Best Bread Pudding
If you are searching for the Best Bread Pudding, look no further! The Best bread pudding recipe has soaked bread in a rich, creamy, and warmly spiced custard. Filled with brandy and dried cranberries that's baked and then topped with a warm, indulgent cream sauce.
Servings: 12 servings
Calories: 354kcal
Ingredients
For the Bread Pudding
- 10 slices stale French bread cut into cubes, if not stale, see note below about baking (this is about 1 lb or 16 oz of bread)
- 12 oz evaporated milk
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar packed
- 3 large eggs beaten
- 2 tbsp brandy
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries or raisins optional
For the Easy Cream Sauce
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3 large egg yolks whisked well
- 1 cup half and half
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
For the Bread Pudding
- Preheat your oven to 350. Grease a 8x8 baking sheet then set aside.
- If bread isn’t dried out and already stale, add the bread to a baking sheet and bake for about 8 minutes until golden then set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, combine milk and whipping cream and set aside.
- In your stand mixer, mix butter for about 1 minute then add in both sugars and mix on medium high speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
- Next add in eggs, brandy, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg and mix until well combined then set aside.
- Next take bread cubes and add to the milk mixture and toss and fold until coated and liquid has mostly been absorbed into the bread.
- Then add the butter mixture to the bread and toss again then add in the cranberries and make sure everything is tossed together well.
- Pour the entire bread pudding into the greased pan and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes then serve.
For the Cream Sauce
- Add half of the sugar to the whisked eggs and half of the sugar to the half and half mixture. Add the half and half mixture to a medium saucepan or small pot over medium heat. Whisk until the sugar has dissolved and it begins to bubble.
- Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.
- Add a tiny bit of cream mix to the whisked eggs mixture to temper them and get them up to temperature. Do this 2 more times (about 1 tablespoon at a time) then continue adding in all of the liquid and whisk constantly to prevent scrambling until it is smooth.
- Pour all of the liquid back in the saucepan and cook on low whisking constantly.
- Once the sauce can coat the back of a spoon (about 10 minutes), serve.
Notes
- If your bread isn’t stale, spread the cubes out on a baking sheet. Bake until the bread appears golden and hard, which will prevent a mushy end result.
- In case your cream sauce does start to break or look scrambled, it can be brought back to life in a blender or with an immersion blender quickly zipping it together.
- Different stale breads are great to use for bread pudding; such as sourdough, brioche, or even cinnamon rolls and chocolate babka. It is quite flexible and can be a great recipe that impresses folks while also using up leftover ingredients!
Nutrition
Calories: 354kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 129mg | Sodium: 180mg | Potassium: 204mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 31g | Vitamin A: 691IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 164mg | Iron: 1mg