Christmas Bread Pudding Recipe

This Christmas bread pudding is cubed brioche or challah soaked in a cinnamon and vanilla custard, with dried cranberries, golden raisins, apricots and chopped nuts tucked in and scattered on top. It bakes in a 9×13 inch dish at 350°F for 40 to 50 minutes and serves 8 to 10.

The part that makes it work for the holidays: you can assemble it the night before, keep it in the fridge, and bake it while the rest of the meal comes together.

The Numbers for One 9×13 Pan

• Bread: 6 cups day-old brioche or challah, in 1 inch cubes
• Custard: 2 cups whole milk, 1 cup heavy cream, 4 large eggs, 1 cup sugar, 2 teaspoons vanilla, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Fruit and nuts: 3/4 cup dried cranberries, 1/2 cup raisins, 1/2 cup chopped dried apricots, 1/2 cup mixed nuts
• Oven: 350°F (175°C), 40 to 50 minutes, uncovered
• Time: 20 minutes prep, 20 to 30 minutes soaking, about 1 hour 35 minutes in total
• Serves: 8 to 10

The ratio to remember is 3 cups of milk and cream to 4 eggs for 6 cups of bread. That is enough custard to soak every cube and still set softly in the middle.

Brioche or Challah for a Holiday Bread Pudding

Both are egg-rich breads that soak up custard without falling apart, which is why the recipe calls for one or the other. I have baked this with both. Brioche has more butter, so the pudding comes out richer and softer. Challah is a little drier and less sweet, so it drinks up more custard and keeps a bit more chew.

Sandwich bread works in a pinch, but it is softer and gives a flatter, more uniform texture. Whatever you use, it should be a day or two old. Fresh bread turns to mush once it is soaked. If yours is fresh, spread the cubes on a baking sheet and dry them at 300°F for about 10 minutes, until the outsides feel dry to the touch.

Whisking the Spiced Custard

Heat the oven to 350°F and butter the 9×13 dish generously with the 2 tablespoons of butter. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs with the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and vanilla first, then whisk in the milk and cream. Starting with the eggs and sugar breaks up the whites, so you do not end up with streaks of cooked egg white in the finished pudding.

For a brighter custard, grate in the zest of 1 orange. It cuts through the cream and goes well with the apricots.

Plumping the Cranberries, Raisins and Apricots

Mix the cranberries, raisins and chopped apricots in a small bowl. Pour the optional tablespoon of dark rum or brandy over them, or a splash of orange juice if you want it alcohol-free, and let them sit while you make the custard. Plumped fruit stays soft in the oven. Dry fruit on top of the pudding can scorch and turn leathery.

Each fruit does a different job. Cranberries bring the tart, red bits. Golden raisins taste mild and honeyed. Apricots are the chewiest and give the deepest fruit flavor.

Assembling the Pan and Soaking Overnight

Put the bread cubes in the buttered dish and pour the custard evenly over them. Press down with a spatula until every cube has touched the liquid. Pieces left sticking up dry out and go hard in the oven.

Scatter the soaked fruit and half of the chopped nuts over the bread and press them in lightly. Sprinkle the rest of the nuts and, if you like, the 2 tablespoons of brown sugar over the top. The sugar melts into a thin caramel crust around the nuts. With a nut allergy at the table, leave the nuts out; the fruit carries the flavor on its own.

Let the pan rest at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes so the bread can soak up the custard. To make it ahead, cover it and refrigerate overnight instead. The next day, set it on the counter while the oven heats, about 30 minutes, and expect it to need a few extra minutes of baking because it starts cold.

How to Tell the Pudding Is Baked Through

Bake uncovered for 40 to 50 minutes. It is done when the top is golden brown, the edges are puffed, and a knife pushed into the center comes out mostly clean with no liquid custard. If you have a thermometer, the center should read about 160°F.

Check at 30 minutes. If the nuts and brown sugar are already dark, lay a loose sheet of foil over the top and keep baking until the middle sets. The pudding puffs up in the oven and settles as it cools, which is normal. Let it rest for 10 to 15 minutes before you cut it, so the squares hold together.

Wet Bottom, Dry Top: Bread Pudding Fixes

• Eggy, wet layer at the bottom: the bread was too fresh or the pudding came out early. Use day-old or dried cubes and bake until the knife comes out with no liquid.
• Dry, bready top: cubes were sticking up out of the custard. Press them down before the rest, and again halfway through if needed.
• Center still wobbly at 50 minutes: common with a pan straight from the fridge. Tent with foil and give it 5 to 10 more minutes.
• Burnt fruit on top: the fruit went on dry. Soak it first, and press it lightly into the custard.

Christmas Bread Pudding vs Christmas Pudding

They are easy to mix up but not the same dessert. A traditional British Christmas pudding is a dense, dark pudding of dried fruit, suet, breadcrumbs and spices, steamed for hours and usually made weeks ahead. This Christmas bread pudding is custard-soaked bread baked in a pan the same day or the next morning. It is lighter, softer and much quicker, with the same dried fruit and spice flavors of the season.

Serving, Leftovers and Reheating

Serve it warm with a drizzle of caramel sauce or a dusting of powdered sugar, plus a jug of cream or a bowl of whipped cream on the side. For a quicker sauce, caramel sauce from condensed milk works well too. A mug of Christmas hot chocolate next to it makes a good Christmas Eve dessert.

Cover leftovers and keep them in the fridge for up to 3 days. To reheat, cover the dish with foil and warm it in a 300°F oven for about 15 to 20 minutes. The oven keeps the top crisp, while the microwave softens it. You can also bake the whole pudding the day before and reheat it the same way, which frees the oven on Christmas Day. Cold squares hold up well enough to pack for lunch the next day.

If you like this, try the chocolate bread pudding next, or use leftover brioche for brioche French toast. For the dessert table, chewy Christmas sugar cookie bars and crunchy Christmas cracker toffee sit nicely beside the soft, spiced pudding.

Xmas Bread Pudding Questions

Can I make Christmas bread pudding the day before?

Yes. Either assemble it and chill it overnight unbaked, or bake it a day ahead and reheat covered at 300°F for 15 to 20 minutes.

Can I use regular sandwich bread?

Yes, if it is a day or two old. The pudding will be a little less rich and softer than with brioche or challah.

Can I leave out the nuts or the rum?

Yes. Both are optional. Skip the nuts entirely, and soak the fruit in orange juice instead of rum or brandy.