Bread Pudding French Toast

Serves: 6

Hands On Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours and 0 minutes

Ingredients

Bread Pudding

2 cups half and half

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for greasing the pan

1/2 cup sugar

4 large eggs

4 large egg yolks

1 tablespoon vanilla

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

6 croissants or brioche buns, torn into 1-inch pieces

French Toast

1 cup half and half

4 large eggs

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

1/2 cup toasted chopped pecans, for serving

Maple syrup, for serving

Whipped cream, for serving (optional)

Instructions

To make the bread pudding: Heat the oven to 225 degrees. Butter a loaf pan.

In a medium saucepan, heat the half and half and butter over medium heat until gently simmering.

In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, eggs, yolks, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. When the half and half mixture has come to a simmer, slowly whisk it into the egg mixture. Add the bread and let soak until the bread is almost completely saturated, about 5 minutes.

Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish and bake until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 60 minutes. Let cool at room temperature for 45 minutes, then refrigerate overnight or until completely chilled.

To make the French toast: Slice the chilled bread pudding into slabs 4 inches long and 1/2 inch thick.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the half and half, eggs and cinnamon.

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Coat each slab of bread pudding in the custard mixture, then, when the butter is foamy, place in the skillet in batches, without crowding the pan. Cook until softened, browned and heated throughout, about 4 minutes on each side. Repeat with the remaining slabs of bread pudding.

To serve, top the French toast with pecans and drizzle with maple syrup. Serve whipped cream on the side, if desired.

About the recipe

French toast gets an update in this dish, which involves cutting slabs of chilled bread pudding, tossing in a traditional egg batter, then griddling in the same style as French toast. The beauty of this recipe is that the bread pudding can (and should) be made at least a day in advance so that it can firm up in the refrigerator. Use any kind of rich, eggy bread you prefer, but croissants, challah and brioche will work best.