These are a few of our favorite things: flakey croissants, Belgian chocolate, toasted almonds and holiday spices, all baked together into a warm, melty, irresistible bread pudding. Your friends and family will love this special treat – and so will you, since it comes together in 15 minutes and is ready in under an hour. Perfect for parties and gatherings!
Serves: 8
Difficulty: easy
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 40 min
Special tools: 9″ x 13″ baking dish
Ingredients
4 egg yolks + 2 lg eggs
2 c whole milk
1 1/2 c heavy cream
1 c granulated sugar
1 t vanilla
1/2 t kosher salt
1/4 t nutmeg, freshly grated
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t ground cardamom
2 t orange zest, fine
8 lg croissants (day-old are best)
8 oz semisweet or bittersweet Belgian baking chocolate, chunked
2 T slivered almonds
Steps
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly butter baking dish and set aside. In a large bowl, combine yolks, eggs, milk, cream, sugar, vanilla, spices and zest, whisking to dissolve sugar. Cut croissants into 1-2″ chunks; add croissants and chocolate pieces to custard mixture. Toss gently and let rest 5 min to absorb custard. Turn out into baking dish, arranging bread pieces and chocolate evenly. Cover with foil and bake 30 min. Remove foil, sprinkle with almonds and bake an additional 8-10 min, until golden brown and center is set (no liquid is visible when pressed gently; internal temp should reach 175 degrees for custard to set properly). Remove from oven and let cool a few minutes. Serve warm. Recipe can be assembled and refrigerated unbaked a day in advance; simply rest at room temp 1 hr before baking, as described above. Recipe travels and reheats well.
