Croissant Bread And Butter Pudding is a fragrant and delicious spin on using stale bread to make a traditional bread and butter pudding. Instead buttery croissants are dotted with juicy sultanas and held together with a thick custard. The dish gets oven baked before before being topped with melted butter and cinnamon sugar. It is the breakfast of champions and also works well for dessert!
Recipes like the Egg And Croissant Bake, Brie Croissant, Mini Croissant Sandwiches and the Air Fryer Croissants are all about savory flavored croissant recipes.
The Blueberry Croissant Breakfast Bake is a sweet dish that uses a similar custard to this recipe along with fresh juicy blueberries.
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🤍 Croissant Bread and Butter Pudding
I have summarised everything that you will come to know and love (LOVE ❤) about the croissant bread pudding recipe in the points below:
- Bread and butter pudding: as much as it is easy to turn your nose up at the thought, there is something to be said about the winning combination of simple ingredients that brings together this insanely popular dessert. You can think of this recipe as a croissant bread pudding as we use croissants in place of the bread, but it is also simply a bread and butter pudding using croissants.
- Homemade: homemade anything is always a good thing including this recipe! The fact that you know every single ingredient that has gone into the dish.= gives you piece of mind that there is no funny additions.
- Croissant recipes: I don't think that there has ever been a time when I haven't LOVED cooking with croissants in my kitchen. They are so versatile and lend themself to both sweet and savory flavor pairings. They hold up so well with the robust buttery flaky texture that you can't help but want to explore more and more ways to cook with them.
🥗 Ingredients
The photo below is to show you everything you need to make the recipe. Please refer to the printable recipe card for specific ingredient measurements as well as detailed instructions.
As you can see the recipe calls for:
- Butter: we use this both to grease the baking dish as well as to brush the tops of the croissants in the final stages of the cook time.
- Vanilla.
- Lemon juice: not shown in photo above.
- Caster sugar.
- Cream cheese: this is the primary ingredient needed to make the creamy custard.
- Cinnamon: this is ground cinnamon powder.
- Eggs: free range is always the best choice!
- Heavy cream.
- Sultanas
- Croissants: day-old croissants are fine to use. They don't have to be fresh straight from the bakery.
🥐 Bread And Butter Pudding With Croissants
After all of the above goes into making the dish, we have 2 ingredients that we use to ensure its golden brown, crispy and delicious.
These are:
- Butter: this is actually the butter you see in the top ingredients photo. After we use it to grease the baking dish we melt it and baste the top of the croissants before a final oven bake.
- Cinnamon sugar: this is a combination of ground cinnamon and sugar. It is sold as such in the herbs and spices aisle. If you don't have or don't want to purchase both ground cinnamon and cinnamon sugar you could also simply combine 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon with 1 teaspoon of caster or white sugar for the same (ish) result.
- Croissants: I like to use plain butter croissants. If however, you are feeling adventurous you could use chocolate croissants and you can omit the sultanas and use choc chips if you are leaning more towards this being a decadent dessert than a leap out of bed for breakfast recipe.
😉 Variations
Here are my sub ins and outs that you might be thinking about as you read the post and I will tell you if I think they will work or why they won't:
- Butter: unsalted butter is recommended to match the flavor profile of 'sweet'.
- Croissants: if you want to stick to a more traditional bread pudding or you have leftover French bread that you are looking to razzle dazzle then that can be used in place of the croissants.
- Sultanas: you can use raisins in place of the sultanas. Or you can use a combination of sultanas and raisins.
- Topping: another way that you can top the pudding is with brown sugar over the melted butter. I do that in the Butter Pecan Blondies so you can see the idea and textural look in that recipe.
👩🍳 How to Make Croissant Bread and Butter Pudding
To make the croissant bread and butter pudding we start by preparing the croissants. You will need a knife and chopping board to begin.
🍳 Instructions
- Prep the croissants (Photo 1)
- Grease the baking dish (Photo 2)
- Beat the cream cheese (Photo 3)
- Add the cream (Photo 4)
Next use the butter to grease the base and sides of the baking dish. Then pop this back in the fridge. We will use the rest of it later.
Now add the cream cheese to a large mixing bowl and use electric beaters to beat till pale and fluffy. Next add the cream, followed by the whisked eggs, sugar, cinnamon, lemon juice and vanilla.
- Add the eggs (Photo 5)
- Then add the sugar (Photo 6)
- Add the cinnamon (Photo 7)
- Then add the lemon juice (Photo 8)
Consistently mix these ingredients together removing any lumps and scraping down the sides of the bowl as you go. It will look like photo 10 in the image set below.
- Add the vanilla (Photo 9)
- Combine (Photo 10)
- Layer the croissants into the dish (Photo 11)
- Then add the sultanas (Photo 12)
Next add the croissant pieces to the greased baking dish and pour the sultanas over the top. Then use your fingers to push them into the croissants so that they don't all sit on top.
- Pour over the custard (Photo 13)
- Cover and bake for 30 minutes (Photo 14)
- Remove and brush with the melted butter (Photo 15)
- Dust with the cinnamon sugar (Photo 16)
Next pour the custard mixture over the top of the dish like you see in the photos above. Cover the casserole dish with a layer of aluminum foil and then place into the preheated oven (middle shelf) and let cook for 30 minutes.
Once the initial cook time is up, use oven mitts to remove baking dish and place it onto a heatproof surface then take off the foil (discard).
The next step is to add the remaining butter to a heatproof jug and microwave on high for 30-45 seconds to melt. Use a basting brush to brush this butter over the top of the pudding and then sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the top.
Once done place the uncovered baking dish back into the oven (middle shelf) and let the croissant pudding cook for a further 10 to 15 minutes.
It will still have a slight wiggle in the middle when cooked but a skewer inserted in the middle will have mostly moist crumbs, no wet custard. If the custard on a skewer is wet cook the dish for a further 5 minutes. In my oven it is done between the 40-45 minute (total cook time) mark.
Now let the pudding rest for 5 minutes before cutting and portioning.
🍽 Serving Suggestions
The best bit, right! 😉
When it comes to serving your croissant bread pudding you are spoilt for choice. Some options are cream, ice cream, custard, caramel sauce or dusted with icing sugar. You can choose your preference.
I like to use a scoop of vanilla ice cream as you can see in the photos throughout the post. You can also add fresh fruits like raspberries, strawberries or your favorite fresh berries or sliced fruit.
Some other ideas are making a warm vanilla sauce, whiskey sauce or pairing with apricot jam.
👍 How to Guide
How to Store
If you have leftovers (doubt it haha!) then you can either leave these in the baking dish, covered with cling wrap. Or transfer them to an airtight container and place in the fridge.
How to Freeze
I haven't tried freezing the dish once cooked, so I can't say for sure what the results would be. I have however, frozen fresh croissants and then used them at a later date (thawed) for this and other croissant bakes. So that is definitely an option if you are not wanting to make multiple trips to the shops during the week. Stale croissants (2-3 days old) are fine to use as they absorb the custard as well as the tops crisping up over the course of the cook time.
How to Reheat
For refrigerated portions of the pudding, transfer to a bowl and cover with cling wrap. Then reheat on high in the microwave for 1-2 minutes until warmed through.
💡 Tasty Tips
Here are my top tips and tricks that I want to share with you so that you master the recipe from the get go:
- Sultanas: these can burn or blacken during the cook time if they are sitting on top of the croissant layer. For that reason use your fingers to poke them in a little. This way they swell and cook in the custard leaving them moist and delicious rather than dry and overly browned.
- Butter: the butter is a better choice than using olive oil to grease the baking dish for this recipe. So cut a knob from the block, cover it with a little baking paper and then liberally grease the base and sides of the dish with it. Then put this butter back into the fridge. We will use it later to top the pudding before the final cook time.
🤓 Croissant Bread And Butter Pudding FAQ's
Absolutely you can use croissants for bread and butter pudding. They make a great alternative to white bread and bring their own unique flaky texture to the recipe.
Yes. It is recommended to cover the croissant bread pudding with aluminum foil for the 1st 30 minutes of cook time. This allows the custard to cook and avoids the surface of the pudding becoming overly browned too quickly.
Yes, the bread pudding will have a slight wiggle even when it has reached the full cook time. Use oven mitts to remove it from the oven and place it onto a heatproof surface. Then let it rest for 5 minutes which helps the pudding set before slicing and portioning onto plates.
No, it is not essential to let the pudding soak. The custard will still absorb into the croissant pieces regardless. It is an option however, if you want to prepare the dish in advance and then simply put it into the oven in the morning to let it cook.
😍 More Easy Breakfast and Dessert Recipes
If a breakfast of champions calls your name or brunch is the name of your game then I have some more ideas for you to try. These recipes have a variety of cooking methods, times and ingredients.
- Pancake recipes: Raspberry Pancakes, Crispy Pancakes, Lemon Pancakes, Mini Pancakes.
- Fritters: Ham Fritters, Tuna And Corn Fritters, Zucchini And Carrot Fritters, Bacon And Corn Fritters.
- Muffins: Raspberry Oatmeal Muffins, Cinnamon Oatmeal Muffins, Blackberry Oatmeal Muffins.
- Savoury ideas: Cheese And Bacon Bread, Bacon and Egg Slice, Gluten Free Zucchini Slice, Zucchini and Bacon Slice, Zucchini Frittata.
It is time to get our croissant bread pudding on my friend! You can also find all of my breakfast recipes or dessert recipes in the one spot.
Adrianne
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📖 Recipe
Croissant Bread And Butter Pudding
Ingredients
Pudding
- 4 large croissants Note 1
- 1 cup sultanas Note 2
- 40 grams/2 tablespoons butter Note 3
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon sugar Note 4
Custard
- 250 grams/8 oz cream cheese
- 250 ml/1 cup heavy cream
- 3 medium eggs free range, whisked
- ⅓ cup caster sugar
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven: preheat the oven to 180°C / 350-375°F / Gas Mark 4-5.
- Croissants: working one at a time use a sharp knife and cutting board to slice each of the croissants into small (1-2 inch) pieces then set aside.
- Custard: add the cream cheese to a large mixing bowl and use electric beaters to beat. Then add the cream, lightly whisked eggs, caster sugar, cinnamon powder, lemon juice and vanilla. Combine until consistently mixed with minimal lumps.
- Layer: grease the base and sides of a large baking dish with butter. Then transfer the croissant pieces into the dish and spread them out to form a base layer. Next sprinkle the sultanas into the dish and push them for the most part under the croissant pieces.
- Combine: pour the custard over the top of the croissant and sultana layers. Then cover the baking dish with aluminum foil.
- Oven bake: place the covered baking dish into the oven (middle shelf) and let it cook for 30 minutes. Once the 30 minute are up use oven mitts to remove the baking dish and set it on a heatproof surface. Discard the foil. Then use the microwave (high, approx 30 seconds) to melt the remaining butter in a heatproof jug. Once the butter has melted, use a pastry brush to coat the top pieces of croissants. Then sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the top. Return the baking dish to the oven uncovered and cook for a further 10-15 minutes.
- To serve: remove the baking dish and let the pudding rest for 5 minutes. Then slice and portion into bowls. Top with your favorite extras such as ice cream, cream, custard or fresh fruit.
Video
Notes
- Note 1 - Croissants: ok if they are a day or so old. I use 4 large croissants, but equally 8 mini croissants will work well also.
- Note 2 - Sultanas: or raisins or half sultanas and half raisins to the equivalent amount of 1 cup. We do want to poke these into the croissants. If they stick out too much on top they will dry up and blacken. But when they are in the middle of the pudding layers they swell up to become nice and juicy and moist.
- Note 3 - Butter: this is recommended to grease the baking dish with as it meets the flavor profile of the recipe. We don't really want to use olive oil as it is not as good a match for the 'bread and butter' combination. It takes me 30 - 40 seconds to melt this on high in the microwave. I find it better to start with 30 seconds then do more if needed as otherwise it can suddenly 'pop' as it melts and gets all over the inside of the microwave.
- Note 4 - Cinnamon sugar: this is a seperate/different ingredient from the ground cinnamon we add to the custard. You can easily get it in the herbs and spices aisle of the supermarket and it is labelled 'cinnamon sugar'. If however, you don't want to purchase both the ground cinnamon AND the cinnamon sugar. You can simply add 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon and 1 teaspoon of white or caster sugar to a small bowl and mix them together. The results are very nearly the same.
- Note 5 - Serving size/portions: I find this a very filling/satisfying meal. Whilst you can have it for dessert, it is almost better as a stand alone 'breakfast' or 'brunch'. If you have a large meal and then a portion of this after, you are going to feel very full!
Katie D says
Heavens above this sounds unreal. Hubby is going to love it!