Challah Bread Pudding with Vanilla Cream Sauce

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 3-quart (or equivalent) baking dish with butter.
2. Cube the challah into 1-inch cubes. Spread on a sheet pan and bake for about 12 minutes until the bread is lightly toasted. Place the toasted bread into the greased baking dish.
3. In a bowl, prepare the custard mixture. Melt the butter and then whisk in the brown sugar, vanilla extract, eggs, half-and-half, whole milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
4. Pour the custard mix over the cubed bread. Cover, and refrigerate for at least one hour, or until the bread has soaked up all of the liquid. Ensure all of the cubes are well-soaked with the custard while resting in the refrigerator. Once the pudding is ready to bake, drain the currants. Add the currants and pecan halves to the soaked challah. Gently stir until incorporated. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish.
5. In a small bowl, prepare the pecan topping by tossing the finely chopped pecans in a mixture of the maple syrup, brown sugar, melted butter, and salt. Sprinkle on top of the bread pudding mixture.
6. In a preheated oven (350°F), bake for 45-50 minutes, or until the pudding is set in the center.
7. While the bread pudding bakes, prepare the vanilla cream sauce. In a small saucepan, warm the cream, vanilla, and sugar until it begins to simmer. Heat on a low simmer until the sauce is slightly thickened. As the final step, stir in the butter until melted.
8. Serve the bread pudding with the sauce. We poured one cup (or about one half) of the sauce over the whole batch of freshly baked bread pudding right before serving, and then served the remaining sauce on the side for those who are looking for an extra drizzle of goodness!

Pecan Topping Ingredients:

• 1 cup chopped pecans, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Vanilla Cream Sauce Ingredients:

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1-1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract, or 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted