Custard Bread Pudding

Custard bread pudding is a timeless dessert with cubes of bread baked to golden brown in a rich, vanilla custard. Serve with caramel or butterscotch dessert sauce! 

Custard Bread Pudding

What is custard bread pudding? Custard bread pudding is a timeless dessert, made by baking cubes of bread until golden brown in a rich custard sauce. This classic dessert has been around for ages and has especially been popular as a way to use stale bread; stale bread actually works best for custard bread pudding since it can absorb the custard sauce better. The texture of bread pudding can be described as similar to French toast, but custard bread pudding usually has a crispy top and crispy edges with a soft center.

Traditional bread pudding is made with a vanilla custard and includes spices such as nutmeg or cinnamon. Some variations of custard bread pudding are flavored with rum, chocolate or pumpkin and popular additions include raisins or other dried fruit and nuts. To top this dessert off, several different dessert sauces can be used like caramel or butterscotch sauce, whipped cream or even ice cream. 

How to Make Custard Bread Pudding

The recipe for this custard bread pudding was adapted from a version that originated in the 1940’s – the ingredients for this classic dessert hasn’t strayed for decades!

Custard bread pudding is very simple to make, with simple ingredients. Using quality ingredients for this recipe really makes a significant difference in the taste. Use homemade or bakery bread (I had an extra loaf of my potato yeast bread in my freezer and it worked great for this). While bread pudding is traditionally served warm, it can technically be served either warm or cold with various dessert sauces or toppings. See tips for this recipe below for the different variations you can use. 

Ingredients

4 cups milk 

1/3 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract

2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled

4 large eggs, beaten 

5-6 cups bread cubes

Caramel or butterscotch sauce, for serving 

Instructions

Pour the milk into a large mixing bowl or large liquid measuring cup. Whisk in the brown sugar, salt, nutmeg, vanilla extract, melted butter and beaten eggs.

Place the bread cubes into a greased 1 1/2-2 quart baking dish. Slowly pour the custard mixture over the bread cubes; press the bread cubes down so that all of the bread cubes are submerged in the custard mixture. Allow to sit 30 minutes – 1 hour to allow the bread cubes to absorb as much of the custard mixture as possible.

Place in a 350 degree oven and bake uncovered for 45 minutes, or until the edges and the top begins to brown. Remove from oven and serve warm with caramel or butterscotch dessert sauce.

Tips for Custard Bread Pudding

• If you need to make your bread stale, cut into cubes and place on an uncreased baking sheet; bake for 15 minutes at 350℉
• Add 1/2 cup dried raisins, cranberries or other dried fruit
• Use 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon instead of the nutmeg
• Add 1/3 cup chopped nuts 
• Instead of caramel or butterscotch sauce, serve with whipped cream or ice cream
• Store any leftovers in the refrigerator

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