or so. Anytime we ate there, I would order a piece. When it was my birthday one year, one of the ladies who worked there and knew I loved that cake so much, brought out the recipe to me for my birthday gift. It is always a special memory for me. Some years later, I was looking though the Tea Time Magazine, 2004 and there it was. A picture of the cake and the recipe. So wanted to share to with you as it makes a great Easter dessert. Of course, this year, we are finding ourselves probably making a meal from things we have on hand. I’m hearing from some friends that they cannot find flour anywhere around them.  Because most of us are doing curbside pickup of groceries, we might not know until we get home that some of the things we ordered on-line were substituted for things that the store had instead. But, if you do have cream cheese and butter and coconut and buttermilk and sour cream…well you get the picture! You might just want to substitute a milk chocolate cake mix but frost it with the chocolate cream cheese frosting. It is a great cake, no matter. After all, it’s always the frosting that makes the cake anyway, right?

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup shortening

2 cups sugar

5 eggs, room temperature, seperated

2 cups cake flour, or regular flour, but (if using regular flour, be sure to sift it a couple of times and take out about 2 tables)

1 teas baking soda

1/2 cup cocoa, unsweetened

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup sour cream

2 tables vanilla

1/2 cup coconut (topping)

1/2 cup chopped pecans (topping)

Preheat oven to 350. Cream together butter, shortening and sugar.

Add egg yolks, one at a time. Mix in flour, baking soda, cocoa, buttermilk, sour cream and vanilla.

Mix together for 2 minutes or until batter is smooth.

In a separate bowl, whisk egg whites and fold into cake batter. *See note below about adding coconut and chopped pecans to batter.

Spray 3 (9′) cake pans with Pam and then flour pans. Divide batter evenly between the 3 pans. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until cake tests done. Remove from oven and let cake layers cool on wire racks. Meanwhile make the frosting:

1/2 cup softened butter

16 oz of cream cheese, softened

5 cups of powdered sugar

1/2 cup cocoa

1 tables vanilla

Cream together the butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy.

Add powdered sugar, cocoa and vanilla.

Frost between layers and then sides and top of cake. Sprinkle the coconut and chopped pecans on top of cake.

*(I didn’t follow the directions on this recipe. I actually added the coconut and pecans to the frosting and stir them in before frosting the cake. I think it keeps the coconut softer for a longer period, plus it gives you more of the coconut and pecan flavor rather than just on top. Plus I added about 1/2 cup chopped pecans and 1/2 cup coconut to the cake batter before pouring batter into the cake pans)

Easter will be different this year, but it might be one of those holidays that besides the meaning of the holiday that is so important to Christians, might just show us how much we truly do value our relationship with God, our family and friendships. This year, we won’t be going to grandmother’s or Moms for a lunch of ham, potato salad and Easter Bunny Cake that Easter meals are so well known for and that has been a tradition for so many throughout the years.

Last year when we were in Italy and didn’t get to go to church because we couldn’t find a taxi to take us and it was to far to walk, we kept thinking about how this year, it would be so great to be able to be in church celebrating Easter with other believers. But here, once again, for the second year in a row, we are not in a church building, but alone in our home, watching a sermon on-line. So how do we react? Do we allow these difficult circumstances to sadden our hearts and focus on the traditions that we aren’t a part of this year? Or do we truly realize that we are the church, no matter where we are and not matter the circumstance. We are to celebrate the empty tomb that assures us of His great love for us. To worship Him from our homes this year,and truly grasp what the Lord has been trying to get us to realize for over 2000 years! That His love never fails, and that His love truly does endure forever. That He is here with us. That just because we cannot sit in a building and worship together with other believers, we can, we must, show Him the honor due His name.  We know as believers, that our bodies are the true church, not the building. As we look forward to Sunday and meditate on the true meaning of Easter, what are we dwelling on? Are we dwelling on the negative reports that we hear each and every day from leading physicians and government officials?

Because of the circumstances that are playing out all around us, what are our concerns? Our health, our families, our jobs? Of course, these are things that are important to us. It is not that we are not to be concerned about these. We are just instructed by God to not let them take priority over our love and worship of Him.

As we gather together with just those who are in our homes this Easter, may our hearts be turned towards Him, who is right here with us. As we sit at the table having whatever we are having,  Whether there is one of us, or two or 5, may His Name be glorified in our hearts as we worship the King of Kings, Lord of Lords and be praying that our world will come to the place that hearts and eyes will be open to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

This morning, instead of waking up to the TV and the latest report on the virus, I instead turned on a a live coffee/chat with Tasha, Women’s Minister of Prestonwood for 30 minutes of Bible study and prayer. How refreshing and what a way to begin the morning. Her words spoke to my heart as I’m sure it did to every women who was listening. Her word to us was from 1 Samuel. Hannah had gone to the temple with her husband to worship and sacrifice to the Lord as was their yearly ritual. Hannah was distraught because the Lord had closed her womb. As she prayed there in the Temple, the priest saw her lips moving, but could hear no words. He thought she was drunk. When he approached her to tell her to quit drinking, she answered him, “oh no Sir, I’m not drunk! But I am very sad and I was pouring out my heart to the Lord. Please don’t think I am a wicked woman. For I have been praying out of great anguish and sorrow.”

Eli, the priest said, “cheer up! May the God of Israel grant the request you have asked of Him.”

Then Hannah went away and ate and was no longer sad.

What a lesson for us all.  Before the Lord answered Hannahs’ prayer, her heart was changed. What had changed in her life at that point? Nothing, except that her heart had received hope. What are we looking or listening to for our hope? Is it earthly things or heavenly?

As Tasha reminded us this morning, her words rang so true of what I look at and depend on for my hope, my encouragement or answers to problems.  Prayer should be our “go to” no matter the occasion, no matter the problem.

Prayer allows us:

Intimacy with our Lord and Savior. We can process our pain in the presence of our God.

We should never “spin” our requests pretending that we are doing things for the Lord, only to be manipulating getting what we are asking for.

We need to let our guard down when talking to the Lord and acknowledge our need of Him and accept the fact that we need to surrender our will to His.

To understand that unanswered prayer, as well as answered prayers have purpose.

Just like Hannah had been praying for a son for years, God’s timing was perfect for Hannah to have a son, Samuel. God had a purpose for Samuel to become a great prophet of Israel. Her “unanswered prayer” was answered at the appointed time.

Hannah’s heart was changed by praying. Her heart was softened so that she became surrendered to allow God to work in her life, according to His will and purpose.

We should never allow earthly substitutions for heavenly petitions. Hannah’s husband always gave her more than he gave to his other wife. He loved Hannah more and thought that his love should be enough that she shouldn’t want or desire children. But God……God had a plan and a purpose, but it had to be in His timing, not Hannah’s.

So as we approach Sunday, the resurrection day of our precious Lord and Savior, may we as God’s temple, celebrate Easter in a way that brings Him the most worship of all…surrendering our hearts and our lives to the One, the only One, worthy of our praise!

TO GOD BE THE GLORY, GREAT THINGS HE HATH DONE AND CONTINUES TO DO!