TOFFEE BREAD PUDDING W/ CINNAMON TOFFEE SAUCE

Well since we had a tie between two desserts in my recent poll, I am going to make them both. I started off with the bread pudding recipe since it said it was best the day it was made. Which turned out NOT to be true, I think it tasted even better the next day... and the day after that!

I went off and left the actual recipe at home, so tonight I will add the recipe to this post.


3 CUPS MILK
4 EGGS
3/4 C SUGAR
3/4 TEASPOON GROUND CINNAMON
3/4 TEASPOON VANILLA EXTRACT
6 TO 6 1/2 CUPS 1/2 INCH CUBES FRENCH, ITALIAN OR SOURDOUGH BREAD
1 CUP HEATH BITS-O-BRICKLE TOFFEE BITS, DIVIDED

CINNAMON TOFFEE SAUCE (RECIPE FOLLOWS)
SWEETENED WHIPPED CREAM OR ICE CREAM (OPTIONAL)

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 13x9x2-inch baking pan.

2. Mix together milk, eggs, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and salt in large bowl with wire whisk. Stir in bread cubes, coating completely. Allow to sit 10 minutes. Stir in 1/2 cup toffee bits. Pour into prepared pan. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup toffee bits over surface.

3. Bake 40-45 minutes or until surface is set. Cool 30 minutes.

4. Meanwhile prepare Cinnamon Toffee sauce. Cut pudding into squares; top with sauce and sweetened whipped cream or ice cream.

CINNAMON TOFFEE SAUCE: 3/4 C Heath toffee bits, 2/3 C whipping cream and 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon in medium sauce pan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until toffee melts and mixture is well blended. (As toffee melts, small bits of almond will remain).


Let me start off by saying this is THE BOMB BABY!! No diggity no doubt! I am a fan of bread pudding to start with but this was the first time I have ever made one. This was just so awesome, I really hope you guys make this. If you have never had bread pudding before, I strongly suggest you try it. I didn't eat it for a long time because I thought the name was gross sounding.



I picked out a loaf of french bread to use.




You need to cut it into little 1/2 inch squares. I didn't end up needing the whole loaf, so don't cut it all up unless you want to make croutons out of the left over pieces. It doesn't have to be perfect. I was concerned about leaving the crust on, and honestly it doesn't "stick out" like you think it might when it is cooked. Sometimes the crusts on these types of bread can be so tough and have a stronger flavor, but it wasn't noticeable in the finished dish.




Next add the milk and eggs and cinnamon and sugar mixture to your bread and let it soak for about 10 minutes.



While the bread was soaking I decided I wanted to add a little butter to this recipe. I mean butter just goes with bread and cinnamon - right!!?? So I added a stick of cut up butter to this recipe :) I just left it in little chunks and mixed it in with the toffee bits.



Pour it into your greased dish and you are ready for the oven.




How good does this look?? This smelled SOOOO good cooking in the oven. I am super glad that I added the butter, it really helped crisp up the edges and added a really good flavor. I had to pull a corner off and taste it and I almost melted into a pile right there on the kitchen floor.....it's that good!



Now you are ready to make the sauce for the pudding. It is three simple ingredients - heavy cream, toffee bits and cinnamon. This sauce will knock you off your feet girls! This would be a great sauce for lots of stuff not just this dessert!



And since I had quite a bit of the heavy cream left over, we made homemade whipped cream (Thank you Sir Mix A Lot!!!). We put the cream in a chilled mixing bowl, added some sugar and vanilla and let it mix for several minutes. This cream lasted several days in the fridge. I just left the left overs in the bowl and placed some wax paper over the top, pushing it down to touch the top of the cream and it has held up very nicely.





This was so simple to make and honestly one of my favorite dishes I have made. I will be making this quite a bit from now on. I really hope one of you all tries this and lets me know if you feel as strongly about this as I do. Enjoy!