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This recipe for Croissant Bread Pudding with Caramel Sauce is a flat out Home Run! Bread pudding is one of my husbands absolutely favorite desserts and this is the best bread pudding I have made (he said so, it must be true!). I used croissants to make this only because this is what I had on hand and it offers up a flakey, slightly buttery taste and texture. Normally, I would use stale bread with a crumb that was more dense in texture. The caramel sauce that I made to pour over the top is buttery, creamy and DELICIOUS all on its own, but it compliments the cinnamon flavor so perfectly.
Croissant Bread Pudding with Caramel Sauce is sure to become a Family Favorite
Whenever Craig and I go out to dinner, I can always predict he will choose one of two desserts if they are on the menu; Mud Pie ( I will make that for a future blog) or Bread Pudding with some sort of sauce (whiskey sauce, rum sauce or some other sticky and sweet concoction). It is served in a small portion on a pretty plate with sauce on the side. He always contemplates ordering a second helping, but never does.
This bread pudding I made in a 9 x 13 glass dish and I poured the sauce over the whole thing, warm, right out of the oven. Because we had a huge pan, he had no issue with having a second helping. Upon finishing his seconds though, he immediately understood why he is normally served this dessert in a very measured portion. It is RICH! It begs to be paired with an icy, cold glass of milk or a nice hot cup of coffee to offset the gooey richness.
Croissant Bread Pudding with Caramel Sauce
Ingredients
- 10 cups croissants, cut into 1 inch cubes 5 large Costco croissants is equivalent to 10 cups
- 1 cup milk
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Caramel Sauce
- 1/2 cup butter 1 whole cube
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp baking soda this creates a softer textured caramel
- 1 cup heavy cream
Instructions
- Spray a 9 x 13 glass dish with Pam Spray (or whatever you typically use to prevent sticking).
Cube croissants into approximately 1 inch cubes, then place in the bottom of the prepared pan.
- In a bowl combine cream, milk, brown and white sugar, eggs, vanilla and cinnamon. Whisk this together until eggs are well incorporated, then pour over croissants.
- Place dish in refrigerator for about 30 minutes, before baking.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Place in oven to oven to bake uncovered 40-45 minutes.
Caramel Sauce
- In a sauce pan, place the butter, brown sugar and heavy cream.
- Bring this to a boil and maintain this for about 90 seconds stirring constantly to prevent burning, but also to make sure all the sugar is dissolved.
- Remove hot mixture from heat, add 1 tsp of vanilla and the baking soda. This will bubble up, keep stirring though and it will settle down.
- Serve over bread pudding. Enjoy!
Notes
I made this Croissant Bread Pudding with Caramel Sauce several times to make sure the moisture and texture were right on. One thing to keep in mind if you are using croissants instead of regular, stale bread, is croissants are not dense (even when stale). They are light, porous and absorb liquid quickly, so the amount of liquid and eggs you use may need to be adjusted to prevent an overly wet result.
Croissant Bread Pudding with Caramel Sauce is proof positive that old things can be made new again. Old croissants (I know, who has old croissants?) or bread bought in bulk, now stale, can be transformed into something new and wonderful. Just mix together some combination of milk, cream, butter, eggs, a dash of cinnamon, maybe some raisins and we are talking a dessert equivalent to a warm hug from….your OMA!!
Does your family have a dessert casserole recipe that you love as much as we love Croissant Bread Pudding with Caramel Sauce?
How long should I let the Croissants sit? Is it based on timing or how they feel when you squeeze them?
I ask because I will be using your recipe for a cooking competition at work.
Hi, typically let the bread pudding sit for about an hour. With croissants you can skip this part because the croissants are so porous, they absorb the liquid pretty quickly and dont need the extra “soak” time. Great question!
I heard that this recipe is award winning, just to let you know, my youngest son made these for a contest at school and he took first place in desserts. Thanks for sharing your recipe.