challah bread pudding

Sundays I cook. If I'm to eat anything homemade during the week, it has to happen on one of my free days. Earlier during the week, I stumbled across Jen Altman's recipe for strawberry and basil bread pudding (via Design Sponge), and it must have stayed with me. Suddenly, I was throwing a loaf of challah bread into my grocery cart this morning.

I didn't have any strawberries (only a refusal to buy out of season), so I modified the recipe a bit. I've never made bread pudding before, but I'm a big fan of what came out of my oven.

challah bread pudding
adapted from Jen Altman's Strawberry and Basil Bread Pudding

2 c. heavy cream 

2 c. 1/2 & 1/2 

1/2 c. skim coconut milk 

2 pints strawberries {hulled and sliced} 

1 T. fresh basil {chopped} 

zest from 1 lemon 

1 T. fresh lemon juice 

1 1 1/2 t. vanilla extract 

1/2 t. salt 

1 1/4 c. raw sugar 

3 6 eggs 

3 egg yolks 

1 large loaf of challah {egg bread} 

dash of cinnamon

Pre-heat your oven to 325 F.

Tear the challah into chunks and set aside in a large bowl.

Combine the heavy cream, 1/2 & 1/2, and coconut milk in a saucepan. Heat, stirring continuously. Remove from heat before coming to a boil.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, 1 cup sugar, salt, vanilla, and lemon juice. Once the milk and cream mixture is warm, slowly add it to the egg mixture, taking care not to accidentally cook the eggs. Now that you have these combined, pour it over the challah pieces, making sure each piece is soaked. Let it soak for 20 minutes before transferring to a casserole dish. Add cinnamon to the last 1/4 cup of sugar and sprinkle over the bread mixture.

Place in the oven, uncovered, and bake for one hour.