When I first moved out on my own, I discovered that I had no idea how to cook for only one person. I was great at making portions for four, but cooking for one was a challenge.
So I generally still made my four-person meals and brought lots of leftovers to work for lunch throughout the week. It actually worked out great.
The problem, I found, was when I wanted to satisfy my sweet tooth. Making a nine-by-13-inch cake for one is a bit more over the top than a nine-by-13-inch casserole, I discovered.
Even today, since I mostly cook only for Joey and I, I find myself giving away tons of the desserts I make so that they don’t stay around the house, tempting us to keep nibbling on them. But every once in awhile, I also just seek out recipes that will make just enough for that one serving each and then be gone.
Needing a chocolate fix, I decided to try one of those recipes this week.
I found this one on the aptly named blog “Dessert for Two.” You can find the original post at https://www.dessertfortwo.com/bread-pudding-mugs/. I doubled the vanilla in my version and added pecans.
Bread Pudding for Two
Ingredients
- 2 eggs
- 6 tablespoons milk I used skim
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 3-4 slices bread cut into one-inch cubes
- 1 1/2 ounces chocolate chips or chopped chocolate
- 1 ounce pecans chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare two coffee mugs or other oven-safe vessels by spraying them with cooking spray, and set them aside.
- In a bowl, combine the eggs, milk, sugar and vanilla and whip with a fork until everything is well combined. Mix in the bread, making sure it is all evenly coated. Stir in the chocolate and pecans, and bake for 25 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and carefully serve while still warm—using a potholder or towel, since the handle and vessel will be hot.
This turned into almost a pantry clean up recipe for me. I just had a few pieces of wheat bread in the fridge that I used in this (including the heels), I had a partial bag of chocolate chips in the freezer, and I still had a few pecans leftover from holiday pies that I hadn’t managed to use up.
This might be a great recipe to keep on hand for after Easter if you have some chocolate eggs or bunnies floating around that you want to try to get rid of, too.
It turned out really yummy, and each serving was about the size of a large piece of cake. You could easily make both servings for yourself, too, and have one now and one for later.
As I learned way back when I made a gigantic cake that only I would end up eating, sometimes you have to get a little creative with dessert leftovers, but I always told myself: if you can eat a donut for breakfast, then why not a slice of cake instead?
This piece first appeared in print on April 7, 2022.
Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.