Baking Sunday: White Chocolate Bread Pudding

This past Sunday, Jenny and I made White Chocolate Bread Pudding for Baking Sunday. It was delicious. After we made it, though, Jenny noted that it's one of those desserts that you order at a restaurant and never worry about asking what's in it. Because, my fellow bakers and readers, there's a lot of heavy cream. I mean, like, a lot. That's what makes it so delicious and pretty rich. So, if you're going to splurge on dessert during the holidays, I would recommend this White Chocolate Bread Pudding. Enjoy!

An overview of what you'll need:

• 18 ounces of quality white chocolate chips (about a bag and a half)
• 3 cups of milk
• 1 quart of heavy cream (1/2 quart to be used for the pudding and 1/2 a quart to be used for the white chocolate sauce)
• 1 cup of sugar
• 5 eggs, well beaten
• 2 loaves of french bread, cubed

Directions:

1. Begin by preheating the oven to 300 degrees.
2. Cube both bread loaves. When finished, place cubes in a greased 9x13 baking dish.
3. Next, place 12 oz. of white chocolate chips in large bowl and set it aside.
4. Then, in a large saucepan, over medium heat, mix the milk, 1/2 quart of cream and sugar. Bring it to a gentle boil and then pour the mixture over the white chocolate chips in the large bowl. Let the mixture sit for about a minute and then whisk until smooth. 
5. Add the eggs to the mixture and mix well. 
6. When finished, pour the white chocolate mixture over the cubed bread. 
7. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake for 1 - 1 1/2 hours, until the center is set. 

For the White Chocolate Sauce

1. While the bread pudding cools, place 6 oz. of white chocolate chips in a separate medium bowl. 
2.  In a sauce pan, bring the remaining 1/2 quart of cream to a gentle boil. Then, pour the cream over the white chips. Let set for about a minute and then whisk until smooth. 
3. Drizzle the white chocolate sauce over each individual serving of pudding when you're ready to serve.