french toast bread pudding with salted maple buckwheat crunch

Yaaaaaaay! Yaaaaaaay! I am currently typing this out for you while waiting til I can nosh on some more o’ this. I’m spacing out portions with 2 hours in between, that’s the plan. Whatcha think? Good plan, right?

I am soooooo excited!

While I wait, allow me share with you how this all came about.

So my precious friend Donna is contending with a serious illness and crappy food just doesn’t serve her. She’s been cutting out processed foods, white flour, dairy, y’know, the usual culprits.

I’m so proud of her!

So you can imagine how horrified I was when she waved a particular cookbook in front of me, authored by this celeb who shall remain nameless, saying she wanted to make this totally outrageously decadent dessert, chock full o’ all sorts of atrocities.

Nooooooo!

That’s what I said.

“Noooooo! Lemme figure out how to make a healthier version of that. Meanwhile you stay away from the kitchen and you are not allowed to look at this book.”

Somethin’ like that.

Anyway, 2 or 3 months later (I’m well intentioned, I never said I was quick!) this delicious little baby was born.

Enjoy!

PS: Donna says it’s her new favorite dessert. Crisis averted!

. . . . . . . . .

French Toast Bread Pudding with Salted Maple Buckwheat Crunch

For the bread pudding:

• 1 pound gluten free brown rice bread, torn into 1″ squares*
• 7 large eggs
• 2 cups coconut cream milk
• 3/4 cups coconut sugar
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tbsp softened ghee (to grease baking dish)

For the crunchy topping:

• 3 cups maple buckwheat flakes cereal*
• 3 tbsp ghee, melted
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt

Grease 8 x 8″ glass baking dish with ghee. In large bowl, whisk eggs til smooth, then whisk in coconut cream, coconut sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt til well blended.

Layer bread in dish, covering cracks between bread with next layer and pouring some of the egg mixture over about every 2 layers of bread. When done, top with remaining egg mixture. Refrigerate 3 to 6 hours.

Preheat oven to 350. Remove baking dish from fridge, gently smash bread down into egg mixture with back of spoon til top layer is wet. Set aside.

Melt ghee on low heat, stirring in salt. In medium bowl, toss cereal with ghee til well coated. Spread evenly over bread, pushing cereal down into egg mixture to wet bottom layer of cereal. Let sit 30 min.

Bake til topping is light golden brown, approx 50 min.

* I hate to tell ya what to do but if you get these two things from the health food store, you’ll be best off. Regular bread will knock this dish right back into the “naughty” category.

• Food For Life Wheat-Free Gluten-Free Brown Rice Bread (in the freezer aisle)
• Arrowhead Mills Gluten-Free Maple Flakes (in the cereal aisle)

Enjoy!