Apple Cinnamon Croissant Bread Pudding

This croissant bread pudding is tender and custardy with chunks of cinnamon apple to give it a fall vibe. It is served with a sweet and luxurious maple brown butter glaze. If you like custardy bread pudding, this one’s for you!

This greeting comes a bit later than I had planned, but happy fall!! I have been experiencing technical difficulties and have not had a chance to get a recipe out to you. This blog just got migrated to WordPress, and with that came many issues that require fixing. Among them are formatting issues. So, my baby here will need quite a bit of work before she looks good. Please bear with me during this process, as it will require some time to resolve.

In the meantime, I will try to share a few yummy recipes with you. Apple season is drawing to an end, making room for all things pumpkin. I’m still in an apple state of mind. This apple croissant pudding is exactly what I crave on a cool autumn day. And it’s a perfect way to use apples that no one eats. This is one great recipe to add to your fall baking.

The croissants are tender, custardy, and eggy. This dish is wonderful for breakfast, brunch, or dessert. With the warm flavor of cinnamon, the nuttiness of the brown butter, and the caramelly notes of maple syrup, this bread pudding is both decadent and comforting.

Although you don’t have to, I serve this pudding with a maple brown butter glaze. I love this glaze so much that I use variations of it on everything. It’s here in my pumpkin flan cake, my apple walnut buns, and on my gingerbread donuts. Try them, and you’ll see why!!

Recipe Highlights:

• Peel and slice apples into thin bite-size chunks. 
• Cook on medium heat with sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt, and water until tender.

Break day-old croissants into chunks. Bake at 350° F for 8 to 10 minutes.

• For the custard: Add half and half to a large mixing bowl. Add sugar. Whisk to combine. Add eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and vanilla. Whisk well to incorporate.
• Remove and reserve 1/4 cup of custard mixture to make the glaze later.

• Add and submerge baked croissants. Soak for 15 minutes.
• Add cooked apples.

• Pour into a baking dish.
• Cover with foil. Bake at 350° F for 30 minutes covered, then 40 minutes uncovered.

• Cook butter on medium heat until the milk deposit turns golden brown. Remove from heat.
• Whisk in the maple syrup. Add the reserved custard sauce. Return to heat. Whisk for 1 minute.
• Whisk in powdered sugar and a pinch of salt.
• Serve over pudding.
• See the recipe card below for detailed instructions.

Serving Suggestions:

• This croissant bread pudding can be served hot or cold. I have it both ways, and they are both delicious!
• Add a whipped cream or vanilla ice cream for extra lusciousness and decadence.

Can this bread pudding be made ahead of time?

Yes, it can. Prep the night before and pop into the oven the morning of. You might need to add 5 or so minutes of extra cooking time to offset the chilled start.

How long does it keep?

The pudding and sauce keep well for 4-5 days refrigerated. Freeze in an airtight container for up to 2 months.

Helpful tips:

1. The baking dish I use is 11x8x2.5 inches. Do not use a smaller size because the pudding might spill over (it puffs up while baking). If using a 9×13-inch pan, decrease the baking time by about 10 minutes. The larger size pan has a larger surface area, which makes the pudding depth shallow. As a result, it cooks more quickly.
2. Avoid using soft apples like McIntosh as they become overcooked and mushy easily. You want the apple chunks to hold their shape through the cooking process.

  If you try this recipe, I would love to hear from you! Leave a message in the comment section.  

SAVE FOR LATER

Recommended supplies:

These are products I use, or on my wishlist, or are highly rated. (Amazon affiliate links)

• 11x8x2.5 ceramic baking dish—This is similar in size to the baking dish I use.
• 11-inch balloon whisk—I use handheld whisks all the time. This one has a 4.8 out of 5-star rating.
• 2-quart stainless steel saucepan with lid—Perfect for cooking the apples in. This one has a 4.8 out of 5 star rating

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Apple Cinnamon Croissant Bread Pudding

Author: Thao | In Good Flavor Cooking Method:Mixing, Baking Cuisine:American Courses:Dessert, Breakfast

Difficulty:BeginnerPrep time: 10 minutesCook time:1 hour 20 minutesRest time: 15 minutesTotal time:1 hour 45 minutesServings:8 servings

Description

This croissant bread pudding is tender and custardy with chunks of cinnamon apple to give it a fall vibe. It is served with a sweet and luxurious maple brown butter glaze. If you like custardy bread pudding, this one’s for you!

Ingredients

• 8 ounces day-old croissants
• 7 cups half and half (see notes below)
• 3/4 cups granulated sugar
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the cinnamon apple:

• 4 firm apples (I like Fuji, Gala, honey crisp, or Braeburn)
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/16 teaspoon salt
• 2-3 tablespoon water

For the Maple Brown Butter Glaze:

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup reserved custard
• pinch of salt

Suggested supplies (affiliate links):

• Rectangular baking pans
• Apple slicer, corer & divider
• Heavy bottom saucepan

Instructions

For the cinnamon apple:

1. Peel and slice apples into wedges. Cut out and discard the core. Cut into 1/4-inch thick chunks. Place chunks into a medium saucepan on medium heat. 
2. Add sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt and 2 tablespoons water. Cook covered, stirring occasionally, for 10-12 minutes or until apples are tender. Add another tablespoon of water if apples begin to stick to the pan while cooking. Set aside.

For the croissant bread pudding:

3. Preheat oven to 300° F.
4. Break croissant into chunks. Place in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until firm, turning croissant over once. Remove from oven. Set aside.
5. Increase oven to 350° F.

For the custard:

6. Add half and half to a large mixing bowl. Add sugar. Whisk to combine. Add eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and vanilla. Whisk well to incorporate.
7. Remove and reserve 1/4 cup of the custard mixture to make the glaze later.
8. Add and submerge baked croissants to the remaining custard mixture. Soak for 15 minutes. Add cooked apples.
9. Place in a greased 8x11x2.5 inch baking pan. Cover with foil. Bake for 30 minutes covered. Remove foil and bake for an additional 40 minutes.
10. Done when the croissants are fluffy, with golden brown edges, and slightly pulled away from the sides of the pan. The custard sauce might not look completely set but will firm up as it cools.

For the maple brown butter glaze:

11. Brown butter in a small saucepan on medium heat. Butter will pop and become foamy. When the milk solids turn golden brown at the bottom of the pan (about 3 to 4 minutes), remove the pan from heat.
12. Whisk in maple syrup.
13. Whisk in reserved custard. Return pan to heat. Continue whisking for one minute.
14. Whisk in powdered sugar, then a pinch of salt. Remove from heat. Allow to cool to thicken slightly.
15. Serve over pudding. Pudding can be served hot or cold.

Notes

• If using a larger 9×13-inch baking pan, adjust the baking time slightly. The bread pudding will be more shallow and will require slightly less baking time. Check for doneness about 10 minutes early.
  If using fresh croissants, pre-bake the croissants a few minutes longer to draw out more moisture.
  If you don’t want to use all half and half, you can substitute part or all of it with whole milk. Half and half make the custard just a bit more luxurious.
  The bread pudding will deflate slightly as it cools. That’s perfectly fine. It’s going to taste great!

Keywords:baking, bread, pudding, custard, bread pudding, croissant, apple cinnamon

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