Barefoot Bloggers: Croissant Bread Pudding

Tonya — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 01:42:13 +0000

This week’s Barefoot Bloggers pick comes courtesy of Peggy at Pantry Revisited. I’m a fan of croissants and I love bread pudding so this seemed like a great pick.

This is a quick and easy recipe. Some might see this as dessert, but for me it just screamed breakfast! I mean, it’s kind of like French toast, right? I made a few changes to this recipe right off the bat. First of all I cannot STAND raisins. Ever since I was little they reminded me of little cockroaches. To this day roaches freak me out. True story. I thought about subbing in dried cranberries but decided to pass. There also seemed to be a TON of sugar so I reduced it by about 1/4 cup … give or take.

The results were pretty good. The top of the pudding was a bit crunchy, not in a bad way but I thought the liquid would have really seeped through. The inside was a gooey, buttery delight. It was totally creamy and delicious. I did find it a tad sweet but I’m a bit sensitive to sweetness.

I think this recipe could easily be jazzed up to make it different each time. Use different dried fruit, maybe even some stewed apples could be lovely. Nuts would also make a fine addition. You could also experiment with different spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves etc.

The photo above is of the final gooey mess. Do not it was fully cooked at this point but super gooey. Yum!

Croissant Bread Pudding
Ingredients

3 extra-large whole eggs
8 extra-large egg yolks
5 cups half-and-half
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
6 croissants, preferably stale, sliced horizontally
1 cup raisins

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the whole eggs, egg yolks, half-and-half, sugar, and vanilla. Set the custard mixture aside. Slice the croissants in half horizontally. In a 10 by 15 by 2 1/2-inch oval baking dish, distribute the bottoms of the sliced croissants, then add the raisins, then the tops of the croissants (brown side up), being sure the raisins are between the layers of croissants or they will burn while baking. Pour the custard over the croissants and allow to soak for 10 minutes, pressing down gently.

Place the pan in a larger one filled with 1-inch of hot water. Cover the larger pan with aluminum foil, tenting the foil so it doesn’t touch the pudding. Cut a few holes in the foil to allow steam to escape. Bake for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake for 40 to 45 more minutes or until the pudding puffs up and the custard is set. Remove from the oven and cool slightly. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Croissant French Toast

Tonya — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 00:52:06 +0000

The other night I didn’t have a plan for what I wanted for dinner so I decided to do Breakfast for Dinner (my fave). I was at Metro supermarket and saw a 3-pack of croissants on the “Poor People’s Shelf” (the discount baked goods rack) for $2.00 off and bought them to make some Croissant French Toast.

I was first introduced to Croissant French Toast during my freshman year at NYU. Cafeteria was my #1 brunch spot at the time and they had (and still do have) Croissant French Toast on the menu. It was always one of my regular brunch picks. Oh Cafeteria… you used to be so good but have since fallen off. You will always hold a special place in my heart. Sigh,

This recipe doesn’t require any special skills. I mix together eggs, milk, cinnamon and vanilla and then dip the sliced croissant into the mixture (on both sides). I then fry it the way you’d fry/cook French toast. I actually use a crepe pan because I like the way it heats up and that I don’t need to use a lot of butter or oil.

Prior to making the actual toast I’ll usually melt some butter with brown sugar and cinnamon and throw in some apples or pears (this time around i was pears) and let them stew. The fruit softens and the butter and sugar helps the whole thing become saucy goodness. When everything is cooked a layer the fruit on top of one half of the croissant and top with the other half. I don’t usually use maple syrup with this concoction but I was feeling particularly decadent that day.

Breakfast for dinner is quite possibly the best.

Here’s what other bloggers had to say:
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Barefoot Bloggers: Croissant Bread Pudding

Croissant French Toast