This mascarpone stuffed French toast bread pudding is a decadent indulgent masterpiece that comes together in minutes. All ingredients from Trader Joe’s!
After writing and posting a story yesterday that only vaguely related to what the recipe I was about to share was, I feel I should take this day to be a little more straight forward and share some general guidelines for my mascarpone stuffed French toast bread pudding. It’s a mouthful. In more ways than one.
The Bread
I use one loaf of Brioche. Loaves will vary in size, but it’s okay. Just roll with it. I prefer Trader Joe’s loaf (along with Trader Joe’s everything else in this recipe). You can use any bread you like, but brioche is fantastic. Your average loaf of any bread will yield about 10 cups when cubed.
The Eggs
Large. White, brown, or blue. Cage free, free range, or “regular”. Whatever you like.
The Cream
Heavy. Trader Joe’s pasteurized (not ultra) is my favorite. Side note: it whips up into cream faster than any other I’ve tried. A colleague even accidentally made butter once. That’s how fast it is. Super-fast!
The Sweet
REAL maple syrup. This can make it pricier. If you want to opt for a more budget-friendly bread pudding, do 1 cup sugar and 1 cup syrup.
The Spice
Cinnamon and a hint of nutmeg help the whole “French Toast” vibe along. I use whole nutmeg and grate it fresh.
The (more) Fat
Butter, melted. Lots of it.
The Extra
Maple syrup extract. Totally omittable, but again, totally amps the “French Toast” vibe.
The Stuff
Mascarpone cheese. Again, Trader Joe’s is my favorite. I once got a tub of another brand and it was the consistency of sour cream. NOT what I am looking for when I am wanting, say it with me, “MASK-Car-Pone-AY”
OPTIONS
Lighten er’ up!
I kind of hesitated giving these tips since the whole premise of this dish is that it’s an indulgent decadent masterpiece. However, I like the idea of options. Switch the cream out for milk, use half the butter, even omit the mascarpone. It’ll still be fabulous while remaining a slight guilty pleasure.
Short Cuts and Do-Aheads
Blend the custard in a large food processor or blender instead of hand-whisking. Combine the ingredients the evening before so you can just pop it in the oven in the morning. Or you can even bake it up to 3 days ahead of time, put it in the refrigerator and warm it in the oven before enjoying.
[tasty-recipe id=”92885″]