When I was growing up my mother made this recipe for Butterscotch Bread Pudding. It was definitely a family favorite. “This recipe was your great-great grandmother’s recipe”, she would say as she carefully placed it in the oven. Yes, Grammy O’Brien made this very recipe over 100 years ago.
I have to say it stood the test of time. It is rich and sweet without being “too sweet” and I have yet to find a bread pudding that I like better. Pure comfort food that brings back memories of my mother and I cooking in her kitchen on a Sunday afternoon. Sunday dinner for us meant a roast in the oven, mashed potatoes, some sort of vegetable, and best of all, it meant dessert!
I do have to confess I have tweaked the recipe a tiny bit. The recipe calls for sliced bread which in Grammy O’Brien’s day probably meant a nice homemade loaf of bread. But in the 70’s it meant that soft squishy bread that you bought at the grocery store. Now don’t get me wrong. Even with soft squishy bread this bread pudding recipe still came out fantastic. So if that is all you have, feel free to go ahead and use it. But I now make it with a good rustic loaf of French or Italian bread. It’s actually a great way to use up leftover bread that has gone a little stale. Challah bread works great with this too.
Now go ahead and make this old fashion dessert. I promise you Butterscotch Bread Pudding is easy and I promise you that it is delicious. Maybe you will pass it on to your great, great-granddaughter (or son). 🙂
Butterscotch Bread Pudding
Print Recipe
Butterscotch Bread Pudding
Ingredients
- 1 - loaf of unsliced day old bread
- 2 ½ cups - whole milk
- 1 cup - brown sugar
- 1/2 cup - butter
- 4 - eggs
- 2 - egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon - vanilla
- Kosher salt
- confectionery sugar
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
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Butter a large casserole baking dish or a baking pan. Approximately 9" x 13".
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Cut off the crust of the bread and then cut the bread into 1 inch cubes. Place the cut bread into the prepared baking dish and set aside. I ended up with about 10 cups of bread cubes. You do not have to be exact, you just want enough to fill up your baking dish.
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In a sauce pan on low heat, stir together the milk, brown sugar, butter and a pinch of salt. Stir until warm and the sugar and butter is melted into the milk. Do not let the milk come to a boil! Turn off the heat and set aside. Let the milk mixture cool a bit.
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Whisk the eggs and egg yolks together in a separate bowl. Whisk the vanilla into the eggs.
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Slowly pour the eggs into the milk mixture while simultaneously whisking the milk mixture to evenly incorporate. You want to end up with a nice smooth sauce or custard.
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Slowly pour the custard over the bread making sure you moisten all of the bread with the custard. Let sit for 10 minutes or so, so that the bread has a chance to absorb the liquid.
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Bake for 45 to 55 minutes. You are looking for the bread pudding to have a golden brown crust on top and to look puffed up a bit. Check with a knife inserted in the center and if it comes out clean it is done.
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Let cool for 15 minutes then sift some confectionery sugar over the top.(Optional) Slice or spoon out servings onto a dessert plate or bowl. Serve as is or with a little milk.
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