Brioche Bread Pudding & Caramel Sauce

Made with rich but sturdy brioche bread, this bread pudding is perfectly sweet, custardy, and delicious. It’s topped with seasonal fresh fruit and homemade caramel sauce, a combination that creates an exceptionally tasty bread pudding.

I never expected to receive a return phone call.

I had been agonizing over how I was going to make the bread pudding, wavering between baking it with fruit or without? Did Tartine really not add any fruit to the bread pudding while it baked? Their cookbook says without, but my memory told me bits of warm peaches had dotted the pudding throughout.

I needed affirmation before proceeding, and so I called Tartine. I left a message explaining I had read the preface to the brioche bread pudding recipe in their cookbook, which notes that they serve their bread pudding with seasonal fruit lightly sautéed in butter and heated in a caramel sauce. Was this accurate? I asked. Or did Tartine sometimes bake the fruit right in with the custard and brioche?

I left my number, hung up the phone, accepting I would likely have to make the decision on my own.

Not so. Later that day, I turned on my phone to find a message from Suzanne, a lovely Tartine employee. She confirmed exactly what the cookbook says: Tartine indeed bakes the bread pudding without any fruit in it.

They do in fact warm a seasonal fruit of choice — peaches, berries, apples, pears — in a caramel sauce, the recipe for which I have included below. Moreover, she noted, when they remove the pans of bread pudding from the oven, they poke holes in it to let steam out and to create space, and then they pour the warm fruit in caramel sauce over top. Brilliant!

Thank you, Suzanne.

PS: No-Knead Brioche Bread

Two Tips for Excellent Bread Pudding Every Time

1. Weigh the bread . It is shocking how much custard bread will soak up, and if you use too much bread, the bread pudding will be, well, too bready! The key to producing a moist, custardy bread pudding is to not crowd the pan with bread. If you weigh it, you ensure you are using the appropriate amount.
2. Use egg yolks only (as opposed to whole eggs). This is not something Tartine does, but something I find makes an especially beautifully textured and tasty custard. Think: crème brulée meets bread pudding.

How to Make Brioche Bread Pudding

First, gather your ingredients:

Transfer them to a sheet pan and toast at 325ºF for about 15 minutes or until lightly golden.

Let cool briefly:

Cut into cubes:

Transfer to a buttered 9×13-inch pan:

Make the custard by whisking together egg yolks, milk, sugar, salt, and vanilla:

Pour this custard over the cubes of bread and let stand for 30 minutes:

Transfer to the oven and bake for 45 minutes.

While the bread pudding rests, sauté your choice of fruit in a little bit of butter:

Add caramel sauce (recipe below):

Pour over the warm bread pudding and serve:

Also delicious with fresh peaches:

Description

Made with rich but sturdy brioche bread, this bread pudding is perfectly sweet, custardy, and delicious. It’s topped with seasonal fresh fruit and homemade caramel sauce, a combination that creates an exceptionally tasty bread pudding.

Adapted from the recipes in Tartine and Bread Toast Crumbs

Two Keys For Success:

• Weighing the bread . If you use roughly 394 grams of bread, you will have a beautifully textured, not-too-bready bread pudding.
• Using egg yolks only. Egg yolks create a custard not unlike crème brulée and make for an especially delicious bread pudding. That said, if you don’t feel like separating the yolks from the whites, it is delicious with whole eggs as well. Tartine’s original recipe calls for whole eggs. I use yolks only in Bread Toast Crumbs.

Notes:

• If you have leftover bread pudding, chill it, slice it, and fry it as you would French toast. Alternatively: simply cut it into squares and warm it in the oven. My children love it with maple syrup — it truly tastes like the best French toast ever.
• This recipe works equally well with croissants, chocolate-filled croissants, challah or panettone.
• Use a good-sized pan when preparing the caramel. When the hot cream is added, the caramel will boil furiously at first, increasing dramatically in volume.

For the bread pudding:

• 6 brioche slices ( 400 g ), cut 1-inch thick, see notes above
• 8 large egg yolks ( 155 – 160 g), see notes above
• 3/4 cup ( 160 g ) sugar + 2 tablespoons ( 25 g ) sugar
• 4 cups ( 996 g ) 2% or whole milk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ( 4 g ) vanilla
• 1 teaspoon ( 6 g ) kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons ( 28 g ) melted butter

For the caramel sauce:

• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla or vanilla bean paste
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 3/4 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter

To finish:

• a tablespoon or two of butter
• fruit of choice, such as 1 apple or 1 peach

1. Preheat the oven to 325ºF. Butter a 9×13-inch baking dish and set aside. Arrange the brioche slices on a separate baking sheet. Place in the oven until lightly toasted, about 10 -15 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
2. Whisk the egg yolks and the 3/4 cup sugar until smooth. Add the milk, vanilla, and salt and whisk until fully incorporated.
3. Tear the toasted bread slices into shards or cut into cubes and place in the prepared pan. Pour the custard evenly over the bread, filling the dish to the top. Let the mixture stand for 30 minutes, so that the bread can absorb the custard.
4. After 30 minutes, brush the top with the 2 tablespoons melted butter and sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar.
5. Bake the pudding for roughly 45 minutes. Let the pudding cool for about 10 minutes.
6. If you’d like to serve it Tartine style, melt a tablespoon or two of butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add your fruit of choice and cook for 3 to 5 minutes or until slightly softened. Add a few tablespoons of caramel sauce (recipe below) and swirl to coat. Spoon this caramel-y fruit sauce over slices of the warm bread pudding.

To make the Caramel Sauce:

1. Pour the cream into a small, heavy saucepan. Split the vanilla bean in half lengthwise and use the tip of a sharp knife to scrape the seeds from the pod halves into the cream. Place over medium-high heat and bring to just under a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat to low to keep the cream warm.
2. In a medium, heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, water, salt and corn syrup. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Then cook, without stirring, until the mixture is amber colored, 5 to 8 minutes. Remove from the heat.
3. The mixture will continue to cook off the heat and become darker, so make sure to have your cream close by. Carefully and slowly add the cream to the sugar syrup. The mixture will boil vigorously at first. Let the mixture simmer down, and then whisk until smooth. Add the lemon juice. Let cool for about 10 minutes.
4. Cut the butter into 1-inch chunks and add them to the caramel one at a time, whisking constantly after each addition. Then whisk the caramel periodically as it continues to cool.

• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 1 hours 4 minutes
• Category: Dessert
• Method: Oven
• Cuisine: American

Made with rich but sturdy brioche bread, this bread pudding is perfectly sweet, custardy, and delicious. It’s topped with seasonal fresh fruit and homemade caramel sauce, a combination that creates an exceptionally tasty bread pudding.

I never expected to receive a return phone call.

I had been agonizing over how I was going to make the bread pudding, wavering between baking it with fruit or without? Did Tartine really not add any fruit to the bread pudding while it baked? Their cookbook says without, but my memory told me bits of warm peaches had dotted the pudding throughout.

I needed affirmation before proceeding, and so I called Tartine. I left a message explaining I had read the preface to the brioche bread pudding recipe in their cookbook, which notes that they serve their bread pudding with seasonal fruit lightly sautéed in butter and heated in a caramel sauce. Was this accurate? I asked. Or did Tartine sometimes bake the fruit right in with the custard and brioche?

I left my number, hung up the phone, accepting I would likely have to make the decision on my own.

Not so. Later that day, I turned on my phone to find a message from Suzanne, a lovely Tartine employee. She confirmed exactly what the cookbook says: Tartine indeed bakes the bread pudding without any fruit in it.

They do in fact warm a seasonal fruit of choice — peaches, berries, apples, pears — in a caramel sauce, the recipe for which I have included below. Moreover, she noted, when they remove the pans of bread pudding from the oven, they poke holes in it to let steam out and to create space, and then they pour the warm fruit in caramel sauce over top. Brilliant!

Thank you, Suzanne.

PS: No-Knead Brioche Bread

Two Tips for Excellent Bread Pudding Every Time

1. Weigh the bread . It is shocking how much custard bread will soak up, and if you use too much bread, the bread pudding will be, well, too bready! The key to producing a moist, custardy bread pudding is to not crowd the pan with bread. If you weigh it, you ensure you are using the appropriate amount.
2. Use egg yolks only (as opposed to whole eggs). This is not something Tartine does, but something I find makes an especially beautifully textured and tasty custard. Think: crème brulée meets bread pudding.

How to Make Brioche Bread Pudding

First, gather your ingredients:

Transfer them to a sheet pan and toast at 325ºF for about 15 minutes or until lightly golden.

Let cool briefly:

Cut into cubes:

Transfer to a buttered 9×13-inch pan:

Make the custard by whisking together egg yolks, milk, sugar, salt, and vanilla:

Pour this custard over the cubes of bread and let stand for 30 minutes:

Transfer to the oven and bake for 45 minutes.

While the bread pudding rests, sauté your choice of fruit in a little bit of butter:

Add caramel sauce (recipe below):

Pour over the warm bread pudding and serve:

Also delicious with fresh peaches:

Description

Made with rich but sturdy brioche bread, this bread pudding is perfectly sweet, custardy, and delicious. It’s topped with seasonal fresh fruit and homemade caramel sauce, a combination that creates an exceptionally tasty bread pudding.

Adapted from the recipes in Tartine and Bread Toast Crumbs

Two Keys For Success:

• Weighing the bread . If you use roughly 394 grams of bread, you will have a beautifully textured, not-too-bready bread pudding.
• Using egg yolks only. Egg yolks create a custard not unlike crème brulée and make for an especially delicious bread pudding. That said, if you don’t feel like separating the yolks from the whites, it is delicious with whole eggs as well. Tartine’s original recipe calls for whole eggs. I use yolks only in Bread Toast Crumbs.

Notes:

• If you have leftover bread pudding, chill it, slice it, and fry it as you would French toast. Alternatively: simply cut it into squares and warm it in the oven. My children love it with maple syrup — it truly tastes like the best French toast ever.
• This recipe works equally well with croissants, chocolate-filled croissants, challah or panettone.
• Use a good-sized pan when preparing the caramel. When the hot cream is added, the caramel will boil furiously at first, increasing dramatically in volume.

For the bread pudding:

• 6 brioche slices ( 400 g ), cut 1-inch thick, see notes above
• 8 large egg yolks ( 155 – 160 g), see notes above
• 3/4 cup ( 160 g ) sugar + 2 tablespoons ( 25 g ) sugar
• 4 cups ( 996 g ) 2% or whole milk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ( 4 g ) vanilla
• 1 teaspoon ( 6 g ) kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons ( 28 g ) melted butter

For the caramel sauce:

• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla or vanilla bean paste
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 3/4 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter

To finish:

• a tablespoon or two of butter
• fruit of choice, such as 1 apple or 1 peach

1. Preheat the oven to 325ºF. Butter a 9×13-inch baking dish and set aside. Arrange the brioche slices on a separate baking sheet. Place in the oven until lightly toasted, about 10 -15 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
2. Whisk the egg yolks and the 3/4 cup sugar until smooth. Add the milk, vanilla, and salt and whisk until fully incorporated.
3. Tear the toasted bread slices into shards or cut into cubes and place in the prepared pan. Pour the custard evenly over the bread, filling the dish to the top. Let the mixture stand for 30 minutes, so that the bread can absorb the custard.
4. After 30 minutes, brush the top with the 2 tablespoons melted butter and sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar.
5. Bake the pudding for roughly 45 minutes. Let the pudding cool for about 10 minutes.
6. If you’d like to serve it Tartine style, melt a tablespoon or two of butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add your fruit of choice and cook for 3 to 5 minutes or until slightly softened. Add a few tablespoons of caramel sauce (recipe below) and swirl to coat. Spoon this caramel-y fruit sauce over slices of the warm bread pudding.

To make the Caramel Sauce:

1. Pour the cream into a small, heavy saucepan. Split the vanilla bean in half lengthwise and use the tip of a sharp knife to scrape the seeds from the pod halves into the cream. Place over medium-high heat and bring to just under a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat to low to keep the cream warm.
2. In a medium, heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, water, salt and corn syrup. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Then cook, without stirring, until the mixture is amber colored, 5 to 8 minutes. Remove from the heat.
3. The mixture will continue to cook off the heat and become darker, so make sure to have your cream close by. Carefully and slowly add the cream to the sugar syrup. The mixture will boil vigorously at first. Let the mixture simmer down, and then whisk until smooth. Add the lemon juice. Let cool for about 10 minutes.
4. Cut the butter into 1-inch chunks and add them to the caramel one at a time, whisking constantly after each addition. Then whisk the caramel periodically as it continues to cool.

• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 1 hours 4 minutes
• Category: Dessert
• Method: Oven
• Cuisine: American

Description

Made with rich but sturdy brioche bread, this bread pudding is perfectly sweet, custardy, and delicious. It’s topped with seasonal fresh fruit and homemade caramel sauce, a combination that creates an exceptionally tasty bread pudding.

Adapted from the recipes in Tartine and Bread Toast Crumbs

Two Keys For Success:

• Weighing the bread . If you use roughly 394 grams of bread, you will have a beautifully textured, not-too-bready bread pudding.
• Using egg yolks only. Egg yolks create a custard not unlike crème brulée and make for an especially delicious bread pudding. That said, if you don’t feel like separating the yolks from the whites, it is delicious with whole eggs as well. Tartine’s original recipe calls for whole eggs. I use yolks only in Bread Toast Crumbs.

Notes:

• If you have leftover bread pudding, chill it, slice it, and fry it as you would French toast. Alternatively: simply cut it into squares and warm it in the oven. My children love it with maple syrup — it truly tastes like the best French toast ever.
• This recipe works equally well with croissants, chocolate-filled croissants, challah or panettone.
• Use a good-sized pan when preparing the caramel. When the hot cream is added, the caramel will boil furiously at first, increasing dramatically in volume.

For the bread pudding:

• 6 brioche slices ( 400 g ), cut 1-inch thick, see notes above
• 8 large egg yolks ( 155 - 160 g), see notes above
• 3/4 cup ( 160 g ) sugar + 2 tablespoons ( 25 g ) sugar
• 4 cups ( 996 g ) 2% or whole milk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ( 4 g ) vanilla
• 1 teaspoon ( 6 g ) kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons ( 28 g ) melted butter

For the caramel sauce:

• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla or vanilla bean paste
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 3/4 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter

To finish:

• a tablespoon or two of butter
• fruit of choice, such as 1 apple or 1 peach

1. Preheat the oven to 325ºF. Butter a 9×13-inch baking dish and set aside. Arrange the brioche slices on a separate baking sheet. Place in the oven until lightly toasted, about 10 -15 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
2. Whisk the egg yolks and the 3/4 cup sugar until smooth. Add the milk, vanilla, and salt and whisk until fully incorporated.
3. Tear the toasted bread slices into shards or cut into cubes and place in the prepared pan. Pour the custard evenly over the bread, filling the dish to the top. Let the mixture stand for 30 minutes, so that the bread can absorb the custard.
4. After 30 minutes, brush the top with the 2 tablespoons melted butter and sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar.
5. Bake the pudding for roughly 45 minutes. Let the pudding cool for about 10 minutes.
6. If you’d like to serve it Tartine style, melt a tablespoon or two of butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add your fruit of choice and cook for 3 to 5 minutes or until slightly softened. Add a few tablespoons of caramel sauce (recipe below) and swirl to coat. Spoon this caramel-y fruit sauce over slices of the warm bread pudding.

To make the Caramel Sauce:

1. Pour the cream into a small, heavy saucepan. Split the vanilla bean in half lengthwise and use the tip of a sharp knife to scrape the seeds from the pod halves into the cream. Place over medium-high heat and bring to just under a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat to low to keep the cream warm.
2. In a medium, heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, water, salt and corn syrup. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Then cook, without stirring, until the mixture is amber colored, 5 to 8 minutes. Remove from the heat.
3. The mixture will continue to cook off the heat and become darker, so make sure to have your cream close by. Carefully and slowly add the cream to the sugar syrup. The mixture will boil vigorously at first. Let the mixture simmer down, and then whisk until smooth. Add the lemon juice. Let cool for about 10 minutes.
4. Cut the butter into 1-inch chunks and add them to the caramel one at a time, whisking constantly after each addition. Then whisk the caramel periodically as it continues to cool.

• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 1 hours 4 minutes
• Category: Dessert
• Method: Oven
• Cuisine: American

Find it online : https://alexandracooks.com/2009/10/13/the-best-brioche-bread-pudding-so-much-love-for-tartine/

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<img loading=“lazy” src=“https://alexandracooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/polenta2.jpg" onerror=“this.onerror=null;this.src=‘https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhe7F7TRXHtjiKvHb5vS7DmnxvpHiDyoYyYvm1nHB3Qp2_w3BnM6A2eq4v7FYxCC9bfZt3a9vIMtAYEKUiaDQbHMg-ViyGmRIj39MLp0bGFfgfYw1Dc9q_H-T0wiTm3l0Uq42dETrN9eC8aGJ9_IORZsxST1AcLR7np1koOfcc7tnHa4S8Mwz_xD9d0=s16000';" alt=“This polenta without fear is delicious. Minimal stirring is required and the addition of a little water towards the end of the cooking process is all the doctoring necessary to produce “creamy, soft, mouth-filling polenta,” as described on Bitten. // alexandracooks.com - 38”>

<img loading=“lazy” src=“https://alexandracooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/polenta2.jpg" onerror=“this.onerror=null;this.src=‘https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhe7F7TRXHtjiKvHb5vS7DmnxvpHiDyoYyYvm1nHB3Qp2_w3BnM6A2eq4v7FYxCC9bfZt3a9vIMtAYEKUiaDQbHMg-ViyGmRIj39MLp0bGFfgfYw1Dc9q_H-T0wiTm3l0Uq42dETrN9eC8aGJ9_IORZsxST1AcLR7np1koOfcc7tnHa4S8Mwz_xD9d0=s16000';" alt=“This polenta without fear is delicious. Minimal stirring is required and the addition of a little water towards the end of the cooking process is all the doctoring necessary to produce “creamy, soft, mouth-filling polenta,” as described on Bitten. // alexandracooks.com - 39”>

I never thought the day would come when I would consider sautéed greens over polenta topped with a fried egg as the idea of the most delicious dinner. Well, the day is here ( has been for a little while now ), and I am so glad it is, because nothing could be simpler to prepare.

I could think of no better way to commemorate this moment than by making one of my favorite Bittman recipes: Polenta without Fear , which recently appeared in the featured recipe section of Bitten. I first made this dish shortly after returning from a dinner party where, upon arrival, I had been charged with polenta-making duties. I went to work, but what I had hoped to produce to complement the host’s delectable braised short ribs left me embarrassed. (I must note that it didn’t help that the host didn’t own a whisk, but I can’t turn all the blame elsewhere.) My polenta was lumpy, dry and unflavorful. Why?!

Of course my mother had the answer. Or at least a solution. Have you made Bittman’s polenta recipe, she asked? No, I hadn’t. But I would soon, and I did. And it’s delicious. The recipe uses a ratio of 1 cup stone ground cornmeal to 3 cups of liquid (1 cup whole milk + 2 cups water) with the addition of 1/4 cup grated Parmigiano and 2 to 4 tablespoons of butter at the end. Minimal stirring is required and the addition of a little water towards the end of the cooking process is all the doctoring necessary to produce “creamy, soft, mouth-filling polenta,” as described on Bitten.

So, as the title suggests, this polenta, topped with some sautéed greens — chard, kale, spinach — and a fried egg makes a great dinner-for-one. Would I love some braised short ribs on my polenta? Of course, but there are better opportunities for that. Need another dinner-for-one idea? Try these Zuni Cafe Eggs Fried in Bread Crumbs … so yummy!

The ingredients:

Sautéed onions and Swiss chard from my Morning Song Farm CSA :

<img loading=“lazy” src=“https://alexandracooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/polenta1.jpg" onerror=“this.onerror=null;this.src=‘https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhe7F7TRXHtjiKvHb5vS7DmnxvpHiDyoYyYvm1nHB3Qp2_w3BnM6A2eq4v7FYxCC9bfZt3a9vIMtAYEKUiaDQbHMg-ViyGmRIj39MLp0bGFfgfYw1Dc9q_H-T0wiTm3l0Uq42dETrN9eC8aGJ9_IORZsxST1AcLR7np1koOfcc7tnHa4S8Mwz_xD9d0=s16000';" alt=“This polenta without fear is delicious. Minimal stirring is required and the addition of a little water towards the end of the cooking process is all the doctoring necessary to produce “creamy, soft, mouth-filling polenta,” as described on Bitten. // alexandracooks.com - 44”>

<img loading=“lazy” src=“https://alexandracooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/polenta1.jpg" onerror=“this.onerror=null;this.src=‘https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhe7F7TRXHtjiKvHb5vS7DmnxvpHiDyoYyYvm1nHB3Qp2_w3BnM6A2eq4v7FYxCC9bfZt3a9vIMtAYEKUiaDQbHMg-ViyGmRIj39MLp0bGFfgfYw1Dc9q_H-T0wiTm3l0Uq42dETrN9eC8aGJ9_IORZsxST1AcLR7np1koOfcc7tnHa4S8Mwz_xD9d0=s16000';" alt=“This polenta without fear is delicious. Minimal stirring is required and the addition of a little water towards the end of the cooking process is all the doctoring necessary to produce “creamy, soft, mouth-filling polenta,” as described on Bitten. // alexandracooks.com - 45”>

Description

• 1 cup milk (preferably whole milk)
• Salt
• 1 cup coarse cornmeal, preferably stone-ground
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 to 4 tablespoons butter or extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup or more freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, to taste, optional

1. Bring milk to a boil with 2 cups water in a medium saucepan and add a large pinch of salt. Adjust heat so liquid simmers. Add cornmeal in a steady stream, whisking as you do to prevent lumps. When it has all been added, let mixture return to a boil, then turn heat to low. Polenta should be just barely simmering.
2. Cook, stirring occasionally and being sure to scrape sides and bottom of pan , for 15 to 20 minutes, until mixture is creamy and cornmeal tastes cooked. If mixture becomes too thick, whisk in some water, about 1/2 cup at a time. (I added about 2/3 cup water in 1/3 cup increments.)
3. Taste and season polenta as necessary with salt and pepper. Take pan off stove , stir in the butter or oil and the cheese if you are using it, and serve, passing more cheese at the table if you like.

Serve with sautéed greens and a fried egg for a simple simple dinner.

• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 25 minutes