Baked challah transforms leftovers into a gourmet dessert

Baked challah with fruits and pudding is the essence of leftover cuisine, which focuses on using everything we have at hand. This flavorful and colourful dessert should appear on your table at least once. It is simple and economical, yet so impressive.

Looking for a simple dessert idea that doesn't require a long shopping list? Baked challah is a perfect choice, especially since you can adapt the recipe to your preferences and serve it in many different ways.

Why did we call baked challah the essence of leftover cuisine? You can prepare this dessert with stale challah, and the fruits that end up there can be those that are not good for preserves, are too sour, or simply starting to look less delicious (of course, we only save fruits that do not show signs of spoilage or mould). You can find nuts and dried fruits in the kitchen cupboard, hidden in the baking supplies. You can easily prepare the pudding yourself (as indicated in the recipe), but you can also use ready-made pudding from a packet.

Baked challah is more than just a "simple dessert from leftovers." Imagine how the dish could look when enriched with the colours of seasonal fruits. Creamy pudding melts here and there, and the whole is topped with sprinkled nuts and dried fruits. Add a few mint leaves on top of the ready casserole, and it will look so stunning that it would be a shame to eat it.

Ingredients:

• 1 challah (can be stale),
• fresh fruits: strawberries, blueberries, cranberries, raspberries,
• sliced almonds, nuts, dried cranberries,
• 475 ml milk,
• 3 egg yolks,
• 4 tablespoons potato starch,
• 2 tablespoons sugar,
• 1 tablespoon butter.

Preparation:

1. Pour 355 ml of milk into a pot, add butter and sugar, and start heating. In the remaining milk, mix the potato starch and egg yolks. Pour the mixture into the boiling milk and stir vigorously, cooking on deficient heat until the pudding thickens. Then, set the pudding aside to cool slightly.
2. Cut the challah into slices. Dip each slice in the pudding and place in a baking dish, side by side. Insert fresh fruits (slice strawberries into smaller pieces) and your favourite nuts and dried fruits between the slices.
3. Bake the dessert in an oven preheated to 190°C for about 15 minutes.