If you are like my family, you are missing Disney World and Disneyland. We didn’t even have a trip planned for the near future, but just knowing we can’t go has been a weird feeling. To make ourselves feel a little of the Disney magic, we started making some of our favorite foods from the property restaurants.

Today I am making Grand Floridian’s 1900 Park Fare Bread Pudding. If you have eaten at the 1900 Fare buffet, you probably tried this amazing dessert. It’s so sweet and rich. It’s a favorite of ours. I found the recipe online years ago. Here is the recipe I use:

Grand Floridian 1900 Park Fare Bread Pudding

Source: disboards

Ingredients Vanilla Sauce:

• 3 egg yolks
• 4 oz sugar
• 1/2 vanilla bean that has been split lengthwise
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup heavy cream

Ingredients Bread Pudding:

• 6 eggs
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 cups milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 4 oz butter, softened
• 1 loaf white bread

Instructions Vanilla Sauce:

1. In a saucepan, bring to a boil the milk, cream, and the vanilla bean.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar.
3. While whisking constantly, pour the cream mixture into the egg mixture. Whisk the entire time so the egg yolks do not scramble.
4. Place the mixture back on the heat but no boil, the mixture. The sauce will become creamy and thick.
5. Strain the sauce and place the bowl in an ice bath.

Instructions Bread Pudding:

1. Preheat oven to 325F.
2. Butter a loaf pan and place in a water bath.
3. Cut the loaf of bread into 1-inch cubes.
4. In a large mixing bowl, combine the eggs and sugar. Mix them together well.
5. Add the softened butter, cream, salt, and cinnamon and mix well.
6. Pour the mixture over the prepared bread cubes. Press on the bread to make sure the custard is really soaked into the bread.
7. Place soft butter over the bread.
8. Bake for 1 hour or until golden brown. The custard will become firm.
9. Top with Vanilla sauce.

First off, I do not follow the recipe exactly. I was listening to the Mousetalgia podcast and one of the hosts had adapted the recipe and used croissants for part of the bread. I took that idea a little farther. For the bread I use half Hawaiian Rolls and half croissants instead of a loaf of bread. Can you say over the top? Yes it takes this recipe over the top. I also decrease the sugar in the bread pudding to 1 cup. With the vanilla sauce, it was just too sweet with 2 cups of sugar and the Hawaiian Rolls are a sweet bread. I would suggest trying it with the 2 cups of sugar the first time to see how your family likes it, especially if you don’t plan to make the vanilla sauce.

 

The recipe says to use a loaf pan, but I make mine in a 9×13 pan because my loaf pan is too small. The water bath is tricky for the bigger pan. I take a cookie sheet and make a pan out of heavy duty foil to hold the water around the pan. I haven’t had to adjust the cooking time for this pan.

One more cheat: I will be the first to admit that I have had some major fails when making custard. For a much easier vanilla sauce try this instead: 1 pint half and half or 1 can evaporated milk, 1 cup sugar, 1 stick butter and 1 tsp vanilla. Cook on low until thick. Stir and watch closely to keep from burning.

I hope you enjoy this dessert as much as we do!