A delicious fresh Peach Bread Pudding, served with a warm brown sugar sauce. A lovely dessert any time of year, but especially nice with summer fresh peaches!
I feel like I’m breaking some unwritten food blogger rule, by posting two peach recipes in a row. I hope you’ll indulge me though. There are only about 3 weeks a year when I can enjoy fresh peaches that only travel a couple of hundred miles to my home and were actually ripened on the tree! (thanks southern Ontario/Niagara).
This peach bread pudding was absolutely delicious! I have developed a new-found love for bread pudding. For years, I thought it wasn’t really my thing. Then I made this Cinnamon Crunch bread pudding last year and my mind was completely changed.
I think what I learned from that experience is that I like bread pudding that isn’t completely drowned in the egg/milk mixture. I like it with a bit of the bread sticking out, so it develops a bit of crunch on top. And under the crunchy layer, is the creamy goodness. And even though there seems to be a lot of bread sticking out, only the very top gets crunchy. The egg/milk mixture magically wicks up and softens a lot of the exposed part. Add in some fresh peaches and top it with warm brown sugar sauce and it’s just about perfection.
Cook’s Notes for Peach Bread Pudding with Warm Brown Sugar Sauce
For my version, I used a homemade loaf of honey buttermilk bread. Any loaf of bread will do though. Try to find a day-old loaf of unsliced bakery bread and slice it yourself. If you don’t use it all, just freeze what’s left for another bread pudding later.
Bread pudding is a very flexible dish. You can slice your bread or cube it. Either way, simply scatter it around your dish or dishes. Place some peaches here and there in between. Pour your egg/milk mixture over until it nears the top of the bread, but doesn’t cover completely. Let stand 15 minutes, then top up the egg/milk mixture a bit to make up for what has soaked in to the bread. Bake.
Watch during the last part of baking, as the bread sticking up can over-brown. Simply cover with a loose piece of aluminum foil if needed.
Peach Bread Pudding with Warm Brown Sugar Sauce
Ingredients
Bread Pudding:
- 1/2 a loaf of day-old unsliced bakery bread
- 3-4 peaches, peeled and sliced
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla or vanilla bean paste
- 4 tsp white sugar, for topping
Brown Sugar Sauce:
- 1/4 cup salted butter
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- pinch salt
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350° and grease 4 individual dishes or an 8x8-inch baking pan. Set on to a baking sheet and set aside.
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Peel peaches and cut in to slices. Set aside.
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Slice bread in to thin 3/4-inch slices or cube. If using slices, you'll want your bread pieces to be about an inch higher than the height of your baking dish, so figure out how tall they should be and cut off the bottom of the slices to that height. (*You won't need the part you cut off the bottom, but you can use them by cutting them in to cubes and making some croutons with them!). Then cut each of the trimmed slices in half from top to bottom to make two pieces. Set aside.
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In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, 1/2 cup white sugar, cream, milk and vanilla.
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Place your bread slices in to your baking dishes (or disby slightly overlapping them (crust side facing the side of the disand allowing them to tilt back a bit. If using cubes, place in your dish or dishes. Place some peach slices in the gaps between the bread. Pour some of the egg mixture over the bread and in to the dishes, just until it reaches the top edge of the dish or until it nears but doesn't cover the top of the bread. Allow to stand at room temperature for 15 minutes, then top up with remaining egg mixture, just until it reaches the edge of the dish again or near the top of the bread. You may not need it all.
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Lightly brush the top of the bread with a bit of the egg mixture, then sprinkle a heaped 1 tsp. of white sugar over the top of each dish, especially on the top crust edge. Place dishes on baking sheet (to catch any overflow!) in to preheated 350° oven and bake for about 35 minutes, or until golden and set. (*You may want to check at 25-30 minutes in case it's browning too quickly, in which case, just lay a sheet of aluminum foil over top while it finishes baking.
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Remove from oven and let stand 10 minutes before eating. If not eating right away, allow to cool for 10 minutes, then cover and refrigerate.
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While puddings are baking, make the brown sugar sauce by melting butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add brown sugar, cream and a pinch of salt and stir to combine. Allow to come to a boil, stirring regularly. Once it comes to a boil, cook another few minutes, stirring regularly, then remove from heat and pour in to a bowl or pitcher. Cover and refrigerate if not using right away. Can be re-warmed in the microwave/saucepan to serve.
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Serve puddings at warm, at room temperature or slightly re-warmed in the microwave, topped with warm brown sugar sauce (*You'll want to place your small dishes on a plate, as the brown sugar sauce will most likely spill over the sides when poured on top).
This bread pudding is a total dream! I can taste that sauce from here!
Thanks Katrina. Yes … that sauce!
Gorgeous bread pudding, I love that brown sugar sauce!
Thanks Laura. The sauce just really takes this one over the top!
This looks so amazingly yummy! I think I will try it with gluten free bread as I can’t eat regular stuff. I pinned it and have been drooling over it all day. :-)
Thanks Clara! Absolutely would be great with gluten free bread. I don’t have a lot of experience with gluten free bread, but if it’s really soft, it might benefit from a light toasting before baking in the pudding. I’ve done that before with regular bread in bread puddings if it’s too fresh/soft. Enjoy!
WOW! This looks insanely good! Look at that delicious crunchy top and those golden peaches.. Mmmm!
Thanks so much, Jessica. The peaches are just perfect right now!
All I have to say is bring on the peaches! :)
Oh and this is gorgeous!
Thanks so much, Tieghan. And I agree. Can’t get enough peaches right now :)
Oh I love the presentation on this. I always just cube up the bread for bread pudding. This is so much more elegant. Can’t wait to try it!
Thanks so much, Liz. I cube sometimes, too. Slicing is great for smaller dishes, as I think it looks pretty.
WOW! Gorgeous! I definitely need this in my life asap!
Thanks so much, Phi.
I am torn. I wanted to make peach pie, and then I saw your recipe…. it’s a tough decision to make.
Maybe I should make a peach pie AND this peach bread pudding. After all, peach season is short, right ;)
Definitely both Janice. Peaches are so delicious and economical right now. Go for it!
I need this on my Thanksgiving dessert table. I usually make apple bread pudding, but this looks fabulous. So……don’t hate me, but I’m going to use ….canned peaches. I know, I know but there aren’t any fresh peaches this time of year. I’m also going to bake it a day ahead [too much jockeying for oven space on the big day] so we shall see how it turns out reheated. Thanks for the recipe.
Sounds lovely Ellen and this time of year, I’d take a canned peach over something pretending to be a peach at the market ;) Do enjoy!
Jennifer,
This is such a good recipe. I made it for our card party today and everyone loved it. I doubled the sauce recipe so that everyone could have a good amount. It was yummy. This is definitely a keeper.
Hi Chris and so glad to hear you enjoyed this. I am a bread pudding lover and especially enjoyed this one with the peaches :) Thanks for coming back to let me know!