Potato Bread Pudding with Mascarpone, White Chocolate and Dried Cherries, and Praline Creme Anglaise
Chef Todd Downs
Bon Appetit Management
Ft. Wayne, Ind.
Bread pudding is the ultimate feel-good dessert—warm, creamy and comforting. Chef Todd Downs tweaks the traditional recipe by using potato bread as a base. The addition of sweet mascarpone cheese, white chocolate, dried cherries and cinnamon infuses the pudding with contrasting flavors and colors. For a fancy touch, prepare a simple creme Anglaise as a dessert sauce.
Ingredients
Pudding
6 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
2 lb. potato bread or rolls, cut into 1-in. cubes
2 cups dried cherries
1 lb. white chocolate, cut into ½-in. chunks
2½ lb. mascarpone cheese, softened
6 eggs
6 cups half-and-half
3 cups sugar
3 tbsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Confectioners’ sugar
Praline Creme Anglaise
8 egg yolks
1½ cups dark brown sugar
1 tbsp. arrowroot powder
4 cups half-and-half
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
2 oz. bourbon
Steps
1. For pudding, preheat oven to 375 F. Butter 2-inch deep hotel pan generously with butter.
2. In large bowl, combine bread cubes, dried cherries and white chocolate chunks; mix well. Transfer to prepared pan.
3. In mixing bowl, combine mascarpone and eggs; mix until well blended. Add half-and-half, sugar, vanilla and spices. Beat well until blended.
4. Pour liquid mixture over the bread mixture in pan, pressing bread into liquid to immerse it well. Bake pudding about 1 hour or until top is puffed and lightly browned.
5. Meanwhile, prepare crème Anglaise: In mixer bowl, combine egg yolks, brown sugar and arrowroot; beat until light and fluffy.
6. In saucepan over medium heat, scald half-and-half until tiny bubbles appear around the edge. Gradually stir into egg mixture, a little at a time, folding together by hand, until well mixed. Return mixture to saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened and coats the back of a spoon.
7. Meanwhile, prepare an ice bath; place a large bowl in ice. Immediately remove crème Anglaise from heat and strain through a sieve into bowl in ice bath. Stir the mixture as it cools.
8. Dust bread pudding with confectioners’ sugar and serve with crème Anglaise.
Photograph courtesy of Idaho Potato Commission