Doughnut and Bacon Eggnog Bread Pudding

By Geoffry Le Cher
@Geoffry

‘Tis the season to go all out…’, so how about starting the festive Holiday Season with this brunch treat that is guaranteed to bring a smile to your face. This Chez-original says “Welcome to the Yuletide” like no other dish, and the salty and sweet combo along with the yeasty goodness ‘makes the season bright’.

Rating:

★★★★★ 6 votes

Comments:

24 Comments

Serves:

Prep:

30 Min

Cook:

40 Min

Method:

Bake

Blue Ribbon Recipe

Notes from the Test Kitchen:
Make this the night before and pop it in the oven on Christmas and you have one simple, decadent and tasty breakfast. This would make an amazing holiday dessert too. Sweet and delicate doughnuts make a great base to this bread pudding. The eggnog infused sweet pudding is the perfect compliment to the savory cream cheese/pecan topping. The center is warm, gooey and oh so good!

Ingredients

: 8 x 8 cake pan
: parchment paper
10: glazed, yeast dough nuts (Krispy Kreme would work well), cut into eighths
12: slices, thick cut bacon, cut into strips and fried crisp
1 1/2 c: eggnog
6: eggs, room temperature
1/2 tsp: freshly grated nutmeg
: pinch of salt
4 oz: plain cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 tsp: cinnamon, fresh ground
1/4 tsp: vanilla extract
1/4 c: toasted pecans

How to Make Doughnut and Bacon Eggnog Bread Pudding

Step-by-Step

1Cut parchment paper and place in 8 x 8 pan, so that the pan’s entire surface is covered. (If you forget this step you will be very, very sad… so don’t forget it! Trust me, you will thank me later.) Note that a little nonstick spray will help hold the paper to the pan.
2Mix together eggs, nutmeg, eggnog and salt and whisk until well mixed and it develops a good froth… 2 minutes.
3Place doughnut pieces in prepared cake pan and sprinkle bacon bits among the doughnut pieces.
Pour egg/eggnog mixture over doughnut & bacon pieces. Gently press down to make sure doughnuts remain submerged. Cover with plastic wrap and set in refrigerator for 3 hours… or better yet, overnight!
4Preheat oven to 350 F.
5Combine cream cheese, cinnamon and vanilla in a small bowl and mix well. Set aside. DO NOT refrigerate!
6Once the oven is at temperature, remove pudding from refrigerator, remove plastic wrap and bake for 30-35 minutes.
7Once done, place on cooling rack for 10 minutes and then remove from pan (see, I told you that you would thank me for the parchment paper) and place on a cake platter.
8Drizzle or ‘frost’ pudding with cream cheese topping, scatter pecans on top, slice and serve.