LOW-FAT BAKING : Comfort Without Calories

Bread pudding is comfort food. But we’ve added to this one--peaches, dried cherries, even a vanilla custard sauce--making it a truly fancy dessert. We’ve also subtracted something--almost all of the fat. Each generous serving contains only 2 grams fat and 3 milligrams cholesterol. What we haven’t lost is any of the comfort, or any of the flavor.

PEACHES AND CHERRIES BREAD PUDDING

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 cups nonfat milk

3/4 cup thawed frozen egg substitute

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup dried cherries or raisins

1 teaspoon butter, optional

3 peaches peeled, pitted and cut in 1/2-inch-thick wedges (about 2 cups)

4 cups cubed French bread

Custard Sauce

9 fresh cherries, optional

Combine sugar and cinnamon in large bowl. Stir in nonfat milk, egg substitute, vanilla and cherries.

Rub butter onto bottom of 8-inch baking dish. Add peaches and bread cubes to milk mixture just before pouring into baking dish (partially unsoaked bread cubes will float and add crisp texture on top). Turn mixture into baking dish.

Place dish in larger pan and add warm water to come halfway up sides of dish. Bake at 325 degrees about 50 to 60 minutes or until center is set. Serve warm and spoon Custard Sauce over each serving. Garnish top with fresh cherries. Makes 9 servings.

Each serving contains about:

213 calories; 180 mg sodium; 3 mg cholesterol; 2 grams fat; 42 grams carbohydrates; 9 grams protein; 0.38 gram fiber.

Custard Sauce

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 cups nonfat milk

1 vanilla bean

1/4 cup thawed frozen egg substitute

Combine sugar and cornstarch in small saucepan. Stir in nonfat milk until smooth. Split vanilla bean and remove seeds. Add bean pod and seeds to milk mixture. Heat to boiling over medium heat, stirring constantly. Add little hot mixture to stirred egg substitute and return all to saucepan. Return to heat and cook until thickened. Remove vanilla bean pod. Serve warm. Makes about 2 cups.