Got Stollen? Stollen Bread Pudding with Whipped Cream and Carmel Sauce

I don't know about you, but I've got a freezer full of Christmas Stollen.  I don't bake bread very often and I wanted to make sure my December Daring Baker's Challenge turned out well, so... I made extra. Lots extra.  Just in case.

Now, my tiny little freezer is full of stollen and I don't have room for the usual things.  You know... important things... like Rocky Road ice cream.

And pumpkin cheesecake. I buy one from the Cheesecake Factory every year to keep in my freezer  just in case I ever lose enough weight to eat a piece of it.  Or, in case there is a nuclear bomb or something... I'll still have pumpkin cheesecake.

Stollen is too delicious to just throw away but, my family is just about "stollened" out.  So, I decided to disguise it.  Make it into something else.  Maybe they won't realize they are eating more stollen.

Bread pudding!  That's the ticket!

Ya, I know.  Pretty sneaky.  Sometimes I surprise myself.

After thawing out the frozen stollen, I cut the crust off the bottom and ends of the loaf.  This step is up to you.  I just don't like so much crust in my bread pudding and the crust on leftover stollen can be a little tough.

Cut the stollen into 1 inch cubes.  Place the cubes in an oven proof baking dish.  Let them dry out a little while you mix the other ingredients together.

Whisk the eggs together until well combined.

Add the cream, sugar, salt, and vanilla. Whisk until well combined.  Set aside until there are no air bubbles.

I had left over candied citrus peel as well so, I added some to the bread pudding. Toss the candied citrus peel into the bread crumbs.  Try to distribute the peel evenly.

Pour the egg and cream mixture over the cubes of stollen.

Cover the mixture and refrigerate at least one hour or until the egg mixture has thoroughly saturated the stollen.

Place dish in a water bath and bake in a pre-heated 350° oven for 50 to 60 minutes or until the custard mixture sets and passes the "toothpick" test.

Remove dish from the water bath and cool on a wire rack for 10 to 15 minutes.

May be served warm or chilled with carmel sauce, creme anglais, whipped cream, ice cream or any combination of these sauces.

Garnish with carmel sauce, whipped cream and toasted, sliced almonds.

Stollen Bread Pudding with Carmel Sauce and Whipped Cream

Stollen

4 cups whipping cream

10 large eggs

½ cup sugar

pinch of salt

¾ cup orange juice (optional)

2 tablespoons vanilla

2 tablespoons orange extract (optional)

½ cup diced, candied citrus peel

Directions:

Butter the bottom and sides of a two quart oven proof baking dish. The size of the dish is determined by how much stollen you have. I had the same amount as one and one half loaves of french bread and used a 10 by 10 baking dish. Don't over stuff the dish.

Cut crust off bottom and ends of stollen.  Dice into 1 inch cubes.  Place cubes into baking dish.

Let the cubes dry while preparing the custard mixture.

Whisk the eggs together until well combined.  Add the cream, sugar, salt and vanilla.  Add the orange juice and orange flavoring to the egg custard mixture now if desired.  If your stollen has a lot of citrus peel, you may want to cut back or omit it.  Just check the cooking time a little earlier as it may require a little less time.  Set aside until there are no air bubbles.

Toss candied citrus peel with the cubes of stollen.

Pour the egg and cream mixture over the stollen cubes.  Cover dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the stollen is saturated, at least one hour.

Pre-heat oven to 350°.  Place baking dish in a water bath and bake until the custard is set and a toothpick inserted into the pudding comes out clean, about 50 to 60 minutes.

Remove from the water bath and cool on a wire rack for 10 to 15 minutes.

May be served warm or chilled.

Garnish toasted almonds, carmel sauce, creme anglaise, whipped cream or ice cream.