Maple Pecan Bread Pudding

Warm, cozy, nutty and full of maple flavor, this maple pecan bread pudding is the perfect make ahead sweet treat or breakfast for the holiday season.

Maple Pecan Bread Pudding

Hello, and thank you for coming to my Ted Talk: people are sleeping on bread pudding. For starters, bread pudding takes something sad (stale bread) and makes it into something absolutely delicious. We love a redemption arc. Additionally, it is sweet enough to serve for dessert and perfectly acceptable to serve for breakfast because it’s basically glorified french toast. Furthermore, bread pudding is perfect for serving a crowd as everyone loves bread (crowd pleasing) and you can whip up a huge batch of it super easily. No seriously: a wee baby could make bread pudding, so if you’re looking for a low-lift high reward dessert this is it.

Now specifically let’s talk maple pecan bread pudding AKA a buttery bread pudding sweetened with pure maple syrup with a gooey cinnamon sugar pecan center and crunchy pecan top. Serve it up warm with a glug of maple syrup and you’re in for an amazing time. Anyone else drooling? Just me? K, cool.

What is maple pecan bread pudding?

If you’re not a fan bread pudding, don’t worry. Historically I’m not either. I used to not be a big bread pudding person. I always thought of it as a mushy, bread-y, excuse of a dessert. But this maple pecan bread pudding fully converted me. It’s buttery, perfectly sweet, super easy to make.You guys…this bread pudding is SO good. It’s buttery; it’s boozy; it’s perfectly sweet; and it’s super easy to make. Plus it feeds a crowd, requires virtually zero prep time and doesn’t call for any crazy ingredients. It’s the perfect heart warming, cozy dessert to fill your belly with as the temperatures start to drop.

DO YOU SEE THIS TEXTURE. (see below)

Our tips for the best bread pudding

As we discussed, bread pudding is stupid easy to make. However, even the simplest of recipes have sneaky tricks to make them the best they can possibly be. If you want to be the bread pudding expert in your circle read on:

• Use a good stale bread: You can use whatever bread you have on hand, but the best bread puddings are made with formerly good bread. Brioche, croissants, challah, Hawaiian rolls…basically any bread that’s already leaning into dessert territory is going to be the best here.
• Don’t skimp on the flavorings: Bread pudding is super simple so the quality of your ingredients and the flavorings you use will really shine through. If your budget allows we recommend using pure maple syrup and vanilla extract. It really elevate the taste and makes this treat taste seriously gourmet. That being said, I have made this with fake maple syrup and it was still delicious.
• Make sure you let it soak: It’s super important to give that stale bread time to sponge up all the delicious maple custard. We recommend soaking for at least 4 hours, but soaking over night can also be super easy and guarantees that everything gets nice and moist.
• On that note, don’t over-soak it: I did this when recipe testing it and you guys…it was sad. The bread basically disintegrated and it was so sad. If you’re using brioche or another soft bread don’t soak this for more than 12 hours!

What ingredients do you need to make this maple bread pudding?

Alright, you’re on board. Let’s get down to the details. You’ll need these 10 simple ingredients to make this bread pudding. That being said, this recipe is incredibly forgiving, so feel free to use what you have on hand and tweak it to what works for you.

• Bread
• Milk
• Cream
• Eggs
• Maple syrup
• Maple extract
• Salt
• Brown sugar
• Cinnamon
• Pecans

TLDR why bread pudding is everything and more

So, you scrolled past the whole blog post?! CAUGHT YA. It’s okay–no judgment. This whole post has basically just been an ode to bread pudding so here’s what you missed:

• It’s super customizable: Use whatever kind of bread you like. Not a fan of pecans? Swap ’em out or omit them entirely. Want to try some different spices? Do it.
• It’s incredibly easy to make: This bread pudding recipe is about as easy as it gets. You literally put everything in bowl, transfer it into your pan and then bake it. Et voila! Gourmet dessert.
• It prevents food waste: I love a recipe that calls for easy, simple, cheap ingredients. Even more, I love a recipe that uses up something that would’ve otherwise ended up in the trash. We made this bread pudding with a few day old croissants we had lying around and, boy oh boy, are we glad we did!
• It serves a crowd: Bread pudding is often a dessert you see on restaurant menus. And it’s not just because it’s scrumptious. It’s also because it’s incredibly easy to make, and also easy to make a lot of. This bread pudding recipe is perfect for the holidays, feeding the whole family, or dropping off for a friend–it travels very well!

Thank you for your time. Now go forth and eat bread pudding.

XXX

• Author: Sofi | Broma Bakery
• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 40 minutes
• Total Time: 5 hours
• Yield: 16 servings
• Category: dessert
• Method: oven
• Cuisine: american

Maple Pecan Bread Pudding

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Warm, cozy, nutty and full of maple flavor, this maple pecan bread pudding is the perfect make ahead sweet treat or breakfast for the holiday season.

• Author: Sofi | Broma Bakery
• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 40 minutes
• Total Time: 5 hours
• Yield: 16 servings
• Category: dessert
• Method: oven
• Cuisine: american

Units: USM

Equipment

9 in springform pan

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mixing bowl

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whisk

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rubber spatula

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Ingredients

• Butter, for greasing the pan
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 4 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons maple extract
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• heavy pinch of salt
• 8 cups stale bread, cut into 1 inch cubes (we used brioche!)

for the brown sugar pecan swirl

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup unsalted pecans, roughly chopped

Instructions

1. Generously butter a 9-inch round pan that’s at least 3 -inches deep (we used a springform pan, but you can use whatever you have on hand. You can also use a casserole dish or 9 x 13-inch pan). Set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl combine the milk, cream, maple syrup, eggs, maple extract, vanilla extract, and salt. Use a whisk to thoroughly mix until completely homogenous.
3. Add the bread pieces to the mixture and use a rubber spatula to fold together to evenly coat. Pour about half the mixture into the prepared pan.
4. In a medium bowl combine the brown sugar and chopped nuts. Mix to combine Sprinkle about half of the sugar mixture all over the bread pudding in the pan. Top with the remaining half of the bread pudding and sprinkle the remaining sugar mixture all over the top.
5. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and put in the fridge to soak for at least 4 hours and up to overnight.
6. When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375°F. Remove the plastic wrap from your pan. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until the bread pudding has puffed up and is golden brown along the edges.
7. Set on a cooling rack to cool for 20 minutes before slicing and serving warm. If desired serve with a drizzle of maple syrup! Enjoy!