Bring stale croissants back to life with this rich and luxurious crème brûlée croissant bread pudding. It’s the easiest dessert that’s sure to impress.
If you’re a fan of bread pudding, you’ll absolutely love this crème brûlée croissant bread pudding. It takes the classic dessert to the next level, with buttery, flaky croissants that perfectly soak up the vanilla cream. Caramelized sugar adds the perfect finishing touch!
How to elevate your bread pudding
Here’s a couple of things this recipe does to make an elevated bread pudding:
- Use croissants instead of bread – Croissants are extra buttery with air pockets that are perfect for soaking up the vanilla cream. This is a great way to use up day-old or stale croissants.
- Caramelized sugar finish – Brûléed sugar adds a caramelized finish to this bread pudding that brings dimension and flavor. If you don’t have a blow torch, you can drizzle a simple caramel sauce on top instead.
How to make crème brûlée croissant bread pudding
This simple bread pudding comes together in just 30 minutes.
Ingredients
3 small croissants or 2 – 3 medium/large croissants – I like to use stale croissants because they soak up the vanilla cream mixture. You want to roughly chop up the croissants into 1 inch cubes.
480g (1 pint) half and half – Half and half provides more richness than milk without being overly heavy like whipping cream. If you don’t have half and half, you can use 1 cup of whole milk and 1 cup of heavy cream instead.
1/2 tbsp vanilla extract – A generous amount of vanilla extract adds flavor. You can also use half a vanilla bean, but you will need to warm the half and half and steep the bean for 30 minutes to fully extract the flavor.
5 egg yolks – Egg yolks add richness and help the pudding set. I’ve also used 3 whole eggs instead of 5 egg yolks, but the final texture will be a little less creamy.
100g (1/2 cup) granulated sugar – Sugar adds sweetness. The dessert is already not super sweet, so I would not recommend cutting the sugar.
1/8 tsp salt – salt helps enhance the flavor of the bread pudding
Method
This is a mix it up and throw it in the oven kind of recipe!
Start by preheating your oven to 350F and placing your cubed croissants in a 9 inch round baking tin.
Whisk together the half and half, vanilla extract, egg yolks, sugar, and salt together until very well combined. Pour over the cubed croissants and let sit for 5 – 10 minutes so the croissants can absorb some of the mixture.
Bake for 20 – 25 minutes until the edges are set but the center is still a little jiggly. You don’t want it to be set all the way through, because it won’t be as creamy.
For the crème brûlée finish, if you have a blow torch you can sprinkle the top of the pudding with sugar and lightly torch it. If you don’t have a blow torch, you can heat up a 1/4 cup of sugar on the stove until it’s caramelized, then drizzle on the pudding.
That’s it! It’s super simple and absolutely delicious. It’s my go-to for dinner parties and gatherings because it’s so easy to throw together and always a hit with my friends.
Crème brûlée croissant bread pudding
Equipment
- 9 inch round baking tin
- Whisk
- Blow torch or skillet
Ingredients
For bread pudding
- 250g stale croissants (about 3 small croissants or 2 – 3 larger croissants)
- 480g (2 cups) half and half (can sub with 1 cup whole milk + 1 cup heavy cream)
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 5 egg yolks
- 100g (1/2 cup) granulated sugar
For caramelized topping
- 50g (1/4 cup) granulated sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 °F
- Cut the stale croissants into 1 inch cubes and place in a 9 inch round baking tin
- In a large bowl, whisk together the half and half, vanilla extract, salt, egg yolks, and granulated sugar until well combined
- Pour the mixture over the croissants, making sure the croissants are evenly distributed throughout. Let sit for 5 minutes so that the croissants absorb some of the mixture
- Place in the middle rack of the oven and bake for 20 – 25 minutes until the edges are set but the liquid in the center jiggles slightly when you shake the pan
- Serve warm. Right before serving, sprinkle a thin layer of sugar on top and caramelize with a blow torch
Caramel drizzle if you don't have a blow torch
- Place 50g of sugar in a pan, making sure it's spread thinly over the bottom of the pan
- Cook on medium-high heat until it's a deep amber brown in color. You can lightly move the sugar around and swirl the pan, but do not stir, as it could cause the sugar to crystallize
- Drizzle the caramel over the baked bread pudding
Notes
- If using fresh croissants, cut into cubes and then place in the oven for ~5 minutes to dry them out so they can better absorb the cream
- Instead of 5 egg yolks, you can use 3 whole eggs. This will lead to a slightly less creamy result
- Tips for making caramel – first, you’ll notice the sugar melt into a clear liquid, then gradually darken in color. It’s helpful to use a light color pan so you can track how the color changes. It may darken unevenly, and you can swirl the pan to help distribute the sugar. However, do not vigorously stir as this can cause the sugar to crystallize.
- If you like more pudding than bread, you can make more of the cream mixture, or use less croissants. This will lead to more custard bits in the final result.