Cinnamon Crunch Bread Pudding

A delicious, warm cinnamon bread pudding, topped with a creamy Crème Anglaise sauce. Pure comfort food!

What better way to use up stale bread than to bake it up into a bread pudding! This particular bread pudding is made from the last bit of my Cinnamon Crunch Skillet Bread from last weekend, so it already had the cinnamon crunch topping on it.

But don’t worry if you don’t happen to have some leftover cinnamon crunch bread around. I’ve got you covered. You can make this bread pudding with any stale bread and simply sprinkle some cinnamon crunch mixture on top before baking. Start with a cinnamon bread (or left-over cinnamon rolls), a challah, brioche or just a plain bread, as long as it’s slightly stale and preferably not pre-sliced, so you can cut your own bread chunks.

Ingredients and Substitutions

Bread – as noted above, you can use any bread for this cinnamon bread pudding. A raisin bread, or cinnamon raisin bread is nice. Or a challah or brioche. Or just a plain, crusty white. The most important thing is that the bread is stale, as fresh bread will make for a mushy bread pudding. If you only have fresh bread on hand, cube it and pop it into a 300F oven for a 5-10 minutes to dry it out.

Recipe Tips

I debated about what kind of sauce (if any) to put on this bread pudding. In the end, I decided on crème anglaise. Crème anglaise is essentially the same thing as the base for making ice cream, so this sauce is akin to the wonderful taste of melted ice cream. I thought it would be the perfect complement to the cinnamon and brown sugar in the pudding. And it was.

That said, if you’re not in the mood to make a sauce, simply put a scoop of your favourite ice cream on the warmed pudding to enjoy the same effect.

Don’t expect the creme anglaise to be as thick as say a Béchamel sauce, for example. Creme anglaise is more like the consistency of cream that’s been ever so slightly reduced and should be pourable. If you’d like, a splash or bourbon, whiskey or rum into the sauce is a nice addition.

Top Tip

Whenever you have bits of bread that are starting to stale, cut into large chunks and put in a freezer bag and freeze until you have enough for a bread pudding. Simply thaw in the bag at room temperature and use as per the recipe.

Get the Recipe: Cinnamon Crunch Bread Pudding with Creme Anglaise

A great way to use up bread that's past it's prime! This bread pudding has a lovely cinnamon sugar topping and is served warm with a creme anglaise sauce.

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Prep Time: 10 minutes mins

Cook Time: 1 hour hr

Refrigeration Time:: 1 hour hr

Total Time: 2 hours hrs 10 minutes mins

Yield: 6 servings

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Ingredients

Creme Anglaise:

• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream , 35% b.f.
• 1/2 cup milk, 2 or 3% recommended
• 2 Tablespoons white granulated sugar
• 3 large egg yolks
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, or vanilla bean paste
• Optional: Splash of bourbon, whiskey or rum

For the bread pudding:

• 2 cups whole milk
• 3/4 cup whipping cream
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 7 cups stale bread, cut into large-ish chunks (cinnamon raisin bread would be great or use any plain bread, challah or brioche as long as it's slightly stale. Ideally not pre-sliced, so you can cut larger chunks.)

Cinnamon Crunch Topping:

• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 2 Tablespoons butter, melted

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Instructions

 

• Crème Anglaise Sauce: In small saucepan over medium heat, add the cream, milk and 1 Tbsp. of the sugar. Heat until bubbles form around edge of the pan.
• Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the remaining 1 Tbsp. of sugar. When cream mixture is ready, whisk a small amount into the egg mixture, then add more, a bit at a time, until you have added about 1/2 a cup or so. Stir the tempered egg mixture back into pan with the rest of the cream and cook, stirring constantly, until thick enough to coat spoon, about 2 to 3 minutes. It shouldn’t boil. (Test by dipping a spoon into mixture. It should coat the spoon and you should be able to run your finger through it and it will leave a clear line).
• Pour sauce through a fine-mesh strainer and in to a bowl. Stir in vanilla and alcohol (if using). Place plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the sauce and refrigerate until cold, at least 1 hour. Sauce will thicken slightly as it cools. (You can make ahead. Will keep covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.)
• For the Bread Pudding: Pre-heat eat the oven to 350° F (regular bake setting/not fan assisted) with rack in the centre of the oven. Prepare a single 2-quart baking pan or several smaller pans or ramekins.
• In a medium bowl or large glass measuring cup, whisk together the milk, cream, eggs, 1/2 cup of sugar, vanilla, and salt until the mixture is smooth.
• Spread your bread chunks out evenly and in a mostly single layer in your baking dish or dishes. Pour custard mixture over bread but don’t cover bread completely. Pour only enough in to come up about 3/4 of the way so that the top of the bread is exposed. Allow to sit 15 minutes, adding more of the custard mixture as the bread soaks it up, again, no higher than 3/4 of the way up.
• Meanwhile, prepare the cinnamon crunch mixture by combining the brown sugar and cinnamon and pouring in the melted butter. Stir to combine.
• Evenly distribute the cinnamon crunch mixture over the top of the bread pudding (you may not need it all, depending on the size of your dishes). Set the filled baking dish (or dishes) into a larger roasting pan and add enough very hot water to the pan to reach halfway up the sides of the baking dish. Bake until custard is set and top is lightly browned, about 50 to 60 minutes. Remove from water bath and let sit 5 to 10 minutes before serving. Serve warm and pour prepared creme anglaise (cold or at room temperature) over the puddings.

Notes

Start with your any type of bread – plain, cinnamon, left-over cinnamon rolls, challah, brioche or a mixture. As long as it’s slightly stale. If you’d rather not make the sauce, simply place a scoop of your favourite vanilla ice cream onto the warm puddings.

Be sure to read the “Cook’s Notes” in the original post, for more tips, options, substitutions and variations for this recipe!

Cuisine: American

Course: Dessert

Author: Jennifer Maloney

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 499kcal, Carbohydrates: 46g, Protein: 10g, Fat: 30g, Saturated Fat: 17g, Cholesterol: 320mg, Sodium: 353mg, Potassium: 259mg, Sugar: 43g, Vitamin A: 1345IU, Vitamin C: 0.2mg, Calcium: 205mg, Iron: 1.1mg

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