This might be a VERY bold claim to make but we're not joking here when we say that this Nutella and toffee bread pudding might just be the best dessert we’ve ever made. With a layer of creamy and rich Nutella sprinkled with crunchy toffee, encapsulated between two luscious cushions of bread pudding, this desserts is seriously awe-worthy.
At this point you might be saying "really, bread pudding is the best dessert you've ever made?" We get it. Bread pudding sometimes gets a bad rep for being mushy and dry and the type of dessert our grandmas might like but trust us when we say that it's so good. It's just so buttery, crunchy and sweet. Plus, it's actually really easy to make and great for a crowd.
Components of a Great Bread Pudding
Bread pudding, similar to French Toast, started as a means of “reviving” leftover stale bread. The name (pudding) was derived from the name used for the large bowl called a pudding basin, which was used to store and then bake the bread after cream/milk, eggs, and spices were added. Every bread pudding is composed of three base components. The bread, the batter, and the filling.
The Bread: The bread, which doesn't always have to be “bread” (I’ve made it with donuts before), is the foundation for the pudding and is what gives it the nice body and absorbent texture. While you can certainly use many different types of bread for this, the key is to make sure the bread is nice and dry and that it doesn't have any overwhelming flavors. An example of a bread to avoid is rye bread with caraway seeds. While caraway-rye bread is one of my favorite breads on it’s own and as sandwich bread, for bread pudding, where you are adding sweeteners, the caraway and rye tend to clash with those flavors. The same can be said with overly-herbaceous breads such as focaccia with rosemary and garlic. As a rule of thumb, if you wouldn’t normally enjoy the ingredients in the bread in your desserts, just use another bread. If you want to use a nice sourdough or French bread with a thicker crust just make sure you allow the bread an extra 10 minutes to hydrate and soak up the batter before baking.
The Batter: The batter, which is essentially a custard base, is a mixture of cream and sugar that is gently thickened by the protein in eggs as it cooks to form a nice pudding consistency. As a rule of thumb, if your custard base tastes good before you add the bread, chances are, you are going to have a good final product. The custard is the main binding and flavoring component for this dessert. If you are choosing to use a bread that is not as moist or rich as brioche, you may need to use a little more batter than what this recipe calls for. Try adding another 2 eggs and another ½ cup of heavy cream. Trust me, you always want to lean towards using more custard base than not enough. If you use too little, you will have dry spots where the bread didn’t fully absorb the custard. If you use “too much,” you will still be fine because the eggs will still coagulate and your pudding will still turn out. Just be sure to stick with a similar egg-to-cream ratio when adding additional batter.
The Filling: The filling is the fun part. Here you can use anything from chocolate, to fruit, to nuts. While mixing the filling in with the bread and batter is typically the way it is done, for this recipe I like to make a layer of toffee and Nutella in the center so that you have the velvety texture of the bread pudding on the outer sides but when you bite into the center you are still hit with that nice crunch and richness of the filling.
Breaking Down the Process of Making Bread Pudding:
Making bread pudding is actually very simple. When you look past all the fancy bread-types and ingredients used as fillings, the process is as straightforward as can be. Here are the simplified steps below to highlight just how easy it is.
Cut the bread
Heat the cream
Temper the eggs into the cream
Soak the bread with the batter
Bake
Sometimes recipes can be intimidating but when you break it down and really look at what is going on you will quickly realize there is nothing complex with this technique/recipe.
Ingredients for Nutella and Toffee Bread Pudding
Another great thing about this recipe is that it actually doesn't require many ingredients and most, you most likely already have in your fridge or pantry. Here's what you need:
Bread: I like to use a rich and slightly sweetened bread such as a brioche, but you could use a traditional white bread, or even sourdough. Just make sure that if you are using a different type of bread that you adjust the batter's flavor and amount as necessary.
Heavy Cream: While you could use half-and-half here, or even whole milk (if you bump up the egg ratio and gently heat the batter), your best bet is to just use heavy cream.
Eggs: The eggs are present to add protein and bind the cream/sugar mixture, thickening it and giving it that custard texture.
Brown Sugar: While granulated sugar works perfectly fine, brown sugar brings that deep molasses flavor to the party, which helps to add depth to the sweetness.
Filling: The Nutella and toffee combo I like to use here is straight-up heavenly. Seriously, it’s that good! But if you chose to go a different route, the most adequate replacement would be peanut butter and chocolate chips, but you could also use nuts and caramel or fruit. If you would prefer to use no filling, just go ahead and leave it out.
Tips for Making Bread Pudding
Tempering the eggs: All this means is that you slowly want to warm the egg yolks before integrating them fully into the cream mixture. You do this by first adding a little bit of the hot cream mixture to the egg yolks, while whisking, and then adding that back into the rest of the cream mixture. Tempering will prevent the eggs from curdling and will allow us to keep the creaminess.
Taste the cream mixture before heating it: Don’t be afraid to stick a spoon in there and sample it. The flavor of the cream will be a pretty good depiction of what the bread pudding will taste like, (minus the Nutella and toffee) so if you want more salt or sweetness, add them to your discretion.
Lean towards using more custard base than not enough: If you use too little, you will have dry spots where the bread didn’t fully absorb the custard. If you use “too much,” you will still be fine because the eggs will still coagulate and your pudding will still turn out. Just be sure to stick with a similar egg-to-cream ratio when adding additional batter.
We seriously LOVE this bread pudding and are extremely excited for you all to make it as well. Cheers and eat well!
Nutella and Toffee Bread Pudding
With a layer of creamy and rich Nutella sprinkled with crunchy toffee, encapsulated between two luscious cushions of bread pudding, this treat will have you wishing you could it all in one sitting!
1 teaspoon of vanilla bean paste (or 1 T of vanilla extract)
1 teaspoon of salt
½ cup of crushed toffee pieces
13 ounces of Nutella
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 275 F and spray or butter your casserole dish.
Dice your brioche bread into cubes (no larger than 1-inch by 1-inch) and put them into a large, heat-proof bowl.
Add the heavy cream, the brown sugar, the vanilla bean paste and the salt to a pot and stir to dissolve the sugar. Heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the mixture starts to simmer slightly. Turn off the heat.
While the cream mixture is coming to a simmer, crack your eggs into a large heat-proof bowl and whisk them thoroughly.
Once the cream mixture has simmered and the heat has been turned off, whisk in the hot cream mixture into the whisked eggs, little by little, tempering the egg, until it becomes one smooth mixture.
Immediately pour the cream and egg mixture over your cut bread from earlier and gently mix with a rubber spatula to evenly distribute the custard amongst the diced bread. Allow the bread to soak for 10 minutes, stirring every few minutes to ensure all the pieces of bread absorb the custard. The mixture should look slightly soupy at this point.
Once all of the bread has absorbed the custard base and you can no longer see any dry pieces of bread, pour half of the bread into your greased casserole dish from earlier and gently tap on the counter to ensure there are no pockets of air.
After you have about half of the casserole dish filled, spread the Nutella across the top of the bread pudding as though you were spreading it on toast.
Once all of the Nutella is spread, sprinkle the toffee pieces directly on top of it.
Once the toffee has been sprinkled on, layer the remaining bread pudding onto the layer of the Nutella and toffee so that that they are sandwiched between two layers of bread pudding.
Gently tap the casserole dish down on the counter to remove any air pockets and then transfer to the oven and bake at 275 F for 50-60 minutes or until the bread pudding has inflated slightly in the center and it no longer giggles.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before serving.
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