Recipe: Croissant bread pudding

The third and final course from Jade and Uyen's birthday dinner was a rich croissant bread pudding. Bread pudding is a warm, eggy dessert, so for all you egg lovers out there, this is the dessert for you. It is an easy dessert to make--it just takes a long time in the oven. I had some trouble separating the yolks from the whites but managed okay in the end. I think that the bread pudding could've tasted a little more yolky and sweet, but Jade liked that it wasn't too sweet. This is because I used brown sugar instead of white. Next time, maybe I'll double the amount of sugar if using brown. And if you're wondering what to do with all those leftover egg whites, try putting it on your face for a healthy egg mask. (I'm not kidding--that's exactly what I did.)

I got this recipe from my trustworthy Barefoot Contessa Cookbook. I love Ina Garten's recipes!" And remember, if the Blind can Cook it, so can you.

Recipe: Croissant Bread Pudding

Summary: Original recipe from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

Ingredients

• • 3 extra large whole eggs
  • 8 extra large egg yolks
  • 5 c. half & half
  • 1/4 c. sugar
  • 1/4 tsp. pure vanilla extract
  • 6 croissants, preferabbly stale
  • 1 c. raisins

Instructions

1. 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
   2. In a medium bowl, whisk together whole eggs, yolks, half & half, sugar, and vanilla extract. Set aside custard mixture.
   3. Slice croissants in half horizontally. In a 10" x 15" x 2.5" oval baking, distribute bottoms of sliced croissants. Then add the raisins, then the tops of the croissants brown side up, making sure raisins are in between the layers of croissants or else they will burn while baking.
   4. Pour the custard over the croissants and let stand for at least 10 minutes, pressing down gently so croissants soak up custard.
   5. Place the pan in a larger one filled with 1" hot water. Cover the larger pan with foil, tenting it in the middle. Cut slits in foil to allow for steam to escape. Bake for 45 minutes. Then uncover and bake for another 40 to 45 minutes or until pudding puffs up and custard is set. Remove from oven to cool slightly before serving.

Quick Notes

Placing the pudding inside a larger pan with water is using the double boiler method. This prevents the pudding from burning where it touches the glass container. That way, you get more pudding and less charred mess. This double boiler method is also used for melting chocolate or preparing fine sauces over the stove.

I prepared the custard mixture the day before and refrigerated it covered overnight to minimize prep time on the day of the dinner. This left time to concentrate on other foods that could not be prepared ahead of time.

Variations

I substituted brown sugar in this recipe which made it less sweet. If you want it sweeter, either use white sugar or add more brown sugar. Also, I don't normally add raisins when making this dish since John prefers no raisins.

The croissants can also be substituted with brioche or egg breads.

Cooking time (duration): 105

Diet type: Vegetarian

Meal type: dessert

Culinary tradition: French

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