Eggnog Bread Pudding with Salted Caramel Sauce
Perfectly textured bread pudding, thanks to using brioche, baked with a rich and creamy eggnog custard, all topped with a delicious and simple caramel sauce. This warm and cozy treat is quick and oh so easy, making it perfect for any holiday celebration or just because!
This post may contain affiliate links from which, at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission to keep this site running. Only products I myself would or do use are recommended.
To be honest, I never gave a second thought to bread pudding as a child. Or even as a young adult. It never sounded good. Until my husband tried pumpkin bread pudding at our favorite restaurant and I was hooked.
So a few years ago I tried my hand at it and it was ah-mazing. Seriously, I couldn’t get enough. I remade it a few times, with a few issues, and learned a lot about what made that first attempt so, so good.
Which means when I decided to make a new flavor, it was perfection the very first time.
Those recipes are always such a treat. (Pun intended.)
So, enjoy this simple, easy recipe that is filled with holiday flavors and no complicated tricks or methods and no forethought!
Why this recipe works
Using brioche is one of my keys to a perfect bread pudding. It’s soft and buttery and bakes up perfectly with the custard. I also reduced how many eggs and how much sugar I use here, since eggnog already has some egg and sugar in it. The key is to bake this until it’s not sloshy but still a bit wobbly. That way, the custard sets as it cools and is silky instead of eggy or dense.
This also means that this recipe is fast and requires no forethought. You don’t need to plan ahead and make sure your bread is old or stale or dry. Toasting it takes care of that. And it also means no need to refrigerate overnight! This really is a fast and simple recipe.
Another odd twist is that I do NOT refrigerate my pudding before baking it. I know, I know, how dare I deviate from centuries of tradition. However, I find that brioche doesn’t need to refrigerate to absorb the custard. Instead, I’ve found that pudding the toasted bread straight in my baking pan or ramekin then slowly pouring the custard over it, being sure to coat each piece as I pour, is enough to make the texture perfect. Not too soggy, not to dry, with a bit of crispy texture on top that absorbs the caramel sauce.
Which brings me to possibly my favorite part of this recipe: the sauce! I just love this simple caramel sauce. It’s fast and easy to make and easily customizable to your needs. You can make it as-is or add a little extra cream to make it more pourable at room temperature. Either option will make it the perfect addition to this creamy, flavorful bread pudding.
Key ingredients
Brioche. You could also use Challah or anything that is good for French toast. If you use a drier bread, you’ll want to let the custard soak into it in the fridge for an hour or so, and may need a little more milk or eggnog.
Butter. This helps crisp up the bread so there is a nice crunch on top when it bakes.
Eggnog. Obviously! Use a high quality one that you really like. I used Clover.
Eggs. These are necessary to thicken the custard. I’ve never made an eggless custard, so I cannot vouch for using something like cornstarch instead.
Whole milk. Whole milk is great because it creates a creamier, silkier custard.
Brown sugar. You can use regular, but I think brown sugar gives a great caramelized flavor.
Salt. I like to use sea salt in my baking, but table salt will do, too.
Cinnamon. Use a quality cinnamon, so the flavor is brighter.
Nutmeg. Classic with eggnog!
Salted caramel sauce. This recipe is technically not salted, but you can make it salted by adding 1 teaspoon sea salt instead of just a pinch. You can also increase the cream to 1/2 cup to make it more of a pourable consistency at room temperature (it will generally harden in the fridge).
How to make eggnog bread pudding
1. Dice and toast bread. I like to make about 1/2 to 1 inch cubes. Toast at 350F/175C for 5-10 minutes.
2. Drizzle with melted butter. I don’t know why this is better than adding butter to the custard, but I’ve always done it this way and it’s amazing.
3. Whisk custard ingredients. You want the spices well-mixed before you pour, so mix right before drizzling or they may clump into one section of the pudding.
4. Drizzle over toasted bread. Try to do this slowly so you can soak each top piece of bread with the custard.
5. Bake until set. It should still be wobbly but not sloshy. Tent with foil if the top starts to brown too quickly.
6. Let cool. You want to let it cool at least 30 minutes before serving. You can also refrigerate it overnight and warm it in a low oven (225F/100C) for about an hour.
7. Drizzle with salted caramel sauce. You can easily use store bought or your own recipe. I like to make a batch to keep in the fridge at all times. Just heat in the microwave in increments until drizzle-able.
Enjoy!
Tips and FAQ’s for this recipe
Can I use any caramel sauce?
Yes! I just really like the ease of this sauce, because you just melt sugar, cook until amber, then add the other ingredients. Done. I used this recipe as written, except that I used an entire teaspoon of sea salt. However, it’s a pretty thick sauce, so feel free to use 1/2 cup heavy cream to make it easier to pour without heating. Or, heat in the microwave in short increments until easily pourable.
Can I use any kind of bread?
Yes! Bread pudding is often made many different ways. Some people say you must use dry bread or it just isn’t bread pudding. But I feel no shame toasting fresh brioche. I also think brioche (or challah) works best because it’s not dry and therefore doesn’t need to sit in the fridge, getting soggy, just to revive dried out bread. However, if you have a bread pudding recipe or method you love, you are welcome to use a different kind of bread!
Do I have to toast the bread?
Yes! It may seem unnecessary, but you want to have a bit of toast on the bread since we’re not leaving it out overnight to dry or using old, stale bread. Personally, I think the taste of fresh, toasted bread is far superior and worth a few minutes in the oven. Plus, it makes it so much faster! No thinking ahead needed for this recipe.
DON’T FILL YOUR PAN TO THE TIPPY TOP
If you’re like me, you’ll want the most bang for your buck. And after making this once, you may be trying to cram as much pudding into one pan as you can so you can have even more to enjoy. But it’s best to leave about 1/2 inch of space for the pudding to rise in the oven.
CUSTARD SHOULD COME NEARLY TO THE TOP OF YOUR BREAD CUBES
Yeah I don’t have much to say about this. The custard won’t really rise, especially if you soak it for several hours before baking. And the bread/custard portion at the bottom is the best part of this dessert. So if you use a different size pan or halve the recipe, just be sure the custard reaches near the top of the bread layer. This isn’t the time to skimp or try to “save calories”. Baking burns calories. Probably.
Eggnog Bread Pudding with Salted Caramel Sauce
- prep time: 20-25 minutes
- bake time: 30-35 minutes
- total time: 1 hour
servings: 8-12
Ingredients:
- 1 loaf brioche or challah (I used about ¾ of a one pound/453g loaf)
- ¼ cup (56g) unsalted butter
- 1 cup (240g) whole milk
- 1 cup (240g) eggnog
- 2 whole eggs, room temperature
- ½ cup (100g) brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon (1g) sea salt
- 1 teaspoons (3g) ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon (1g) ground nutmeg
- one batch easy caramel sauce (add ½ to 1 teaspoon sea salt for salted caramel)
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 350F/175C.
- Cut brioche into roughly ½ inch cubes. You will need enough for 6 large or 12 small ramekins (or an 8x8 square pan). You can also double the recipe and make this in a 9x13 pan.
- Place however much bread you need on a rimmed baking sheet. Toast for 5-10 minutes, until most of the bread has begun to turn golden. Toss halfway for even browning.
- While the bread toasted, melt the butter. Immediately drizzle toasted bread with butter and toss to coat. Set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together milk, eggnog, eggs, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Mix until the sugar has dissolved.
- Fill each ramekin with toasted bread, all the way to the top. Whisk custard again to ensure the spices are evenly distributed. Drizzle custard over the bread, going slowly to ensure most of the bread is coated. There’s no need to mix or let it sit and absorb the custard.
- Place ramekins on a baking sheet and bake at 350F/175C for 30-35 minutes (40-45 if using an 8x8 pan), or until the filling is set. It should be wobbly/jiggly but not sloshy.
- Let pudding cool at least 30 minutes before serving.
- While pudding cools, make the caramel sauce. Add ½ to 1 teaspoon sea salt to the recipe to make salted caramel. Optionally, you can also use ½ cup heavy cream for a thinner sauce.
- Once bread pudding is cooled, drizzle with caramel and serve immediately.
Enjoy!
Pudding can be made ahead, refrigerated, then reheated at 225F/100C for about an hour until heated through.
