#21: Famous Dave's Bread Pudding

With the year almost gone, I set out to accomplish one last VERY important goal. I needed to attempt to make Famous Dave's bread pudding. On our first visit to Famous Dave's (delicious BBQ) we were treated to a complimentary dessert: bread pudding. I haven't been exposed to a lot of bread pudding in my life, so I wasn't sure what to expect. Well, this dessert blew me away. The only trouble is, by the time you finish your delicious dinner, you don't have any room left for dessert. So I decided to try to recreate this dish at home. I found a copycat recipe online, complete with Plantation praline sauce. I was pretty sure our kids would not be interested in eating it, so I saved the recipe for a time when we'd be together with other adults who would appreciate the dessert. Today, hanging out at my parents house, I finally put the recipe to the test. And we all agree that it is a huge success.

BREAD PUDDING:

1 loaf cinnamon swirl bread (I used Cinnabon brand, since that's all I could find)

2/3 cup golden raisins (I omitted these)

1 1/2 cups sugar

4 cups milk

2 cups heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup vanilla extract

8 eggs (beaten)

1 teaspoon cinnamon 

1. Coat bottom and sides of 13-by-9-inch baking pan heavily with butter.
2. Tear bread into 1-inch pieces. Mix with raisins in bowl. Lay bread mixture evenly in prepared dish, turning crust side down, as this tends to burn easily.
3. In bowl, whisk sugar, milk, whipping cream, vanilla, eggs and cinnamon until blended. Pour over bread mixture.
4. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
5. Place baking dish in larger 4-inch deep baking pan. Add water to reach halfway up side of dish. Bake in preheated oven 1 hour, or until all liquid is absorbed and custard-like.
6. Remove from water bath. Let stand 20 minutes.

PRALINE SAUCE (I cut this in half and it was plenty, but you may want extra on hand for ice cream, etc., because it is freakin' delicious)

3 lbs. light brown sugar (about 3 1/4 cups packed)

1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

2 1/2 cups sour cream

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. In small saucepan, heat 1/2 cup of the butter until melted.
2. Add pecans and mix well. Bring to a boil.
3. Cook until pecans begin to change color. Mixture will foam up.
4. Add remaining 1/2 cup cubed butter and mix well. (This will cool pecan mixture and stop the cooking process.) Remove from heat.
5. In a separate, large saucepan, combine brown sugar, whipping cream and cinnamon and mix well.
6. Cook over low heat until blended, stirring constantly. Increase heat and cook until mixture comes to 230 degrees on a candy thermometer (temperature is crucial to final consistency of sauce).
7. Stir in pecan mixture. Remove from heat.
8. Add sour cream and vanilla and mix well.