This maple pecan bread pudding is made with challah bread, infused with maple and vanilla flavors and drizzled with maple cream sauce. Because there is no butter in this recipe, the pudding is not greasy at all, instead it’s delightfully rich and creamy.
For more maple-flavored fall sweets, check out this Maple Mascarpone Frosting and this Maple Hazelnut Custard.
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About the recipe:
This bread pudding is one of my favorite desserts of all time, it is so delicious, easy and foolproof that it has become my go to for serving at our house and also to bring to parties. Everyone always loves it.
It does take some time to prepare this bread pudding but a lot of that time is inactive, so it’s not actually a lot of work.
I adapted the recipe from America’s Test Kitchen but put a maple slant on it by adding maple syrup to the custard and making a maple cream sauce to go with it.
What I love about this recipe is that is uses only egg yolks, rather than whole eggs, which makes for an extra smooth and creamy custard.
This bread pudding makes 8 servings, which makes it a great dessert for a Thanksgiving or Christmas gathering.
What type of bread is best to use?
The only bread that works in this recipe is challah bread. Unfortunately, I’ve found that it’s not easy to find challah in the store anymore but the good news is that it’s actually not difficult to bake a nice challah loaf yourself.
The best challah recipe I know of is this one from The Kitchn: How To Make Challah Bread. I have made it many times and it worked perfectly every time. Since you know you’re going to cut the loaf into little cubes you don’t need to bother with the braiding, I always just make one big plain loaf.
What type of baking pan is best to use?
You can use either a glass or a nonstick metal baking pan for this recipe. Bread pudding is a “wet” baked good and those are traditionally baked in glass pans but nonstick metal pans such as what I used here work equally well. You don’t have to grease the pans (regardless of which material you use), just transfer the bread/custard mix straight in.
How to make the bread pudding:
Step 1. In a large bowl, whisk together:
- 9 egg yolks
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 4 teaspoons vanilla extract
In a large liquid measuring cup, combine 2 1/2 cups heavy cream and 2 1/2 cups milk.
In a separate bowl or liquid measuring cup, measure out 1/4 cup maple syrup.
Step 2. Whisk the maple syrup and the milk/cream mix into the custard, then stir together 10 cups of bread cubes and 1 cup roughly chopped pecans in a large bowl and pour the custard over them.
Step 3. Cover, transfer to the fridge and let the bread soak up the custard for 30 min.
Step 4. Heat the oven to 325 degrees F. Transfer the soaked bread cubes along with any remaining custard into one or two baking pans. (You can use either one 9″ x 13″ or two 8″ x 8″ baking pans.)
Bake until no liquid remains in the center when you push down on the surface (about 50 min.).
How to make the cream sauce:
Step 5. To make the sauce, mix 1 cup heavy cream and 1/3 cup maple syrup together in a saucepan and bring the mix to a low simmer.
Step 6. Don’t stop stirring until you have a thick and creamy sauce (about 15 min.).
How to serve:
I like to serve this bread pudding warm, I think it tastes best that way. Be sure to drizzle the sauce on right at the table and not before; if the sauce sits on the pudding for too long, it’ll turn soggy.
How to reheat:
If you have bread pudding left over that you want to eat the next day (or if you want to make it ahead), you can store it in an airtight container in the fridge and then warm it up for a few seconds in the microwave before serving.
Can I freeze the bread pudding?
Yes, this bread pudding freezes very well. Let it cool down after baking, then cut it into sections or individual portions, transfer them to freezer bags and place in the freezer.
More delicious fall dessert recipes:
Made this recipe? It would be awesome if you could leave a rating. Either tap or click the stars in the recipe card or leave a comment below. Thanks!
Recipe Card
Maple Pecan Bread Pudding
Ingredients:
For the pudding:
- 9 egg yolks
- ¾ cups sugar
- 4 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 2 ½ cups heavy cream
- 2 ½ cups milk
- 10 cups bread cubes (1-inch) from challah bread
- 1 cup roughly chopped pecans
For the maple cream sauce:
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ⅓ cup maple syrup
Instructions:
For the pudding:
- Whisk the yolks with the sugar and vanilla in a bowl until they are lighter in color and texture than when you started.
- Whisk in the maple syrup, the cream and the milk.
- Pour or ladle the custard over the bread cubes and the pecans.
- Cover and let the bread soak for 30 minutes in the fridge, meanwhile heat the oven to 325 degrees F.
- Transfer the soaked bread cubes along with any remaining custard into the baking pan(s).*
- Bake the bread pudding until no liquid remains in the center when you push down on the surface (about 50 minutes, regardless of which type of pan you use). Let cool a bit.
For the maple cream sauce:
- Combine cream and maple syrup in a saucepan, bring to a low simmer and stir continuously with a wooden spoon on medium-low heat until thickened (about 15 minutes).
- Serve the bread pudding warm and pour maple cream sauce on it right before serving.**
Kelly | Foodtasia
Nicole, this little beauty has certainly caught my eye! The maple custard sounds wonderful. It reminds me of the maple rolls my father used to bring home every Sunday. I bet this is a million times better though! On my must try list!
Nicole Branan
Hey Kelly! This bread pudding is one of my favorite desserts, I’ve made it so many times and I’m still not tired of it. But you got me thinking about maple rolls now, they sound incredible too! :)
Meg @ Noming thru Life
Just stop. Seriously. Just stop. I can’t even handle this right now. I’m going to pass out from this amazingness. Someone catch me!
Nicole B.
You’re so sweet, Meg. Thank you! :)
Kathleen | HapaNom
I love bread pudding too! This looks so wonderfully decadent – I think I could eat the entire pan!
Nicole B.
Thank you so much, Kathleen! Hehe, I think the entire pan would put you in a food coma. :)
Cheryl
I can see why this is your favorite! I feel like I could also work it into a breakfast rotation for holidays, too, you know.. versatile dish eh? :)
Nicole B.
Absolutely! (I personally don’t do sweet for breakfast, although I have had a spoonful of this as a second breakfast. :)).