Old-Fashioned Bread Pudding with Vanilla Sauce—comfort food style, soft in the center, lightly crisp on top, and rich with warm custard flavor.
🍞 Old-Fashioned Bread Pudding
🧁 Ingredients
For the pudding:
- 6 cups day-old bread (brioche, white bread, or croissants work best)
- 2 cups milk (whole milk preferred)
- 1/2 cup heavy cream (optional but richer texture)
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg (optional)
- 1/2 cup raisins or chopped dates (optional)
- 2 tbsp butter (for greasing + small dots on top)
🍰 Instructions
- Preheat oven to 175°C (350°F). Grease a baking dish.
- Tear bread into chunks and place in the dish.
- In a bowl, whisk together milk, cream, sugar, eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
- Pour the mixture evenly over the bread. Press lightly so bread absorbs the custard.
- Let it sit for 15–20 minutes (important for texture).
- Dot the top with small bits of butter.
- Bake for 40–50 minutes, until golden and set in the center.
- Let it rest for 10 minutes before serving.
🍦 Warm Vanilla Sauce
🧁 Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup heavy cream (or milk)
- 1 tbsp cornstarch (optional for thickness)
- 1 tbsp water (if using cornstarch)
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
🍯 Instructions
- In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.
- Add sugar and cream, stirring until smooth.
- If you want a thicker sauce, mix cornstarch with water and stir it in.
- Simmer gently for 3–5 minutes until slightly thickened.
- Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
🍽️ Serving Tips
- Pour warm vanilla sauce over hot bread pudding.
- Optional: add a scoop of vanilla ice cream for contrast.
- Best enjoyed warm, not cold (it becomes denser when chilled).
If you want, I can also give you:
- A custard-heavy bakery-style version
- A no-cream, budget-friendly version
- Or a caramel bread pudding variation
