Caramelised Pear & Pecan Bread Pudding

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Theres nothing like blowing monday's cobwebs away than with a bread pudding fresh out of the oven. My mum alway makes bread pudding with brioche so I bought a delicious loaf and with pear season in full swing I thought it would be rude not to include them. The custard is really simple to make, theres no egg separating or even heating you pretty much just whisk everything together and then pour onto the brioche before leaving it to soak. This pudding takes around an hour to cook so you do need to be a little patient but my god is it worth the wait! Its safe to say my husband was jumping for joy when he got in from work to discover this little beauty waiting for him!

Makes in a 9x8" dish

Recipe adapted from Tartine

You will need-

• 6 1inch slices of brioche bread
• 8 large eggs
• 3/4 cup caster sugar
• 4 cups whole milk
• 1 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 3 pears, peeled & cubed
• 50g unsalted butter
• 50g soft light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup roughly chopped pecans

Pre-heat the oven to 170C. Place the brioche on a baking tray into the oven till its lightly toasted. Leave to cool whilst you make the custard.

In a large bowl whisk together the eggs before adding the sugar. Continue whisking till smooth and then add the milk, vanilla, salt & cinnamon. Mix one more time then set aside.

Place the brioche slices in your dish and then pour over the custard, you may not be able to fit it all in, if this is the case leave it to one side for topping up later. Let the pudding sit for at least 10 minutes so the bread has time to soak the majority of the custard.

Top up if needed and then cover with foil and bake for around an hour. Be sure to check at the 45 minute stage, just use a knife to peek into the middle and if its still really liquid cook for another 15 minutes or so. At this stage place the pears, sugar and butter in a saucepan and cook gently till the pears soften. When the bread pudding comes out of the oven poke little holes in the top and press the pears deep into it. Scatter the rest on top and pour some of the caramel onto it. Top with the pecans and then put back in to oven without the foil for 5-10 minutes. This will give the pudding a lovely crunchy topping. Let it cool for at least 30 minutes to give the custard a chance to set and then serve on its own or if you want to be really indulgent, with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream.

If you do have lots of custard left over like I did, just pour into individual ramekins and place in a ban-marie in the oven. Bake at 170C for around 30 minutes or till set. Once cooled, turn out onto a plate and there you have a delicious cinnamon flan! 2 desserts in 1, what more could you ask for?