Bread pudding
Bread pudding was born of necessity — a way to use bread that has already gone stale. The result is surprisingly luxurious: a crisp golden top and a custardy centre. There is one condition: the bread must be genuinely stale, fresh bread turns to mush.
Your own work in that: 0 min.
- Soaking the bread 30 min
- Baking 45 min
- Butterscotch sauce 8 min
- Resting 10 min
Step by step
0 / 5 doneCube the bread and pour over the custard
Cut the bread into 3 cm cubes and tip into a buttered ovenproof dish (about 20 × 30 cm). Whisk the eggs with milk, cream, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt, add the raisins and pour over the bread, pressing down with a spoon.
Ingredients: 400 g bread · 500 ml milk · 150 ml whipping cream (30%) · 4 pcs eggs · 100 g sugar · 2 tsp vanilla extract · 1 tsp cinnamon · ¼ tsp nutmeg · ½ tsp salt · 80 g raisins · 40 g butter
TipCube fresh bread and dry it for 20 minutes at 150°C. Otherwise it goes soggy in the custard and turns to mush.
Press down so every cube is submerged in the custard.Leave for 30 minutes
Cover and leave for 30 minutes; meanwhile heat the oven to 180°C. The bread absorbs the custard and swells. Press a cube: it should be soft all the way through, not dry at the core.
Ingredients: 400 g bread · 500 ml milk · 150 ml whipping cream (30%) · 4 pcs eggs · 100 g sugar · 2 tsp vanilla extract · 1 tsp cinnamon · ¼ tsp nutmeg · ½ tsp salt · 80 g raisins · 40 g butter
Bake for 45 minutes
Dot the top with butter shavings and bake at 180°C for 45 minutes. The top should be deep golden and crisp, the centre puffed and set. Test with a knife: it should come out moist but with no liquid custard.
Ingredients: 400 g bread · 500 ml milk · 150 ml whipping cream (30%) · 4 pcs eggs · 100 g sugar · 2 tsp vanilla extract · 1 tsp cinnamon · ¼ tsp nutmeg · ½ tsp salt · 80 g raisins · 40 g butter
Make the butterscotch sauce
Towards the end of baking, melt the butter with the brown sugar in a small pan, stirring (about 3 minutes), then cook 3 minutes more until bubbling and darkened. Take off the heat, pour in the cream (it will hiss), stir in the salt and rum, return to the heat and cook 2 minutes more until thickened.
Ingredients: 120 g brown sugar · 60 g butter · 120 ml whipping cream (30%) · ¼ tsp salt · 2 tbsp rum
TipAdd the cream off the heat and stand back — caramel spits violently on contact with cold liquid.
Deep amber and smooth — the sauce is ready.Serve warm
Wait 10 minutes, spoon out portions and pour over the hot butterscotch sauce. Bread pudding is eaten warm — cooled down it loses much of its charm.
Ingredients: 120 g brown sugar · 60 g butter · 120 ml whipping cream (30%) · ¼ tsp salt · 2 tbsp rum
Before you start
Which bread
Challah, brioche and white rolls give the best result. Rye and sourdough have too strong a flavour, which clashes with vanilla.
Chocolate version
Instead of raisins, scatter 150 g of chopped dark chocolate between the cubes. Serve with pouring cream instead of the butterscotch.
Reheating
Cover with foil and reheat for 15 minutes at 160°C, removing the foil for the last 5 minutes so the top crisps up again. A microwave softens the crisp top the dessert is made for.
