Cranberry Bread Pudding French Toast

December 20, 2017
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Created by Harmons
2 hours
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS:
  • Butter, as needed
  • Sugar, as needed
  • 1 1/2 lb loaf cranberry walnut bread
  • 2/3 cup dried cranberries
  • 8 eggs
  • 3 cups whole milk
  • 2 cups half and half
  • 1 1/4 cups honey
  • 1 Tbsp vanilla
  • Zest of 1 orange, about 2 tsp
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • Pure maple syrup, for serving
DIRECTIONS:

Trim away crusty edges of bread. Cut trimmed loaf in half, lay each half cut side down and slice, about ½” thick.

Rub butter all over bottom and sides of a 9″ x 13″ pan. Sprinkle a layer of sugar over butter, if using.

Arrange a layer of sliced bread in pan, filling in any gaps with wedge-shaped pieces.

Sprinkle cranberries evenly over bread.

Arrange a second layer of bread on top, again filling in gaps with pieces of bread.

In a bowl, lightly beat eggs. Whisk in milk, half-and-half, honey, and vanilla until well blended. Whisk in orange zest and salt.

Pour mixture over bread, gently pushing down so top layer of bread is soaked with custard. Set aside to soak, 15-20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 300°.

Cover and bake about 45 minutes. Uncover and bake another 15-30 minutes until custard is barely set in center, pudding has puffed up slightly and bread on top is browned.

Cut bread pudding into slices. In a frying pan over medium-high heat, add a pat of butter. When melted, add bread pudding and cook until golden brown on one side, about 5 minutes. Flip over and cook on second side until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Serve with more butter and warmed maple syrup.

From Chef Letty Flatt