Easy 3-Step Bread Pudding with Warm Caramel Drizzle

I love bread pudding. Absolutely adore it. But I’d never tried making it before because I assumed it was difficult to make. Let me tell you — this was so easy and so delicious! The only reason I won’t add this to my regular rotation is because, if I did, I would soon no longer fit into my clothes! This recipe is made with challah (or brioche) and is a perfect sweet treat for a chilly fall or winter night.

Ingredients

For the bread pudding

• 4 cups half and half or light cream
• 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract or paste
• ⅓ cup granulated sugar
• Pinch salt
• ½ loaf sweet egg bread like challah or brioche, cut into 2-inch cubes
• 4 eggs, beaten

For the caramel drizzle

• ¾ cup butter
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• ¾ cup light or dark brown sugar
• ¾ cup heavy cream
• 1 ½ tbsp vanilla extract or paste

Method

Bread Pudding

Step 1

Cut the butter into tbsp slices. In a small saucepan over low heat, warm the half and half/cream, butter, vanilla, sugar, and salt. Continue warming it until the butter is almost completely melted. Once it reaches that point, remove from heat and let the residual heat melt the remainder of the butter. Cool completely. Meanwhile, butter a 9×13 inch baking dish and fill it with the cubed bread.

Step 2

In a small bowl, whisk the eggs until the yolks and whites are blended. Once the cream and butter mixture is completely cool, add the eggs to the mixture and whisk together. Pour mixture over cubed bread. Let sit at room temperature for 1-2 hours.

Step 3

Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake on middle rack for 30 to 45 minutes, or until custard is set but still a little wobbly and the edges of bread have lightly browned. Turn the baking dish 180 degrees once during the baking process to ensure an even bake (the back of the oven is hotter than the front).

Caramel Drizzle

Stirring the warm caramel mixture — yummmm!

While the bread pudding is baking, combine all the caramel ingredients in a saucepan, except for the vanilla. Cook over low-medium heat until the ingredients have thickened slightly and everything comes to a full but light boil. Stir occasionally. Remove saucepan from the heat and stir in the vanilla.

Once the bread pudding is ready, drizzle the caramel sauce over the warm pudding. We drizzled the caramel over individual servings to prevent the leftover pudding from getting too soggy. Enjoy with ice cream (optional but totally recommended)!

If you make this or any of the other recipes on this blog, be sure to tag #lepetitgourmand on social media. And be sure to give me a follow — @lepetitgourmandblog on Instagram and @GourmandPetit on Twitter!