Bread Pudding with Vanilla Bean Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 loaf of day-old French bread, cut into large bite-size cubes (about 8 cups)
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 2 cups whole milk
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• Pinch of ground nutmeg
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Vanilla Bean Sauce:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 vanilla bean split lengthwise and beans removed.

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Butter or spray with cooking spray a 9-inch springform pan and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, toss cubed bread, cranberries, and nuts.
4. In another large bowl, mix milk, cream, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
5. In a small bowl, whisk eggs with sugar and vanilla until blended, then stir into the milk mixture.
6. Add bread, cranberries, and pecans, gently stirring until it almost absorbed all of the milk mixture.
7. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for about 45 minutes until the top was golden brown and the center of the pudding came out clean with a tester.
8. Place the pan on a cooling rack and allow it to cool for about 10-15 minutes.

For the Vanilla Bean Sauce:

1. While the pudding was cooling, add sugar, butter, cream, vanilla beans, and the pod to a small saucepan and bring it to a low boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
2. Reduce the heat to a simmer for about 15-20 minutes.
3. Remove from heat, discard the vanilla bean pod, and allow it to cool slightly.
4. Pour the sauce over the bread pudding or serve it on the side.