Cranberry Orange Bread Pudding

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Cut bread into 1-inch cubes. Evenly spread cubed bread on a baking sheet and let bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes until the bread is mostly dry. When the bread is done, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Zest the orange, dividing the zest into two halves. Set aside. One half is for the glaze, the other half for the pudding.
In a small bowl combine the 2 tablespoons of white sugar and half of the zest for the pudding. Rub the zest and sugar together with your fingertips until it is very well combined. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the 6 eggs. Add the 2 cups of milk to the eggs and combine.
Add brown sugar, vanilla, clove, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt. Stir until the custard mixture is well combined.
Add the cooled bread cubes to the egg mixture and fold together until all of the bread has been covered in egg. Then, let the bread mixture rest for 15 minutes.
While it is resting, prepare a 2-quart casserole or 9x13 baking dish by buttering the bottom and sides. Once buttered, sprinkle white granulated sugar on the bottom. This will give a caramelized bottom to the pudding.
Juice the orange. Remove 2 tablespoons of juice to a small bowl for the glaze. The remainder is for the pudding.
After 15 minutes, mix in the fresh cranberries and chopped walnuts.

Spread the mixture in the prepared baking dish. If there is excess egg, just pour it over the top of the bread cubes.
Empty the can of whole berry cranberry sauce into a bowl and stir it to break up the jelly.
Spread the cranberry sauce over the top of the bread, slightly pushing it into the mixture in areas.
Take the excess orange juice and drizzle it over the top of the cranberry and bread.
Sprinkle the zested sugar over the top of the cranberry and bread. It will stick together in small clumps. This is ok, this will give a nice crystal crunch when served.

Bake the bread pudding for 45-50 minutes. The pudding is done when the custard has set throughout.
Let the bread pudding cool for 30-40 minutes before serving. It is best served warm, but not hot. While the bread pudding is cooling, prepare the glaze.

In a small bowl, combine powdered sugar, melted butter, the reserved 2 tablespoons of orange juice, and the reserved zest of ½ an orange. Whisk together until the sugar is completely combined and dissolved.
Drizzle some of the glaze over the top of the bread pudding, reserving the remainder for serving. Garnish with some Sugared Cranberries before serving, too!