Praline Croissant Bread Pudding
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Praline Croissant Bread Pudding is a delightful twist on the classic bread pudding. It’s filled with the rich flavors of praline, aka caramel and pecans. The combination of buttery croissants, creamy custard, and the irresistible praline topping creates a dessert that’s both comforting and indulgent.
Whether you’re a seasoned baker or a novice in the kitchen, this dessert is sure to impress your friends and family.
Praline Croissant Bread Pudding
Bread pudding is a classic dessert that has been enjoyed for centuries, and there’s a good reason why it has stood the test of time. This comforting and versatile dessert can be customized in countless ways, making it the perfect canvas for culinary creativity. One such delightful variation is the Praline Croissant Bread Pudding.
Another dessert that you simply must try is my Butterbeer Apple Cake.
Why make bread pudding?
- Reduces Food Waste: Bread pudding is an excellent way to repurpose stale or leftover bread, reducing food waste in your kitchen. As well, you’ll be contributing to sustainable cooking practices.
- Affordability: It’s a cost-effective dessert since it relies on basic ingredients that are usually readily available in most households.
- Ease of Preparation: Bread pudding is relatively simple to make, requiring minimal cooking skills. This makes it accessible for both experienced and novice cooks.
- Versatility: You can customize bread pudding by adding various ingredients such as fruits, nuts, chocolate chips. You can also use different types of bread.
- Comfort Food: Bread pudding is often considered a comfort food. It’s satisfying and may evoke fond memories.
- Texture Contrast: It has a pleasing combination of textures. Typically it has a crispy top layer and a soft, custardy interior. This contrast in textures can be quite enjoyable.
- Rich Flavor: The mixture of eggs, milk, and sugar creates a rich and creamy flavor profile. These are enhanced by the addition of spices and flavorings.
- Customizable: You can adapt bread pudding to various dietary preferences by using dairy-free milk, egg substitutes, or whole-grain or gluten-free bread.
- Serving Options: Bread pudding can be served warm or cold, making it suitable for various occasions.
- Accompaniments: It pairs well with a range of toppings and sauces. Try caramel, chocolate sauce, whipped cream, or a scoop of ice cream, allowing you to tailor it to your taste.
- Make-Ahead Dessert: Bread pudding can be made in advance and stored in the refrigerator. This is a big time-saver when entertaining guests.
The Origin of Bread Pudding
Before we dive into the delicious details of Praline Croissant Bread Pudding, let’s take a brief journey into the history of bread pudding. This humble dessert traces its roots back to the 11th century when it was first mentioned in a cookbook. Originally created as a way to use up stale bread, it has evolved over the years into a beloved treat cherished for its warm, custardy texture and endless flavor possibilities.
Praline Croissant Bread Pudding Ingredients
Bread pudding is a delicious and comforting dessert made by combining stale or leftover bread with a mixture of eggs, milk, sugar, and various flavorings like vanilla, cinnamon, and raisins.
To make Praline Croissant Bread Pudding, you will need the following ingredients:
- 8 small croissants day-old, or 6-7 if they’re small
- 2 cups heavy cream
- ¼ cup brown sugar or molasses or maple syrup
- ¼ cup *Amaretto liqueur or bourbon
- 4 large eggs at room temperature
- ¾ cup chocolate chips optional
- ⅓ cup butter cut into cubes
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup pecan pieces
Method for make Praline Bread Pudding
- Prepare the Croissants: Begin by slicing the croissants in half horizontally. If they are too fresh, leave them out overnight to dry. As well, you can put them in a 300 degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes. Dry bread will absorb the custard mixture better.
- Place the bottom half of the croissants on the bottom of a greased 12×7-inch baking pan. You can overlap if needed to fill the entire bottom. Place the tops over the bottom layer.
- In a large bowl, whisk the milk, heavy cream, sugar, eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt until combined.
- Gently pour the custard mixture over the croissants. Some of the tops will be exposed and that’s okay. Allow the croissants to absorb the liquid for 20-30 minutes.
- Prepare the topping. First cut the
butter into the brown sugar with a pastry cutter or fork until you have a crumbling mixture. Toss in the pecans. Scatter the crumb and pecan mixture overtop of the croissants and into all the crevices. At this point, you can cover and refrigerate up to 8 hours or overnight. - When you’re ready to bake it, set it out of the refrigerator while you preheat the oven to350°F (175°C).
- Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the pudding is set and the top is golden brown.
- Allow the Praline Croissant Bread Pudding to cool slightly before serving. You can serve it warm or at room temperature. It’s perfect on its own or with a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Praline Croissant Bread Pudding Tips
A lot of grocery stores will discount bread from their bakery the day it’s going out of date. This is where I usually get bread for bread pudding. You can use sour dough, French bread, Italian bread, croisants and even doughnuts for bread pudding. You can almost always find a cheap bread on the sale rack. However, you can dry fresh bread out by placing it in the oven on 300 degrees. It depends on how dry the bread is as to how long it needs to be in the oven. You want it dry but you don’t want croutons.
Furthermore, for diary products you can use whole, 1% or 2% milk. As well, you can use half and half or heavy cream. You can use any combination of these ingredients as long as the total is the same. Obviously, if you use all 1% milk versus all heavy cream it will not be as rich, creamy, or decadent. Yes, you will save fat grams and calories, but you’ll sacrifice some flavor…the perpetual delemna. 🤷🏼♀️
Conclusion
In summary, bread pudding is a versatile and comforting dessert. It not only uses leftovers but also offers a satisfying and flavorful treat for various occasions. Its adaptability and simplicity make it a popular choice for many people.
The next time you have leftover croissants, don’t hesitate to make this sweet masterpiece and savor the joy it brings. Happy baking!
Here are a few more recipes that you’ll enjoy. Try Chicken Caesar Angel Hair Pasta. Grandmas’s Old Fashioned Pound Cake. Fudge Oreo Pound Cake, Rice Pudding. Tiktok Texas Toast Casserole. and the only 3 wine glasses you need.
Praline Croissant Bread Pudding
Ingredients
- 8 small croissants day-old, or 6-7 if they're small
Custard
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- ¼ cup brown sugar or molasses or maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon almond extract or vanilla
- ¼ cup *Amaretto liqueur or bourbon, optional
- 4 large eggs at room temperature
- ¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips optional
Topping
- ⅓ cup butter cut into cubes
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup pecan pieces
Instructions
- Prepare the Croissants: Begin by slicing the croissants in half horizontally. If they are too fresh, leave them out overnight or put them in a 300 degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes to dry out. Dry bread will absorb the custard mixture better.
- Place the bottom half of the croissants on the bottom of a greased 12×7-inch baking pan overlapping when necessary to fill the entire bottom. Place the tops over the bottom layer.
- Make the Custard: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the heavy cream, brown sugar, liqueur, eggs, almond extract (or vanilla extract, and ground cinnamon until well combined.
- Gently pour the custard mixture over the croissants. Some of the tops will be exposed and that’s okay. Allow the croissants to absorb the liquid for 20-30 minutes.
- Prepare the topping. First, cut the butter into the brown sugar and cinnamon with a pastry cutter or fork until you have a crumbling mixture. Toss in the pecans (and chocolate chips if you're adding them). Scatter the crumb and pecan mixture over the top of the croissants and into all the crevices. At this point, you can cover and refrigerate for up to 8 hours or overnight.
- When you're ready to bake the bread pudding, set it out of the refrigerator while you preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
- Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the pudding is set and the top is golden brown.
- Allow the bread pudding to cool slightly before serving. You can serve it warm or at room temperature. It's perfect on its own or with a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
- Store leftover bread pudding in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Reheat in the microwave or oven.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information given is an automatic calculation and can vary based on the exact products you use and changes you make to the recipe. If these numbers are important to you, I recommend calculating them yourself.
Do you bake it covered or uncovered ?
I baked it uncovered.
The instructions call for salt but it is not in the ingredients, it also call for vanilla extract which is not in the ingredients and lastly it call for cinnamon in the liquid topping but it is not in the ingredients.
Let me figure out what happened. I’ll update you in a second.