Rich Bread Pudding Recipe

So you're tired of boring old cookies or cake or ice cream, but you still want a great dessert to finish off the meal you're planning? Well it's good you're here, because a great dessert is what you get with this recipe from Catherine Brookes of Blue Sky Eating. And a unique one, too. With spices like nutmeg, ginger, and cinnamon, and a bounty of raisins, this bread pudding may look rather like brownies at a glance, but there's a lot more going on here in terms of taste and texture. "I love the moist, squidgy texture of bread pudding," Brookes says. "And how much fruit is packed in."

You'll love those aspects, too, and you'll also appreciate how the prep work is really quite manageable, yet the results will impress anyone lucky enough to try a square or two. That said, this recipe takes a while, what with some time spent resting and a long bake, so let's get to it!

To make this bread pudding, you'll need an entire loaf of sliced whole wheat bread. You'll also need raisins, golden raisins, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg, milk, cream, an egg, brown sugar, and melted butter.

"Swapping a portion of the milk for more cream in this recipe makes the texture of the bread pudding super moist and adds a little richness, too," Brookes notes.

Start by roughly tearing up the bread and placing the pieces into a large mixing bowl. Then add the raisins, golden raisins, ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg, and mix all of these well with your hands.

Pour the milk and cream in with the dry ingredients, then use your hands to squash the mixture together, mixing until the bread is broken down and fully saturated. Next, add the egg and sugar, and stir well to combine, then leave the mixture to soak for 15 minutes.

"You just want to make sure the bread is really soggy and completely broken down so there are no visible bread pieces, so take some time mixing it well," Brookes says.

As the mixture rests, grease and line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 350 F.

Once the bread mixture has soaked for 15 minutes, stir in the melted butter, then transfer the mixture to your prepared baking pan and bake it for 90 minutes. "If it starts to become a little too brown on top, simply cover it with foil," says Brookes.

When the time is up, remove the pan from the oven and leave the bread pudding in the pan for about 10 minutes before transferring it to a wire rack to cool. Allow it to cool completely before slicing up your pieces, then dig in!

If you're looking for ways to enjoy this treat, Brookes suggests pairing it "With ice cream or cream. You could even drizzle over a little melted chocolate." And you can store it in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.