Bread Pudding Pleasures

What do you do when you have lots of leftover bread that you’d hate to throw away? You could make breadcrumbs or better yet, bake up some bread pudding! Because it was such a dreary, damp and dark spring day here in Chicago, some comforting bread pudding definitely fit the bill.
I used this Butterscrotch Bread Pudding recipe as my guide, but to put my own spin on it, here’s my recipe for Caramel Apple Bread Pudding with Fresh Vanilla Bean Whipped Cream.

1 1/2 loaf of old bread, 1″ cubed
( I used an artisanal italian pane, but you could use a french baguette, french bread or even bagels)
3 cups half & half
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
3 eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla paste (or vanilla extract)
1 cup caramel chips
3 medium apples, chopped
1 teaspoon cinnamon

PREHEAT oven to 350 degrees. Coat 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray or butter.

COMBINE all ingredients in large bowl. Allow bread to soak in liquids, especially if the bread is really dry. Pour mixture into prepared pan.

BAKE in preheated oven for 1 hour, until nearly set. Serve warm or cold, with a dollop of whipped cream.

For the vanilla bean whipped cream:

1 tablespoon vanila paste (or vanilla extract)
1/4 cup powdered sugar
2 cups heavy cream

Place all ingredients in your stand mixer and whip with whip attachment until it thickens to whipped cream consistency.