Pillsbury Bake-Off Countdown: Cinnamon Roll-Pear Bread Pudding

CakeSpy Note: OMG! It's getting to be that time of year again. The Pillsbury Bake-Off is coming in November! Since I so deeply loved attending the 45th Bake-Off as well as the 46th Bake-Off, I thought I would get you excited the 47th one early by sharing all of the sweet recipes in the running. I will focus on sweets! You can follow them by clicking the bakeoff tag below to see the recipes posted so far (as well as recipes from previous Bake-Off events). 

What a fantastic pear-ing! Cinnamon rolls are a fantastic medium for baking bread pudding, but have you ever tried it with a ripe, juicy pear?

Elizabeth Albert of Highland Park, Illinois, did just that and it's put her in the running to win a million dollars at the Bake-Off, so perhaps it's something you should try (how about this weekend?).

Cinnamon Roll-Pear Bread Pudding

• Prep Time: 15 Min
• Total Time: 1 Hr 45 Min
• Makes: 8 servings

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 can Pillsbury refrigerated cinnamon rolls with icing (8 rolls)
• 1 can (14 oz) sweetened Condensed Milk
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 2 firm ripe pears (1 lb), peeled, thinly sliced

Procedure

1. Heat oven to 375°F. Grease bottom and side of 8-inch round cake pan with 1 teaspoon of the butter. Bake cinnamon rolls in pan as directed on can; reserve icing. Cool 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Grease bottom and sides of 9-inch square pan with 1 teaspoon of the butter.
2. Meanwhile in medium bowl, beat sweetened condensed milk, 1/2 cup water, the eggs, vanilla and nutmeg with whisk until well blended.
3. With serrated knife, cut each cinnamon roll in half, forming 2 layers. Place layers, cut sides up, in bottom of square pan, overlapping as necessary. Drop remaining butter by 1/4 teaspoons over rolls. Pour half of the egg mixture evenly over rolls and butter; layer pear slices over rolls. Pour remaining egg mixture over pears.
4. Bake 40 to 50 minutes or until edges are golden brown and knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 15 minutes. Top each serving with about 1 1/2 teaspoons of the reserved icing.