Deliciously Good Peanut Butter, Jelly & Fudge Bread Pudding

When I was developing some lunch box desserts for a monthly radio segment, I just had to include a dessert based on that delicious comfort evoking sandwich we all know and love. Of course I’m talking about the classic peanut butter & jelly sandwich. My version included a little twist because I included some left over quick ganache that I added in as a fudge swirl. I’m glad that I included it because I love chocolate, but you don’t have to, it’s equally delicious without.

This is one of those desserts that is so easy to make. I know this recipe by heart because I’ve made it so many times. I’ve made it with sliced raisin or white bread, leftover baguettes, brioche rolls, challah bread, croissants and even donuts or danish…it all works. I will say that my favorite is the one made with croissants or leftover danish because of the added richness that this type of dough adds to the custard. If you don’t want to make the peanut butter and jelly version, you can add anything else you like…anything goes with this.

I also added an extra twist to this which gives it some extra flavor. I added some caramel at the bottom of the pan, just like I do when I make crème caramel or flan. Once it hardens, I then add the bread and pour in the custard. You can skip this step but I like to include it because I sometimes serve this upside down as a bread pudding flan and the flavor is so much nicer from the caramel.

So from now on, save all of your leftover bread in a Ziploc bag in the freezer…toss in those edges from your sliced bread that no one wants and pieces that may be a little too stale to eat. Once you’ve got about 4-6 cups of cubed bread pieces, it’s time to make bread pudding…

PBJ & Fudge Bread Pudding

Caramel **optional

1 cup quick ganache**optional (or you can add some chocolate chips)

2 ½ cups milk

2 ½ cups cream

2 cups sugar

2 tablespoon vanilla

12 eggs

6 cups cubed bread

If you would like to make the caramel as I did, make that first and add to your baking dish, then swirl around until it coats the entire bottom and half way up the sides of the pan.

Allow this to cool and then prepare all of the other ingredients. Add the milk and cream to a small pot and heat on moderate heat until it is scalded but not boiling. In the meantime, add the eggs, sugar and vanilla to medium sized bowl and whisk everything together. Once the milk/cream mixture is scalded, temper this by adding it slowly into the egg mixture in the bowl whisking quickly.

I used a baguette for this application, so if you are going to make the same thing, slice it open and fill it with peanut butter and jelly then cut it up into small pieces and place the bread into a well greased baking dish. Pour the custard on top and make sure that all of the bread is well coated and well soaked with the custard. Add the chocolate ganache to this and swirl in, or simply add your chocolate chips. Let this sit on the counter top for about 10 minutes as you preheat your oven to 350°F. Place this in the oven for about 30 minutes covered with foil, then remove the foil and bake for another 15 minutes until custard has completely set and jiggles when you tap the edge of the pan. It will puff up slightly also but will settle back down once it has cooled. Let it come to room temperature then slice into servings, or refrigerate and serve cold.