Bread pudding is thrifty, old fashioned, but also kind of magical. Pour a simple custard over chunks of slightly stale bread and let it soak in. Then bake, and you end up with a fragrant, pillow-y soft, cake-like dish of pure comfort. You can use any kind of soft, sweet bread for bread pudding, and it’s a great way to use up leftovers of homemade breakfast breads, such as Blueberry Dirt Bomb Sweet Rolls. The last time I made blueberry rolls I had six left over, and tucked them into the freezer. A few weeks later, thawed, buttered and broken up into pieces, they were perfect for this Blueberry Bread Pudding.
As it bakes, the custard thickens and causes the bread to puff. The finished dish has the moist and slightly dense texture of a flourless cake at the bottom, and a light, crunchy crust on the top where the cinnamon-sugar-dusted bread cubes have crisped to a golden brown.
Of course I want you to make the Blueberry Dirt Bomb Sweet Rolls first, because they’re amazing and you’ll love them. And planning ahead, making the rolls knowing that you can repurpose leftovers to make a spectacular dessert – that is resourceful, creative, thoughtful cooking. But let’s say you want to make bread pudding and you don’t happen to have leftover blueberry rolls – what then? I’ve made a variation of this recipe using brioche slices slathered with blueberry preserves, an option that doesn’t require any advance planning and still produces delicious results.
On its own, Blueberry Bread Pudding is not terribly sweet, so I like to finish it off by adding a vanilla-scented Crème Anglaise. The contrast of the cool creaminess of the sauce with the warm pudding is divine.
Options for shortcuts, making this ahead, and what to do with leftovers:
- By all means feel free to substitute brioche and blueberry preserves for the Blueberry Dirt Bomb Sweet Rolls.
- Crème Anglaise is easy to make, but here’s an option. Crème Anglaise is the custard that would become vanilla ice cream if you churned it in an ice cream maker. A really simple hack is to melt a pint of vanilla ice cream. Put the pint in a bowl large enough to hold any ice cream that spills out as it melts, and leave it in the fridge for a few hours or overnight.
- Skip the Crème Anglaise altogether and drizzle with maple syrup instead. This option makes this bread pudding into a great brunch dish.
- The bread cubes can be soaked in the custard for several hours or up to overnight before baking.
- Once baked, enjoy the pudding warm (when it’s at its puffy, pillow-y height), or let it cool to room temperature. It can be eaten at room temperature, or gently reheated in a 300 degree oven until it’s warmed through.
- Leftovers will keep for several days in a covered container in the fridge. Reheat them in the oven, not the microwave, and be sure to keep some of the leftover Crème Anglaise for topping.
Blueberry Bread Pudding
This is a great use for leftover Blueberry Dirt Bomb Sweet Rolls. When keeping leftover rolls for this recipe, leave them plain – without the melted butter and cinnamon sugar topping. If you don’t have leftover blueberry rolls handy, the brioche and jam version is just as good.
Ingredients
- 1 recipe Crème Anglaise, optional
- 2 tablespoons soft unsalted butter, plus additional for the baking dish(es)
- 6 leftover (day old) Blueberry Dirt Bomb Sweet Rolls, or eight 1-inch slices of brioche plus ½ cup blueberry preserves
- 1 cup whole milk
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided
- 2 large eggs
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 tablespoon Grand Marnier, or 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg
- Pinch of kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
Directions
- Step 1 Make and chill the Crème Anglaise, if you’re using it.
- Step 2 Generously butter a 2-quart stoneware or ceramic baking dish, or six 1-cup ramekins.
- Step 3 If you’re using Blueberry Dirt Bomb Sweet Rolls, cut eat roll in half into a top and a bottom. Butter both cut sides of each roll with the softened butter, dividing the 2 tablespoons evenly among the rolls. Cut each half roll into quarters.
- Step 4 If you’re using brioche, butter 4 slices of the brioche, dividing the butter evenly. Spread the remaining 4 slices with the blueberry preserves, dividing it evenly. Put a buttered slice and a jam-covered slice together with the butter and jam on the inside, to make a sandwich. Repeat to make 4 sandwiches. Cut each sandwich into 9 cubes.
- Step 5 Transfer the bread pieces into the prepared dish or dishes. In a large liquid measuring cup, whisk together the milk, cream, 1/3 cup sugar, eggs, yolks, Grand Marnier or vanilla, nutmeg and salt. Pour the custard over the bread in the dish or dishes.
- Step 6 Let the bread pudding sit for 1 hour at room temperature, or cover and chill for several hours or up to overnight.
- Step 7 When ready to bake, heat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar with the cinnamon, and sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the top of the pudding.
- Step 8 Bake the pudding for 35 to 40 minutes if you’ve used one large dish, 25 to 30 minutes if using individual ramekins. The pudding is done when the bread is browned and puffed on the top, and the custard is just barely set but not dry.
- Step 9 Cool the pudding for 15 minutes before serving, or cool completely and serve at room temperature. Serve with the Crème Anglaise poured over the top.
