Nutella Donut Bread Pudding

Is everyone watching the Academy Awards tonight? I totally am.... Not.

Call me a party pooper but I just can't sit and watch people make acceptance speeches for 5 hours. Hurray for the millionaires but really... Throw in a good musical act, or some chocolate, and I will totally sit on my butt and watch it. BUT, a handful of great actors haven't even won an Academy Award.. which makes me think its rigged.

Who am I to make that call though?

Anyways, I had a catastrophe this morning. I had full plans to make delicious, sprinkled, baked Nutella doughnuts. And although I followed the recipe to a T, they crumbled when I tried to remove them from the pan. Insert sad face, here.
Fear not though, I was able to save these delicious donuts and turn them into bread pudding. Look at that mosaic loaf of donuts and custard... YUM! Feel free to sub in your favorite donut to save you a step, but these Nutella ones were absolutely perf.

For the Donuts:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon cocoa powder
1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3 Tablespoons baked brown sugar
1/3 cup Nutella
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup milk

For the Custard:
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup milk
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 Tablespoons Nutella
3 Tablespoons granulated sugar

For the Icing:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 Tablespoons Nutella
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3-4 Tablespoons milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease your donut pan and set aside.

Start by making the donuts. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, using your hand mixer, beat together the sugars, Nutella, and softened butter until smooth. Add in the egg and vanilla and beat until incorporated. Alternate the flour and milk into the dough, starting and ending with the flour.
Divide batter among your donut pans, filling 3/4 of the way ( I like to use a piping bag for the method for even distribution).
Bake in preheated oven for 7-8 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Allow to cool on a rack for 5 minutes before removing from pan. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the ingredients for the custard.
Slice up the donuts in varying sizes.
Lightly grease a large 9x5" loaf pan and sprinkle half of the chopped donuts inside.

Pour over half of the custard mixture, pressing the donuts into it slightly to help it soak up.
Sprinkle in the rest of the donuts and pour in the remaining custard. Press gently to soak up the custard. Cover and place in the fridge to set up for 30 minutes.

Lower oven temp to 350 degrees.
Remove pudding from the fridge, cover with aluminum foil, and bake for 35 minutes. Remove the foil cover and bake for 10-15 minutes longer or until puffed, golden, and the custard is set.
Remove from oven and allow it to cool for 20 minutes.

Invert on to your serving dish.
Make your icing by mixing all of the ingredients together in a medium bowl.
Drizzle over the top of the pudding.
Slice and serve... with ice cream... is best!

I love how the Nutella brings a rich, nutty flavor to the pudding. The custard holds in together completely and the vanilla adds an almost alcohol induced flavor. This pudding is great!

*Donut recipe adapted from Cooking Classy