I have a dessert idea for Thanksgiving, but want your advice

[MissMillie]

I was thinking of making a bread pudding and adding some dried cranberries and orange zest.

Will the orange zest cause the custard to curdle?

[yellowdogintexas]

1. It shouldn't.

Think about it this way. If you make a lemon cream pie (not with condensed milk but with a cooked custard) it doesn't curdle

I make a devastatingly delicious lemon pudding cake which bakes into a custard layer beneath a lovely sponge cake. It does not curdle. It has lemon juice and zest

This sounds absolutely scrumptious!!!!

[Sanity Claws]

2. Oh my!

My mouth watered at reading about lemon pudding cake. Care to share a recipe?

[OregonBlue]

3. Ditto for me. Sounds heavenly.

[Major Nikon]

4. That's kind of what you're after

If you consider yogurt vs custard both require coagulation to thicken. Custard works with egg proteins and heat. Yogurt works with dairy proteins and acidity. Custard also uses dairy, so if you add something acidic, it will help coagulation.

Orange zest isn’t as acidic as the juice. I wouldn’t expect it to affect the coagulation much, if any.

As always I recommend experimenting with recipes before thanksgiving.

[procon]

5. Nope. You're good to go.

Like making buttermilk from sweet milk, you'd need to add at least 1/3 cup of an acid like pure lemon juice to affect the consistency of the custard.

To plump up your cranberries soak them for a few minutes in hot water, orange juice or liquors.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

6. Just a thought on cranberries. I am making a pumpkin pie that calls for

cranberries as a garnish. Soak fresh whole ones overnight in sugar water - then roll in sugar. Tried one this morning and really good - still tart and not sickening sweet.

they recommend making lots - because they are great to snack on. Might be good in bread pudding?

P S - hope my leaves come out looking like leaves