Sweet potato spice cake bread pudding

MAKES 12 TO 14 SERVINGS

4 cups sweet potatoes, peeled and diced

4 cups croissants, cubed

2 cups half-and-half

1½ cups sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground ginger

8 whole eggs

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

4 cups store-bought spice cake, cubed

Ice cream (optional)

Place sweet potatoes in a pot of boiling water and cook until tender, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool.

Place croissant cubes in a large bowl and set aside. Meanwhile, carefully bring the half-and-half, sugar, cinnamon and ginger to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Cool slightly. In another bowl, whisk the eggs and vanilla together. Slowly add the cooled half-and-half mixture into the eggs, stirring well to combine.

Using a fine mesh strainer, strain liquid over the croissants and allow to steep for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking pan. Right before you're ready to bake the pudding, fold sweet potatoes and spice cake into the croissant mixture and gently stir to combine.

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, covering loosely with foil midway through if the pudding starts to darken, until the custard is set. Serve warm with ice cream.

Adapted from Cindy Schuman, Sepia

Nutrition facts per serving: 303 calories, 11 g fat, 5 g saturated fat, 166 mg cholesterol, 44 g carbohydrates, 7 g protein, 184 mg sodium, 2 g fiber