Louisiana Croissant Bread Pudding Recipes

CARAMEL CROISSANT BREAD PUDDING

Steps:

• Grease a shallow 1-quart baking dish. Place the torn croissant pieces in the bottom of the dish in an even layer.
• Prepare the caramel sauce by placing a medium saucepan over medium-low to medium heat. Add butter and allow to melt. Mix in brown sugar and stir for 2 minutes. Mix in heavy cream and stir for 2 more minutes. Remove pan from heat and stir in vanilla and salt until well incorporated. Allow to cool for 5 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. In a medium bowl, whisk eggs. Very slowly and gradually, pour in the slightly cooled caramel sauce, rapidly whisking the whole time. (If the caramel sauce is too hot, or if you pour it in all at once, or if you're whisking too slowly, the eggs may scramble, which is not what you're going for!)
• Pour caramel sauce mixture over croissant pieces. Press down on croissants so that all of them are submerged in caramel sauce and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Bake for 20 minutes; remove to a rack and cool for 10 minutes. Serve warm.

CROISSANT BREAD PUDDING

Steps:

• 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.

CHOCOLATE CROISSANT BREAD PUDDING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray muffin cups or brownie pan with cooking spray.
• Mix milk, cream, eggs, sugar, and vanilla extract together in a bowl. Scrape the insides from each vanilla bean half into the milk mixture. Stir milk mixture until smooth and light yellow in color. Carefully stir croissant pieces into milk mixture until all pieces are wet; let soak for at least 10 minutes.
• Fold chocolate chips into croissant mixture. Spoon croissant mixture into the prepared muffin cups.
• Bake in the preheated oven until bubbling and golden brown, 35 to 45 minutes. Cool pudding for 30 minutes to 1 hour; transfer to a plate and sift powdered sugar over each.