Description
Indulgent pecan pie bread pudding marries classic Southern comfort with luxurious dessert magic. Silky custard, caramelized pecans, and buttery bread create a heavenly finale you’ll savor down to the last delectable crumb.
Ingredients
Scale
Main Ingredients:
- 1 loaf day-old French bread
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup pecans, chopped
Dairy and Sweeteners:
- 2 cups milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) butter, melted
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Prepare oven at 350F (175C) with rack positioned in the center.
- Tear French bread into rustic, uneven cubes, ensuring varied sizes for interesting texture.
- Create a silky custard base by whisking milk, heavy cream, granulated sugar, vanilla extract, and eggs until smooth and fully incorporated.
- Immerse bread cubes in custard mixture, allowing them to absorb liquid for 10 minutes, gently pressing cubes to ensure even saturation.
- Delicately fold chopped pecans throughout the soaked bread, distributing them evenly for consistent nutty flavor.
- Transfer the pudding mixture into a generously greased baking dish, spreading it uniformly to ensure even cooking.
- Craft a decadent topping by blending brown sugar with melted butter until it forms a rich, caramel-like drizzle.
- Artfully cascade the brown sugar mixture across the bread pudding’s surface, creating intricate patterns and pockets of sweetness.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes, monitoring until the top transforms into a golden-brown crust and the center sets with a gentle wobble.
- Allow to cool slightly, then serve warm, inviting guests to savor the comforting, caramelized dessert.
Notes
- Toast pecans briefly before chopping to enhance their nutty flavor and create a deeper, more complex taste profile.
- Opt for day-old bread as it absorbs the custard mixture more effectively, creating a more luxurious texture and preventing sogginess.
- Consider using alternative milk options like almond or oat milk for a dairy-free version, which can add unique subtle flavors to the dessert.
- Swap some white sugar with maple syrup to intensify the caramel-like notes and create a richer, more indulgent bread pudding experience.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45-50 minutes
- Category: Desserts
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 8
- Calories: 408 kcal
- Sugar: 29 g
- Sodium: 160 mg
- Fat: 23 g
- Saturated Fat: 9 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 12 g
- Trans Fat: 0.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 45 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 7 g
- Cholesterol: 125 mg