White Chocolate Bread Pudding

Here is the most decadent white chocolate bread pudding recipe for your next special occasion or holiday!  Easter brunch or dinner preparations are well underway in some places (I’m looking at you, Pinterest), and this would be a great dessert to round out your meal, especially if you’ve been fasting or abstaining in some form for Lent!  It’s the best ‘Welcome Back to Indulgence aka Sugar-Land’ dessert out there.This is actually a recreation of one of my very favorite desserts in the whole world, from one of the only chain restaurants I will willingly eat at, Biaggi’s.  It’s so good that, no matter how full I am, I will not leave without eating this dessert.  One time, my friend and I went SPECIFICALLY for the bread pudding, telling the waiter that as soon as we sat down.  We begrudgingly eating an actual meal at the restaurant before dessert; excitedly, we told the waiter we wanted two bread puddings please and he proceeded to tell us THEY WERE OUT (!!!!!!).  ADLKSJFL;QIEPORU’SDJFL;ASDJFL;ADKSLPBIOP!!!!  Also, this was not the first time this had happened to me…After this most awful experience, I knew I had to have my own recipe for this classic dessert because I obviously could not reliably count on the restaurant to come through for me.  I tried a few recipes before settling on this one as the best possible version; it’s so rich, comforting and full of white chocolate!  I serve this full-on Biaggi’s-style, with crème anglaise, dark chocolate shavings and strawberries.Bread puddings are actually quite easy to make and come together rather quickly, plus they’re great make-ahead desserts because they always benefit from a long soak in the custard.  Stale brioche or challah are best for this as they’re basically built for sweet applications because they are enriched with butter, sugar and eggs.  Enriched breads will toast up to golden-brown perfection in the oven. To start, cube the bread and toss with melted butter.  Some of the white chocolate is added in chunks to enhance the bread pudding, and some is melted into the custard that soaks the bread to really penetrate the entire dessert.  Sprinkle the top with sugar right before baking; this will form a crisp, sugary crust!  The final result is a soft, custardy interior with a crisp, sugary crust…heavenly.This is good enough to make me forget that oft-betraying ol’ friend and make this on the regular at home!

White Chocolate Bread Pudding

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• Author: Amanda
• Yield: 10 to 12 servings 1x

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Description

A decadent, rich white chocolate bread pudding infused with white chocolate chunks and MORE white chocolate melted into the custard.  Serve with crème anglaise, shaved dark chocolate and fresh, ripe strawberries!

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Ingredients

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• One 1-pound loaf Brioche or Challah, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 stick butter, melted plus more softened butter for greasing pan
• 1 pound (16 ounces) white chocolate, cut into small chunks
• 2 cups whole milk
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar plus extra for sprinkling on top
• 1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
• 8 large eggs
• Crème Anglaise, for serving
• Bittersweet chocolate, for shaving on top at serving

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Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 325°.  Lightly grease a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with softened butter.  Place the bread cubes in the prepared pan and drizzle with the melted butter.  Toss to coat the cubes.  Add 10 ounces of the chocolate chunks to the bread cubes and toss to combine.
2. In a large saucepan, combine the milk, cream, sugar and vanilla seeds and bean and bring to a boil over medium heat.  Stir occasionally until the sugar is combined.  In a bowl, add the remaining 6 ounces of chopped white chocolate.  Pour the hot cream mixture over the white chocolate and allow to sit for 30 seconds.  Stir together until the white chocolate is completely melted.
3. In a separate medium mixing bowl, add the eggs and whisk until smooth and completely homogenous (no white/yolk separately visible).  Add a ladleful of the hot cream mixture to the eggs while whisking to temper the eggs.  Continue adding the hot cream mixture to the eggs, whisking constantly, until all the cream has been added.  Do not whisk vigorously or you will create a lot of foam.  Strain the mixture back the other bowl, and pour evenly over the bread and chocolate.  Press down lightly on the bread cubes to immerse in the liquid and allow to stand for 15 minutes for the bread to absorb the custard.  Sprinkle the top generously with granulated sugar.
4. Place the baking dish in a larger, high-sided pan and transfer to the oven.  Pour hot water into the larger dish to reach about 1 inch up the side of the baking dish.  Bake the bread pudding for about 50 minutes to 1 hour, until the pudding is set and the top is golden.  Preheat the broiler on high and broil for about 4 to 5 minutes, until the top of the custard is deeply golden and the sugar has caramelized.  Serve with the crème anglaise and grate bittersweet chocolate on top with a microplane or rasp grater.

Notes

Inspiration: White Chocolate Bread Pudding on foodnetwork.com

• Category: Cobblers/Crisps/Bread Puddings