From the kitchen: Salted Caramel Bread Pudding {for two}
Do you eat dessert after dinner when you’re at home? Even though I love sweets, I rarely eat dessert unless I’m at a restaurant and Evan would rather have second helpings of salad over dessert any day, so it really makes no sense to craft up anything too elaborate. But, every so often, I’ll make us a special dessert to enjoy at home. The only problem is that we’ll often have leftovers. And while too much dessert is hardly a problem, I’m usually the one who polishes off the leftover pie, or cake, or cookies! A slippery slope, my friends. So, I’ve been looking for ways of turning my favorite decadent recipes into two portion servings – the perfect amount of sweet for me and my sweet. Bread pudding is a dessert that always seems to impress guests. It’s not all that common but so delicious that it seems way more exotic than it really is; and it can be dressed up in infinite ways. Plus it’s so simple, you’ll almost always have the makings for it: bread, eggs, dairy and sugar. Challa is my favorite bread for making bread pudding; it’s big, fluffy, and a bit sweet already so it lends itself very well (sidenote: have you had toasted challa with Nutella and strawberries?!!! A-mazing!). I wanted to make this recipe extra special and decadent – something you’d want to share with someone you love (or just like really hard) – so I added salted caramel, cinnamon and nutmeg to the equation to sweeten the deal, so to speak! With Valentine’s Day just around the bend, this would make a super easy and delicious end to a romantic dinner. Bonus: you can prep it ahead of time (today!) and pop it in the oven just before your ready to enjoy it (tomorrow!) and you’ll have a cozy serving of lip smacking bread pudding covered in sweet and salty goodness. Enjoy!
Salted Caramel Bread Pudding {For Two}
Makes 2 perfect servings
INGREDIENTS
Salted Caramel Sauce (adapted from Bon Appetite)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 2 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (or more if you prefer)
Bread Pudding
- 1-1/2 cups day-old bread, cubed into 1/2″ pieces (most breads will do, I prefer challa or croissant)
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup milk (buttermilk works too)
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- Pinch of salt
DIRECTIONS
Salted Caramel (from Bon Appetite)
-
Whisk sugar, cream of tartar, and 3 tablespoons water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Cook, without stirring, until mixture begins to caramelize in spots. Using a heatproof spatula, stir mixture to ensure even caramelization. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture is the color of honey, 10-12 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until caramel is a deep amber color, about 5 minutes longer.
-
Remove caramel from heat; carefully whisk in butter (mixture will bubble vigorously), then cream and salt. Let cool slightly in pan, then pour into a small bowl. DO AHEAD: Caramel sauce can be made 2 weeks ahead. Let cool completely, cover, and chill. Rewarm before using.
Bread Pudding
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Grease two 8oz. ramekins or baking dishes. Divide bread between the two and set aside. In a bowl, whisk eggs, milk, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Pour over bread slowly, making sure to overflow. You may want to push down a little on the bread to help it absorb the liquid as your pour. Bake, uncovered for 40 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool slightly. Drizzle with warmed salted caramel sauce and serve immediately.
Note: Vanilla ice cream plays well with warm bread pudding. BON APPETITE!
I love the idea of one-serve desserts – a treat is a treat, a special one-off occasion – leftovers just don’t fit! :)
wahhh that looks amazing! and what makes it super cool is that it’s just two servings so I won’t end up eating 8 servings on my own :P
Two servings is a great idea! I can’t wait to see what other desserts you will shrink down to size ;)
I have only had bread pudding once, with caramel, and it was so delicious. This looks super amazing!
That looks amazing!!!
To hell with valentine’s, I want this every day of my life! Well done. Have you baked in some chunks of dark chocolate? Or perhaps some nutella?? That would be even more amazing… but then again I would put chocolate on anything….
I think I’m going to try this with hawaiian bread!
Wow…this couldn’t sound more delicious. Thanks so much for sharing! Also, you have done a great job with your photographs. Just started a blog myself and taking pictures can be the most difficult part! – Brittany
http://www.brittanyblum.com
Omg, I’m drooling looking at ur photos!
Hello, very interesting your recipes, congratulations! If you would like to see mines please have a look at http://chiarazanone.wordpress.com/recipes-from-the-world-ricette-dal-mondo/ Thanks :)
Reblogged this on bunciss87's Blog.
Maybe this is just me being ignorant – but 1/8 cream of tartar – is there any kind of measuring to go with it 1/8 tsp? tablespoon? cup?
Thanks!
YIKES! Thank you for pointing that out! Yes, it’s 1/8 teaspoon (just a pinch). I’ve updated the recipe. Thanks Lucy! Are you making this? I hope you enjoy!
OH MY! One of my absolute favorite desserts is bread pudding, and this one looks phenomenal.
Thank you! It was phenomenal, I must say. Anything salted caramel is :)
I am in love with your blog and this recipe is what pushed me over! Oh my, I want to eat everyone of those photos.