Blueberry Bread Pudding
Rich, sweet, and generously studded with plump little berries, this blueberry bread pudding will knock your socks off. And it's also incredibly easy to prepare. All you have to do is leisurely soak some brioche cubes in a simple custard, stir in the berries, and let your oven do the rest. The tender brioche, now ornamented with fruit and permeated with the heady scent of vanilla and cinnamon, then magically rises up like some sort of deliciously bejeweled bread pudding crown. And underneath that golden top, the texture is pillowy as a cloud. If you really wanted to pull out all the stops here, you could anoint each helping with a little crème anglaise. But there's really no need...a scoop of this blueberry bread pudding is perfectly exquisite all on its own.
Servings 8 servings
Equipment
- 13x9 inch baking dish (choose a deep one)
Ingredients
- 1 loaf, about 16 ounces, brioche (must be stale)
- 4 cups whole milk
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen (preferably wild)
- 3 tablespoons salted butter, divided
Instructions
- Cut the brioche loaf into rough cubes.
- In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Then add the milk and vanilla. Stir the cinnamon and salt into the sugar, and then add this to the bowl as well. Whisk everything together until the sugar has dissolved and the custard mixture is well combined.
- Add the brioche cubes. Then gently stir them into the custard mixture until all of the bread has been coated. Set aside and allow the brioche to soak up the custard mixture for at least 15 minutes.
- In the meantime, heat the oven to 350℉ and use one tablespoon of the butter to thoroughly grease the baking dish.
- After the brioche cubes have had their soaking time, add the blueberries. Then give the whole mixture another gentle stir to evenly distribute the berries.
- Transfer to the prepared baking dish. Then dot the remaining two tablespoons of butter over the top, breaking it up into small bits.
- Cover the baking dish lightly with foil, allowing room for the pudding to expand.
- Bake for one hour. Then remove the foil and continue to bake for about 15 more minutes or until the center is fully set and the top is golden brown.
- Allow to cool briefly. (The pudding will deflate quite a bit after being removed from the oven, but don't panic...this is normal!) Serve warm.