Ingredients

• ¼ cup brown sugar
• ¼ cup white sugar
• 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cube butter, softened
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 8 eggs
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup half-and-half cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1.5 pound or 10 slices of sour dough bread, cut into 3/4 inch cubes
• 5 pears or peaches – peeled, cored and sliced
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 pinch ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. In a medium bowl, stir together the brown sugar, 1/4 cup white sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt. Mix in the butter just until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, 1 cup white sugar, half-and-half, 1 teaspoon of vanilla and salt.
4. Line the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish with a layer of bread. Top with a layer of pear. Pour about 1/4 of the custard over the layers followed by about 1/3 of the heavy cream. Sprinkle with some of the crumb topping. Repeat layers until you are out of ingredients, ending with the crumb topping on top. Press down on the layers as needed to help them absorb the liquid. Cover the pan with parchment paper then seal with aluminum foil. Place another baking pan on top or two dinner plates to keep it from puffing while it bakes.
5. Place the pudding onto a larger pan or cookie sheet with sides. Pour boiling water into the bottom pan until it is half way full.
6. Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven, then reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and continue baking for 25 minutes. Remove foil and parchment paper turn oven to 375 degrees F (190 C) and bake an additional 10 minutes until golden brown. Pudding is done when a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.
7. Serve with Praline Sauce-
8. Stir 2 cubes salted butter, 1 cup half & half and 1 cup brown sugar together in a heavy saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, simmer for 5 minutes then stir pecans into the cream mixture, and pour over bread pudding to serve.