French Toast Bread Pudding
From Emeril Lagasse November 2005
Ingredients
- French Toast:
- 1 tablespoon butter softened
- 1 loaf about 1 pound cinnamon bread, challah, brioche, or any soft egg enriched bread
- 6 large eggs
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 ½ cups milk or half and half
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- Spiced Pears:
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 firm ripe and Anjou or Comice pears cored and cut into chunks
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Freshly grated nutmeg
- Maple syrup
Instructions
- The night before:
- make the French toast: smear the butter over the bottom and sides of a 13 x 9 x 2 inch baking dish or other shallow 2 quart baking dish. Tear the bread into small pieces and scatter in the dish.
- In a bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar until light. Add the remaining French Toast ingredients and whisk well. Pour over the bread evenly. Tamp down the bread with a spoon or spatula to submerge each piece in egg mixture. Cover with foil, gently pressing down so the foil is right on the surface of the mixture. Refrigerate overnight.
- The next morning:
- Remove the dish and slide it into a cold oven with the foil on. Turn oven on to 350°. After 25 minutes, gently pull off and discard the foil. Continue to bake until putting his puffed and golden brown, about 20 more minutes.
- In the meantime, prepare the spiced pears: melt butter in a wide frying pan, preferably nonstick, over medium-high heat then add the pears. Stir until pears are coated well with butter, then sprinkle sugar, cinnamon, and a good pinch of fresh nutmeg; continue to cook about 3 minutes until pears begin to soften. Pour in 1/4 cup of maple syrup; cook until bubbly then remove from heat.
- To serve spoon bread pudding onto plates and topped with spiced pears. Pass additional Maple syrup at the table.
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