Article: Challah Bread Pudding with Vanilla Cream Sauce
Challah Bread Pudding with Vanilla Cream Sauce
Serves 6-8
This bread pudding uses day-old challah to create our classic vanilla custard treat. It’s best enjoyed for breakfast, dessert, or whenever! Sweet, chewy currants add to this dish's complexity, and the caramelized pecan topping adds a lovely crunch. Enjoy!
Bread Pudding Ingredients
- 1/2 cup dried currants, soaked in 1/3 cup water for 30 minutes
- 6 cups bread cubes from challah (one or two day-old bread works best)
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 4 eggs
- 2 cups half-and-half
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup pecan halves
Pecan Topping Ingredients
- 1 cup chopped pecans, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Vanilla Cream Sauce Ingredients
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1-1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract or 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon butter, melted
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 3-quart (or equivalent) baking dish with butter.
- Cube the challah into 1-inch cubes. Spread on a sheet pan and bake for about 12 minutes until the bread is lightly toasted. Place the toasted bread into the greased baking dish.
- In a bowl, prepare the custard mixture. Melt the butter and then whisk in the brown sugar, vanilla extract, eggs, half-and-half, whole milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
- Pour the custard mix over the cubed bread. Cover, and refrigerate for at least one hour, or until the bread has soaked up all of the liquid. Ensure all of the cubes are well-soaked with the custard while resting in the refrigerator. Once ready to bake, drain the currants. Add the currants and pecan halves to the soaked challah. Gently stir until incorporated. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish.
- In a small bowl, prepare the pecan topping by tossing the finely chopped pecans in a mixture of the maple syrup, brown sugar, melted butter, and salt. Sprinkle on top of the bread pudding mixture.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F for 45–50 minutes, or until the pudding is set in the center.
- While the bread pudding bakes, prepare the vanilla cream sauce. In a small saucepan, warm the cream, vanilla, and sugar until it begins to simmer. Heat on a low simmer until the sauce is slightly thickened. Stir in the butter until melted.
- Serve the bread pudding with the sauce. Pour about half of the sauce over the baked bread pudding before serving, and serve the remaining sauce on the side.