Few things are more comforting than the sweet richness of bread pudding. Meanwhile, challah is unarguably one of the most delicious breads in existence, and no one can say no to caramel. Ergo, if you need to make a holiday dessert for a crowd, simple logic dictates that your best move is to make this caramel challah bread pudding.
Any way you serve it—warm, room temperature, cooled, plain, with whipped cream or a la mode—this bread pudding is sure to satisfy.
Caramel Challah Bread Pudding
Ingredients
Instructions
In a small, heavy saucepan, heat the sugar, butter, and salt over medium heat. Once butter melts and the sugar dissolves and starts to brown (after 7-10 minutes), reduce heat to medium-low and stir.
Remove caramel from heat when the mixture turns copper. Immediately pour into a deep, 9- to 10-inch pie dish (cake pan, casserole dish, or oven-safe skillet would work, too). Make sure you have a similarly-sized dish on hand for later. Chill in the refrigerator until caramel solidifies, about half an hour.
While caramel cools, slice challah into 1/2u0022 slices. Retrieve the dish and arrange the bread by placing the heel in the center and fanning the other slices around it. Assuming you aren’t vying for presentation points, feel free to cut slices in half and shove them into gaps to make it all fit.
Whisk eggs and mascarpone in a large bowl. Try to make it as smooth as possible, though cheese globules are inevitable. Whisk in milk and vanilla.
Coat all of the bread with the liquid mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and top with a plate to chill in the fridge for at least an hour if not overnight. Remove the pudding from the fridge one hour prior to baking.
Preheat oven to 375°F. Once ready, bake, uncovered, for 30-35 minutes, until bread edges slightly brown. The pudding should be moist, but not wet.
Run a knife or spatula around the edges of the pan to loosen the pudding. Cover pan with the second dish and quickly flip the pudding into it. Immediately use a spatula to scrape out any residual caramel from the original pan and pour/smear it onto the pudding. Cut as desired and dig in!