Pear Bread Pudding

We had a bunch of pears left over from Dave's mother's visit last week, and neither of us are a huge fan of them on their own, so I looked for a recipe that calls for them. As soon as the words "bread pudding" escaped me, Dave was all for it.

This recipe is a variation of one I found on allrecipes.com. It required some tweaking, and it could probably do with some more, so if anyone has any notes, please respond with them.

Pear Bread Pudding

Crumb Topping
2 Tbs brown sugar
2 Tbs white sugar
1/2 C and 2 Tbs all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 C butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract

Custard
4 eggs (1 C eggbeaters)
1/2 C white sugar
1/2 C half-and-half cream
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbs pear brandy*
1/4 tsp salt

1 (1 pound) loaf sliced artisan bread, cut into 3/4 inch strips
3 pears - peeled, cored and sliced
1 C heavy cream

2 medium sized bowls
9x13 inch baking dish
aluminum foil
2 dinner plates/a second baking pan
a pan larger than 9x13 or a cookie sheet with sides

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees f.

Crumb Topping
In a medium bowl, stir together the brown sugar, white sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt. Mix in the butter and vanilla just until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside.

Custard
In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, white sugar, half-and-half, vanilla, pear brandy and salt.

Line the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish with a layer of bread. Top with a layer of pear. Pour about 1/2 of the custard over the layers followed by about 1/2 of the heavy cream. Sprinkle with some of the crumb topping. Repeat layers until you are out of ingredients, ending with the crumb topping on top.

Press down on the layers as needed to help them absorb the liquid. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil. Place another baking pan on top or two dinner plates to keep it from puffing while it bakes.

Place the pudding onto a larger pan or cookie sheet with sides. Pour boiling water into the bottom pan until it is half way full.

Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven, then reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees f and continue baking for 45 minutes. Pudding is done when a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

This is super yummy, and really filling, so you will have leftovers for breakfast or snacks. I really want to try this recipe with other types of fruit as well, since pear is still not my favorite.

* We could not find pear brandy, so I used ginger brandy instead. It was very good, though I'd like to see how pear brandy adds to the flavor in the future.