Mango Bread Pudding

Indigenous to India, nearly half of the world's mangoes are still grown there.  Although there are only a handful of varieties of mangoes that are available in the U.S., there are hundreds of varieties of this fragrant tropical fruit. 

The variety of mango in this picture is Ataulfo, also known as The Champagne Mango®. The pit of this mango is quite thin and the fruit is smooth and mellow. I hadn't seen this variety before, so when I spotted them at the market, I bought three of them intending to eat them as I normally eat mangoes -- fresh out of their tender skins without other flavors vying for attention.

Then I decided that for once I should make something with these little pretties.  Enter Mango Bread Pudding from Epicurious. Because I wanted all the mango flavor, I didn't use any of the recipe's spices (cardamom and ginger). The recipe calls for cutting the mango into 1/2-inch cubes, but after peeling the mangoes, I put them in the processor and pureed them to add to the bread, milk, cream mixture.

The bread pudding puffed up beautifully and was a deep golden color because of the pureed mango.

I love bread pudding and usually make mine with the simple addition of cinnamon, but this mango bread pudding has become my favorite! This can be served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, or my favorite way - warmed with a drizzle of heavy cream!