It recently came to my attention that there are people in the world who actively dislike bread pudding. Like, really hate it. As a lifelong lover of the dessert, I was honestly shocked. What’s not to love? It’s custard-y, chewy, crispy and is the perfect blank canvas for any number of additions and variations (chocolate! nuts! fruit!). The complaint seems to be that it’s too sweet. My response would be that it’s a dessert. That’s the point!
If bread pudding has one fault, it’s that making it in your own home is a slippery slope. Before you know it, you’re rationalizing eating the stuff at all times of the day and night, with excuses like “But it’s practically French toast!” You can keep that up for awhile. But when you find yourself eating it cold out of the refrigerator between the hours of midnight and 11am you’ve probably reached the point of no return and should call it quits before any more damage is done. Obviously I’m not speaking from experience.
This recipe might be doubly polarizing because it also contains white chocolate.A lot of it. I might be in the minority but I love the stuff (or maybe I just have a really indiscriminate sweet tooth?). Either way, this bread pudding is a delicious combination of white chocolate, cinnamon and dried cranberries, which makes it rather festive and perfect for this time of year. Full disclosure, it’s a very rich dessert. But I probably didn’t need to tell you that because you have eyes, and there are 7 eggs, 4 cups of dairy products and 12 ounces of white chocolate involved.
The making of this dessert, for me, was without pomp and circumstance. It was a breeze to put together and everything went according to plan. I did panic for split second when I poured the sauce over the baked pudding because, as the recipe warned, it did seem like a lot of sauce, but after 20 minutes or so it was fully absorbed into the bread like magic. My kind of magic.
And so, for the handful of dessert freaks like me out there who love white chocolate and bread pudding, I dedicate this recipe to you.
Ingredients
- 1 loaf French bread (about 16 ounces)
- 3 cups (24 ounces) heavy cream
- 1 cup (8 ounces) milk
- 1/2 cup (about 3 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 8 ounces white chocolate
- 7 large eggs
- 1 cup (about 3 1/2 ounces) dried cranberries, divided (unsweetened if possible)
- 4 tablespoons bourbon (optional)
- For the sauce
- 4 ounces white chocolate
- 1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) milk
- Confectioners' sugar, to finish (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9- by 13-inch pan. Set to the side.
- Cut the bread into 1-inch cubes.
- In a large saucepan, heat the heavy cream, milk, and sugar over medium heat. Dash in the salt and cinnamon. When hot, take off the heat and add the white chocolate pieces; stir until melted.
- Lightly beat the eggs in a large bowl. Slowly pour the hot cream mixture into the eggs in a steady stream, whipping the eggs as you pour. If you want, add that glug of bourbon now.
- Add the mixture to the bowl with the bread pieces. Add 3/4 cup of the cranberries. Mix until combined. Now, transfer to the greased pan.
- Using a spatula press down the bread so everything is absolutely saturated.
- Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, or until set and golden on top. You don't want brown, just lightly golden.
- While it bakes, prepare the sauce. Bring the milk to a boil in a small sauce pan. Take off the heat and add white chocolate; stir until smooth and completely melted. It's going to be a fairly liquid sauce.
- Pour over the bread pudding right when it comes out of the oven. It may look like an obscene amount of liquid but the bread pudding will absorb it. Dot the top of the pudding with more cranberries, and dust with confectioners' sugar to finish.
Notes
Adapted from Serious Eats
January 17, 2014 at 7:58 pm
Thanks for sharing this — would have never thought of putting white chocolate and cranberries together.
January 17, 2014 at 7:58 pm
Reblogged this on Recipe Reblog.
January 17, 2014 at 8:28 pm
Full disclosure: do NOT like bread pudding, it’s a texture thing. Do NIT like white chocolate, it’s a quirky thing. However, do LOVE reading the Kitchen Chronicles!
January 17, 2014 at 11:39 pm
Sounds unbelievable! Looks absolutely delicious!
January 18, 2014 at 1:30 pm
Aww, I never get tired seeing lovely bakes like this. =)
January 18, 2014 at 3:48 pm
When Grammy made bread pudding for us in the 50’s, when we were 7 & 9 years old it was a true comfort food treat, after a full day out doors of hiking by ourselves to the giant neighborhood sledding hill. Every snow day was a sledding adventure with tales of 5 of us, sleds linked together careening down the hill at breakneck speed over a colossal bump. The occasional nosebleed was the badge of honor. Warm bread pudding was the perfect end to an adventurous winter day.
I love bread pudding!