Croissant Bread Pudding

Stale croissants drenched in an egg and cinnamon custard that is baked until golden and garnished with almonds. A simple leftover makeover recipe.

The best part of having stale bread at home is making bread pudding. It is so simple to put together and such a delicious dessert that requires no fancy ingredients or equipment. I usually land up making this recipe between Christmas and new year as we always have leftover croissants, panettone, baguette or any bread laying around the house. You can check out my French toast recipe as well to use up the stale bread in your house. Also I have made this recipe using leftover eggnog instead of making a custard.

What ingredients do you need to make this Croissant Bread Pudding?

We need stale bread in this case croissants, eggs, milk, cream, sugar, cinnamon powder, salt. I like to top the bread pudding with sliced almonds and Demerara sugar for crunch. I have used mini croissants here but you can use large croissants and cut them up. I have used some leftover soaked dried fruit you can use raisins or any dried fruit you like.

What substitutes can you use to make this Croissant Bread Pudding?

Instead of croissants you can use any stale bread you have. Also if you have leftover eggnog laying around the house, this is a good time to use it in place of the custard. I have added cinnamon powder because I like the flavor but you can add some nutmeg, vanilla and cardamom too. The custard is sweetened with castor sugar, you can use any sweetener you like, maple syrup, date sugar etc. I have also used Demerara sugar and almond on the top but granulated sugar and any other nuts will work too. If you are not a fan of dried fruit you can use fresh berries in the bread pudding.

What equipment do you need to make this Croissant Bread Pudding?

We need a bowl and whisk to mix the custard together. The pudding is baked in an 8inch dish. We need an oven to bake this.

How to make this Croissant Bread Pudding?

Preheat the oven to 180℃. In a mixing bowl add the milk, cream, sugar, eggs, cinnamon powder, salt and whisk until well combined. Slice the croissants in half and place in an 8inch oven proof dish. Spoon over the soaked dried fruit. Pour over the custard and let the croissants soak this up for 5 mins. Top with Demerara sugar, almonds and bake for 25-28 mins.

How to serve this Croissant Bread Pudding?

I like to serve this with cold double cream, whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. The pudding is best served warm or hot.

Now that we have covered how to make this Croissant Bread Pudding, you can have a look at the recipe video on my socials but let’s get to it. Don’t forget to follow along for more holiday baking recipe inspiration.

If you try this recipe out, don’t forget to share it with me on instagram so I can see how it turned out. I’d love nothing more than to chat with you on your cooking/baking.