Croissant Bread Pudding

The Caramel Sauce...this is how dark it needs to be
Enjoy!

This recipe was inspired from Nigella, I saw her make this on tv a while back and thought it was such a great recipe. I love the caramel sauce that you make first, it really adds a depth of flavor to the dish my regular bread pudding recipe doesn’t offer. She didn’t serve her pudding with a sauce, but I couldn’t resist adding this for the perfect touch. I think I’m going to go heat a little bit of this up right now, it will be the perfect ending to my day!

Croissant Bread Pudding

1 ½ Cups Sugar
3 Tablespoons Water
3 Cups Half & Half
4 Eggs
2 Egg Yolks
1 Teaspoon Cinnamon
¼ Cup Brandy
6 Croissants, ripped into pieces

Place the croissants in a large baking dish and pre heat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large saucepan, add the sugar and water and place over medium high heat. Cook, without stirring until the sugar turns a deep golden color, about 5 minutes. Turn heat down to low, add the Half & Half, and stir vigorously with a whisk, and watch out, it will sputter quite a bit! Continue stirring until well combined, some of the caramelized sugar will form a ball, but keep whisking, it will become melted again. Now add the eggs, cinnamon, and brandy, stir to combine. Continue to cook over low heat until the sauce thickens slightly. Pour the sauce over the croissants and let sit for at least 10 minutes, or until the croissants have absorbed the sauce. Place into oven and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until puffed, golden brown, and set.
Serve warm with brandy cream sauce.

Brandy Cream Sauce

1 Cup Cream

1 Cup Sugar

1 Teaspoon Cinnamon

1 Tablespoon Butter

1 Teaspoon Cornstarch

1/4 Cup Brandy

Heat the cream, sugar, cinnamon, and butter in medium saucepan until almost boiling. Mix the brandy and cornstarch together and stir into the cream mixture. Bring to a light boil, and cook until thickened.