This Brioche bread and butter pudding is seriosuly delicious from the sweet buttery bread to the rich vanilla custard.
Don't forget the rich dark chocolate, caramel sauce and crnchy hazelnuts, which make this dessert so dreamy!
This British dessert with a French twist is also so simple to make, which is great because, trust me, you will be making it regularly!
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Why you will love this dessert
Normally this pudding was made to use up stale bread and uses dried fruit sprinkled over the custard. May people aren't keen on dried fruit so making the pudding this way everyone will love it!gache bread
- really simple to assemble and prepare in advance
- store cupboard ingredients with lots of variations
- great for using up stale bread
- everyone will love this dessert
What are the ingredients?
For this dessert most of the ingredients will already be to hand.
I've used plain chocolate from a bar but chocolate chips are just as good if you have them instead.
There's great crunch from hazelnuts and an added richness from caramel sauce.
I've also used brown sugar and some cinnamon.
For the bread I've used slices of brioche, buttered. If you can't find it in bread form you can often buy it as mini loaves which you can just slice in half.
The bread is baked in a custard made with eggs, sugar, vanilla and milk
How to make Brioche bread and butter pudding
I've used slice brioche bread, buttered and then sliced in half on the diagonal.
Arrange the buttered slices in an ovenproof dish that has been greased.
Traditionally this dish would have raisins in it but I find they can catch and burn in the oven, so I have switched them with chopped hazelnuts.
You could just used ready chopped nuts but I like the proper crunch of bigger pieces.
Sprinkle the nuys around the bread in the dish
Break a bar of plain chocolate (70% solids) into small pieces and and spread over and between the bread.
Make a simple custard mix with the milk, eggs, sugar and vanilla and pour over the bread.
For extra naughtiness I added a few squeezes of caramel sauce.
Sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon and bake at 180C/350F for 45-55 minutes until puffed and golden brown.
FAQs
Brioche is a French bread that is made with a rich dough with eggs and a higher level of butter added. It's often served at breakfast in France and I have also seen it served with drinks at a wedding.
It's sweet and buttery and really doesn't need butter added to it as it's more like a cake.
Absolutely. The pudding will benefit from the custart soaking the egg mixture so this is a great dish to prepare and put in the fridge until later.
You could use slices of panettone, croissants, or any bread you have.
If you like you could completely omit the butter or spread the bread with Nutella spread instead.
There are lots of other options too. Try fresh raspberries, slices of banana, macadamia, brazil or pecan nuts for a change.
With this version each mouthful will be full of crunchy nuts, melted chocolate, caramel, buttery bread and rich custard.
It's a bit like a pain au chocolate, English style or bread and butter pudding French style! What do you think?
Top tips
- try and push the bread down into the custard for a good soak before baking
- serve immediately as the pudding will gradually collapse if left to cool
- serve as it is or with vanilla icecream or single cream
More desserts to try
📋 Recipe
Brioche Bread and Butter Pudding.
Ingredients
- 6 slices brioche bread such as Brioche, buttered
- 50 g butter
- 100 g plain chocolate in small pieces
- 50 g chopped hazelnuts
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 tablespoon caramel sauce optional
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Custard
- 750 ml milk
- 3 eggs
- 50 g sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a large jug beat all the custard ingredients together.
- Butter the bread and cut in half diagonally.
- Grease a baking dish and arrange the bread with the nuts and chocolate.
- Pour over the custard mix, drizzle on the caramel if using then sprinkle with cinnamon and brown sugar.
- Bake at 180C/350F for 45-55 minutes until puffed up and golden.
- Serve with some pouring cream.
Disclaimer: The nutritional information provided is approximate and is calculated using online tools. Information can vary depending on various factors, but we have endeavoured to be as accurate as possible.
Detailed instructions for this recipe, including step by step photographs, hints and tips, can be found in the main article.
Beth
Oh my goodness! My family is going to love this recipe! I can't wait to make this soon!
Julie
What a fantastic use of Brioche. This bread pudding looks and sounds amazing!
Gina
Talk about decadent! Brioche is just the best bread for so many things, this bread pudding included! Love the addition of hazelnuts in the recipe for a crunchy texture.
Claudia Lamascolo
Now that is one wonderful bread pudding recipe we will love this I think I will make it this weekend thank you
Jess
The crunch of the hazelnuts and the extra caramel sauce on top make this extra delicious!
Amanda
Thanks Julie. The enriched French bread makes it really rich and decadent!
Amanda
Thanks Brian. It’s weird but if you buy bagged white bread in France it’s actually sweet so makes a sandwich quite weird! For me it’s fresh or nothing for savoury and there’s a whole range of sweet ones here.
Brian Jones
Bread and butter pudding was such an iconic part of my 'dessert childhood', I love the stuff, the white bread adds a salty tinge to the sweetness that is wonderful. I love the idea of using brioche though, sounds delightful!
Julie Wunder
Oh my! This really looks good. I love the idea of using french bread in this- what a great dish!
Amanda
It's difficult for recipes when we all have different ingredients depending on where we live but living in France has meant that I'm always having to look for substitutions which can be fun or exasperating! You will have to give me the recipe for your pudding too! 🙂
Suzassippi
My Dulce de Leche bread pudding recipe called for brioche, but I could not find it so substituted King's Hawaiian Sweet Rolls, which worked great. Last year, I actually found brioche and it is excellent, giving it an entirely different taste. I have experimented with chocolate from candy bars, caramel, dulce de leche, but I just say no to raisins in anything. 🙂