Om Ali, the ULTIMATE bread pudding

Instructions

To prepare the croissants:

1. Using a bread knife slice the corners (ears) off of each end of your croissants
2. Slice the body of the croissant in half and then slice it into bite-sized chunks
3. Line a baking sheet with grease-proof paper, and place your croissant pieces on it in a single layer. Turn them so the inner part of the croissant is facing up
4. Place the sheet in the oven to bake at 180c (350f) for about 6 minutes, until all the croissant pieces have browned and dried slightly
5. Repeat until you have done all the croissants

To prepare the nuts:

1. Peel your hazelnuts and remove any of the brown skin
2. Using a knife chop the nuts into large chunks
3. Place the nuts on a baking sheet lined with greaseproof paper and bake at 180c (350f) until browned
4. Remove immediately from the tray and allow to cool

To prepare the milk mixture:

1. Add the milk to a large pot on high heat
2. Add in both the brown sugar and white sugar, and stir the pot, allow to come to a boil
3. Once it boils and foams up, remove it from the heat and use it immediately

To assemble the Om Ali:

1. In an ovenproof baking dish, place your baked croissant pieces
2. Add any toppings you want to include over the top of the croissant pieces
3. Add enough milk so the pastry is just barely emerging from it. You can add more croissant pieces if necessary to get it to the right depth
4. Spoon over as much of the cream as you can and then top with some more brown sugar
5. Set your broiler to low and place the puddings beneath it
6. Once the cream has melted and the surface of the Om Ali has caramelized, remove it from the oven
7. Garnish with more nuts and serve once it is no longer a scalding temperature