ByJen Sobjack Posted on Updated on
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This bread pudding is undeniably the best! It’s loaded with warm cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla and topped with an orange custard sauce.
Bread pudding is a popular dessert made with stale bread. The bread is soaked in a custard mixture of cream and/or milk, eggs, and butter.
There are sweet and savory versions of bread pudding and today I’m sharing with you my favorite sweet version. I came across this recipe on an episode of Hot Ones featuring Terry Crews.
It’s sweetened with sugar and has hints of cinnamon and nutmeg. Raisins are sprinkled throughout and the whole thing is baked in a casserole dish.
For best results, bread pudding should be refrigerated for 6-8 hours after it as had baked and cooled to room temperature.
When the bread pudding is ready to be served, whip up the orange custard sauce and drizzle it over each slice.
This is honestly the best bread pudding I’ve ever had and I think you will feel the same once you try it.
Ingredients for this bread pudding recipe
This dessert is very simple and doesn’t require a lot of ingredients. You need just a hand full of items that you may already have on hand.
- Stale French bread – Look for a 16-ounce loaf of french bread. Slice the bread into cubes and place them in a bowl. Leave the bowl out on the counter uncovered for 1-2 days.
- Butter – I like to use unsalted butter since bread usually already contains plenty of salt. Melt the butter and then let it cool before adding it to the eggs or you risk scrambling them.
- Eggs – The original recipe calls for 6 so I decided to stick with that.
- Sugar – I found that ¾ cup of sugar was plenty since the pudding will be topped with a sweet glaze as well.
- Spices – Cinnamon and nutmeg seem to work best with desserts like this.
- Cream and Milk – The original recipe used only milk but I decided to use half milk and half heavy cream. I love the richness that heavy cream offers!
- Vanilla – Use a high-quality pure vanilla extract for the best results.
- Raisins – These are optional. Leave them out if you don’t like them or substitute with another dried fruit. It’s best to soak the dried fruit in boiling water before adding them to the pudding so they don’t try out and become hard or chewy during baking.
How to make bread pudding
Making bread pudding is extremely easy to do and requires very little effort.It does require some time though, so plan accordingly.
The bread needs to sit out to become stale for at least a day. And the final dish needs to refrigerate for 6-8 hours after baking.
- Start by whisking the butter, eggs, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg together in a large bowl until well combined and the eggs are fully broken up.
- Whisk in the heavy cream, milk, and vanilla.
- Add the cubed French bread to the custard and press down so all the bread is submerged. Cover and let sit for 30-35 minutes.
- After the bread has finished soaking, drain the raisins and stir them in.
- Transfer the mixture buttered casserole dish and press it down into the pan.
- Bake in a 325°F for 40-45 minutes, until the top is golden and the center is just barely set.
- Cool to room temperature then refrigerate for 6-8 hours, preferably overnight, before serving.
Bread pudding sauce
When you are ready to serve the pudding, drizzle it with orange custard sauce. The sauce is made with egg, heavy cream, orange juice, sugar, and vanilla.
Cook all the ingredients in a small saucepan, whisking constantly until it’s thickened to the consistency of warm pudding.
More raisin and orange recipes you may like
- Slow Cooker Orange Sweet Rolls
- The Best Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
- Orange Pound Cake
- Cinnamon Raisin Muffins
Bread Pudding
4.54 from 39 votes
This bread pudding is undeniably the best! It’s loaded with warm cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla and topped with an orange custard sauce.
Prep Time 45 minutes minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes minutes
Additional Time 6 hours hours
Total Time 7 hours hours 30 minutes minutes
Serving Size 16
Ingredients
For the bread pudding
- ½ cup (72 g) raisins
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 6 large eggs
- ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 ½ cups (360 ml) heavy cream
- 1 ½ cups (360 ml) milk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 16 ounces (453 g) loaf stale French Bread, sliced into cubes
For the sauce
- ¾ cup (180 ml) heavy cream
- ¼ cup (60 ml) orange juice
- 3 large egg yolks
- ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Make the bread pudding
Place raisins in a small bowl and cover with boiling water. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk the butter, eggs, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg together until the eggs are fully broken up.
Whisk in the heavy cream, milk, and vanilla.
Add the cubed French bread to the bowl and press down so all the bread is submerged into the liquid. Cover and let sit for 30-35 minutes.
Meanwhile, Preheat the oven to 325°F. Lightly butter a 9-inch square pan or a 2-quart casserole dish.
After the bread has finished soaking, drain the raisins and stir them into the bread mixture.
Transfer everything to the prepared pan and press down with the back of the spoon to make everything fit into the pan.
Bake for 45-50 minutes, until the top is golden and set.
Cool to room temperature then refrigerate for 6-8 hours, preferably overnight, before serving.
Make the sauce
Bring the cream and orange juice to a simmer over medium-low heat.
Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together. Slowly drizzle in the warm cream mixture while whisking continuously.
Return the mixture to the pot and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens to the consistency of warm pudding.
Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
Transfer the sauce to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 3 hours.
Serve over slices of bread pudding
Notes
- Place the cubed bread pieces in a bowl and leave the bowl on the counter uncovered for 1 day.
- Bread pudding can be served warm, room temperature, cold. If you’d rather have it warm or room temperature, skip the 6 hour refrigeration time.
- The orange custard sauce can also be served warm over warm bread pudding.
- I’m weird about soggy, gummy bread textures that can be present in warm bread pudding so I prefer to enjoy mine cold or at room temperature with the custard has had time to set.
Make ahead tip
- Both the bread pudding and the sauce can be made 1 day in advance.
- The bread pudding will keep for up to 5 days stored tightly coveredin the refrigerator.
- The bread pudding will keep for up to 3 months covered tightly and stored in the freezer. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight.
Nutrition
Serving: 1g | Calories: 357kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 154mg | Sodium: 216mg | Potassium: 175mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 852IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 84mg | Iron: 2mg
The nutrition information provided is for convenience and as a courtesy only. It is not guaranteed to be accurate because nutrition information can vary for a variety of reasons. For precise nutritional data use your preferred nutrition calculator and input the exact ingredients and brands you used in the recipe.
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Leave a Reply
Easy to make and nice sauce to alongReply
Bread pudding is our families favorite. The orange custard sauce makes it even better!!Reply
Bread pudding is our families favorite. The orange custard sauce makes it even better!!Reply
