Umm Ali Recipe - Bread Pudding

A variation from Saad Fayed at About.com Umm ali (Ali's Mother) is a scrumptios dessert from Egypt. The story of Umm 'Ali is that it was invented during the reign of the Ottoman Turks. One day while hunting in the Nile delta, the sultan developed a ravenous appetite and stopped in a small village. The peasants wished to please the sultan, so the best cook of the village, Umm 'Ali , pulled out a special pan and filled it with the only ingredients she had around: some dried wheat flakes (perhaps stale broken pieces of gullash, a phyllo-like pastry), sultanas, nuts, and coconut. She covered it with sugar and milk and put it into the village's oven. It was so good that the sultan asked for Umm 'Ali 's dessert the next time he visited. It is compared to bread pudding. Serve it with a little dollop of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream on top. Guessing at servings.

• Ready In: 45 mins
• Serves: 10

Ingredients

• 17  ounces frozen puff pastry
• 1 (15 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 3  cups water
• 1⁄2 cup  cream
• 3⁄4 cup pistachios, shelled, chopped
• 1⁄2 cup pine nuts
• 1⁄2 cup  almonds
• 1⁄2-3⁄4 cup coconut flakes (depending on taste)
• 1⁄2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1⁄4 cup sultana raisin

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Unroll puff pastry sheets and place on greased baking sheets. Bake for 15 minutes. You want the puff pastry to be golden and puffed. Remove from oven. Do not turn oven off; you will be using it in a few minutes with the same temperature.
2. Break puff pastry into small pieces (about 1-2 inches.
3. Add nuts and coconut and be sure that they are mixed well and evenly distributed.
4. Place nuts and bread in greased 9x12 baking dish.
5. In a saucepan, heat sweetened milk, vanilla, and water on medium heat. Allow to cook for about 3-5 minutes.
6. Remove from heat then allow to cool.
7. Pour milk over puff pastry/nut mixture.
8. Pour creme on top and bake uncovered for 15 minutes.
9. Sprinkle on sultanas.
10. Serve warm. From what I have read, it is NOT recommended to prepare too far ahead or to reheat later as it will lose its crispiness.