Eclair Bread Pudding

Éclair Bread Pudding

It’s inevitable when making éclairs to have a few that don’t rise. This easy recipe is a great way to use up the rejects.

4 cups of reject éclairs, torn into ½ inch or smaller pieces
4 cups milk
4 eggs
1/4 tsp cardamom
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 whole peaches chopped into bite size pieces
1 tsp lemon juice

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Combine milk, eggs, cardamom, salt, sugar and vanilla and mix well – until the egg is well incorporated into the milk.

In another bowl, mix peaches and lemon juice.

Generously butter/grease an 8” X 12” baking pan

Layer ½ of the reject éclairs onto the bottom of the pan.

Add ½ of the milk and egg mixture, pressing down on the éclairs to make sure they are saturated with the liquid.

Layer the entire peach mixture over the top of the éclairs.

Add the remaining éclair rejects over the top of the peach mixture.

Add the remaining milk/egg mixture, and press down on the éclairs, making sure they are soaked.

Place the baking dish inside a jelly roll/cookie sheet and put it in the oven. Add hot water halfway up the side of the cookie sheet so that the bread pudding pan is resting in water. Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center of the bread pudding comes out clean.

Top with caramel ice cream topping.

A few notes on this recipe:
Egg custard is notoriously famous for overcooking, and the egg yolks turning into a rubber, curdled mess. Therefore, it's usually better to cook it low and slow, thus the need for the double boiler. The double boiler method doubles the temperature window before your bread pudding starts to curdle. -from a 5 degree window to a 10 degree window (seriously!) The pudding should thicken at 180 F. Whatever you do, don't let the bread pudding exceed 190 F, or you'll get curdled custard. You might lose some crunchiness on the surface of the bread pudding due to the lower heat and higher humidity, but it's a small sacrifice to pay for a rich, creamy custard!

Some great variations include:
-Substitute the peaches for 1 cup of dark chocolate chips.
-Use day old croissants, or crusty french bread instead of eclairs.