While no one has ever accused me of being a diet food guru, there are some recipes out there with a combination of ingredients so unhealthy, they cause me to cringe when I read them.






A few years back I was leafing through Ina Garten’s cookbook, when I came across this recipe. It was intriguing how she uses flaky croissants to put a lighter, more tender spin on traditional bread pudding, but I paused on the words “5 cups of half and half” followed by “8 egg yolks”, and quickly turned the page.

These are the kinds of recipes that I associate with the likes of Paula Dean – things that we all know we’d love to try, but would flinch if we were to describe the ingredients to anyone. And there I left it, returning to the same cookbook often, because it is awesome, but always skipping the page with this recipe.





Then, back in bread class a few weeks ago, we spent many days laminating dough and perfecting our Viennoiserie technique. At the end of these classes we found ourselves in possession of racks containing literally hundreds of gorgeous, fragrant croissants. I suddenly remembered this recipe, and thought, heck, when will I ever have access to unlimited, free, handmade croissants made with the best ingredients this side of the Atlantic?





And that, kids, is how rationalization works.





It’s also how I wound up leaving a pile of croissants on the kitchen counter to stale on purpose, and then the next evening I quickly combined the ingredients and did the deed, 5 cups of half and half and all. When it was over, I had a lovely, rich bread pudding with a beautiful top, accented by the lamination from the croissants. After sampling it, I discovered that it was way too good (deadly?) to keep in my own fridge and sent it off to Brian’s office for taste testing by some willing (young, athletic) software engineers who have saved me time and again from my own sad willpower by taking many delicious breads off my hands.

Croissant Bread Pudding
As written from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook by Ina Garten

Serves 8-10 people

3 extra-large whole eggs

8 extra-large egg yolks

5 cups half-and-half

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

6 croissants, preferably stale, sliced horizontally

1 cup raisins

Directions

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.