bread pudding a la Google (rosemary hazelnut bread pudding)

I particularly enjoyed this dessert when our friend and his wife took B and I to dinner at the Google campus, and I've been wanting more ever since.



I used Dorie's apple-apple bread pudding as a base and added rosemary and hazelnut. This is best served cold; I found the flavor too strong when it was warm. If I make this again, I'll decrease the amount of rosemary and probably strain the leaves out of the milk altogether.






Rosemary Hazelnut Bread Pudding
12 oz. stale bread, torn into 1/2" chunks
3 eggs
5 egg yolks
1 C heavy cream
3 C whole milk
leaves from 1.5" piece of rosemary
1.25 oz hazelnuts, roasted and skinned

Bring milk and cream to a boil. Remove from heat and steep rosemary in hot mixture. Whisk together eggs and egg yolks. Temper egg mixture with about 1/4 the hot milk mixture. Then whisk in the rest.

Toss bread and hazelnuts together and place in buttered 9" x 13" pan. Pour custard mixture over top, and let sit for thirty minutes, using a spoon to occasionally press down any protruding pieces of bread.

Heat oven to 325 F and bake for about an hour and 25 minutes, or until pudding passes the knife test.

prep time: 50 min.
cooking time: 1.5 hrs.