Crème Brulee Bread Pudding

Crème Brulee Bread Pudding

I can't honestly think of another dessert that "screams" fancy to me other than Crème Brulee. Every time we go to a nice restaurant, I always want it to finish of the night. Maybe it's because I've never made it before or I'm too lazy to do it... mainly it's because I never had a kitchen torch. But now that I do, I have turned into a total pyro, and I just want to light everything on fire. Especially sugar. So, when we were deciding on what to have for dessert, my Mountain Man immediately said Crème Brulee, and I agreed quickly. How could I put a comfort food twist on it? BREAD PUDDING. What's more comforting than that? I cubed up some bread and soaked it in a vanilla bean custard. After it is baked, top it with some sugar and put the torch to it until you get that crispy, crackly topping that will all know and love. And you gotta serve it with a sauce, so we made a homemade creme anglaise and a salted caramel for garnishing. If you have leftovers like us, you can always turn it into french toast for the breakfast the next day!! Enjoy :)

Two Classics in One...

For the Bread Pudding:

1lb Bread, Cut into 1inch pieces (I used ½lb croissants & ½lb French baguette)

1 Vanilla Bean, Split & Scraped for Seeds

1t Salt

6 Large Eggs

2C Heavy Cream

1C Whole Milk

½C Sugar (plus extra for crème brulee topping)

½C Raw Bourbon Vanilla Sugar

1t Vanilla Extract

1T Vanilla Bean Infused Rum

1 Pinch of Cinnamon

For the Crème Anglaise:

2C Whole Milk

1 Vanilla Bean, Split & Scraped for Seeds

½C Sugar

4 Large Egg Yolks, Room Temperature

Directions:

1. The Night Before: Cut your choice of bread into 1inch pieces and spread it onto a baking sheet and let the bread become stale overnight.   

2. The Next Day: Spray a 13x9-baking dish with Pam and place the stale bread pieces into it. 
3. For the Crème Anglaise: Set a large fine strainer over a medium bowl and set the bowl in a shallow pan of cold water. In a large saucepan, combine the half-and-half and vanilla bean and cook over moderately low heat just until small bubbles appear around the rim, about 5 minutes. In another medium bowl, whisk the sugar and egg yolks just until combined. Whisk in half of the hot half-and-half in a thin stream. Pour the mixture into the saucepan and cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the sauce has thickened slightly, 4 to 5 minutes. Immediately strain the sauce into the bowl in the cold water bath to stop the cooking. Scrape the vanilla seeds into the sauce. Serve right away or refrigerate until chilled.
4. For the Custard: Beat together the eggs, heavy cream, milk, sugar, salt, vanilla extract and vanilla beans until smooth and incorporated. Slowly pour the custard over the stale bread and press lightly to submerge them in the custard. Let the bread soak for 30 minutes.
5. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
6. Bake your bread pudding for 30 minutes or until the bread pudding has raised some and set in the middle. Let the bread pudding cool to room temperature (or chill it if you like) before caramelizing the top.
7. Sprinkle an even layer of sugar over the top of the cooked bread pudding. Using a kitchen torch, slowly and evenly pass the flame over the sugar until it’s liquefied and has turned a caramel color. Serve immediately with homemade crème Anglaise or salted caramel sauce.