Easy Make-Ahead Cinnamon Bread Pudding

Try this really easy cinnamon bread pudding recipe with rum custard sauce today! It's the perfect make-ahead dessert for a crowd and I guarantee you that this irresistible dessert will make its appearance repeatedly on the dinner table!

I love to experiment and make exciting new desserts for get-togethers. The glee on the faces of my family and friends when they sink their teeth into Fudgy Chocolate Pudding and Crispy Jalebis is absolutely priceless and totally worth all the effort I put in!

Let's talk about bread pudding - something that I was not the biggest fan of initially. It can be too eggy and mushy for my liking. My tryst with cinnamon bread pudding started when one fine day Denver's grandma decided to send some over for us. I took ONE BITE and I knew I'd been eating the wrong kinda bread pudding all my life! This is THE recipe for bread pudding that's not eggy!

This cinnamon raisin bread pudding is all about those sweetened slices of bread soaked in rum custard sauce. The cinnamon and nutmeg add fantastic flavours to the bread, and the hit of rum really takes this dessert up a few notches! I've included tips on how to keep the bread slices from turning into mush, and how to make bread pudding so that your guests will wipe the platter clean every time. So go ahead and get baking!

Simple Pudding Ingredients - Nothing fancy!

For this easy bread pudding, I've used leftover slices of white bread. I like to cut them diagonally so it looks good on the platter. I've used milk and eggs for the base and added vanilla extract and brown sugar for sweetness. Nutmeg powder and cinnamon powder add those warm, nutty, woody flavours, which work as contrasting flavour profiles against the sweetness of the dish. I like to garnish this pudding with chopped almonds, walnuts and hazelnuts - lots of crunch and texture!

How To Make Bread Pudding

I've broken down the steps of making bread pudding so it's easy for you to follow.

• Soak the bread slices in the egg and milk mixture, garnish with nuts and bake the pudding
• Make the rum custard sauce separately in a pan
• Refrigerate the custard after it cools down
• Serve chilled cinnamon raisin bread pudding with rum custard sauce!

Top Tips to Make The Best Cinnamon Bread Pudding

• When making bread pudding, the bread slices can get mushy really quickly and this isn't the best way to present it. The trick is to not soak the bread slices for too long in the milk and egg mixture. Just a minute or two will do. This way, the slices will be individually seen too.
• Make sure you brush the baking dish with melted butter so it doesn't stick to the bottom.
• Make sure both the pudding and the rum custard sauce cool down completely before refrigerating them
• When making the rum custard sauce, add the milk in a slow and steady stream while whisking vigorously. Remember, we just want the egg mixture to warm up, and not end up with scrambled eggs!
• Add the rum in the custard sauce right at the end so that the alcohol doesn't evaporate

Serve it with Rum Custard Sauce

The ingredients for this rum custard sauce are things that you'll already have in your pantry. The custard base is made with milk, an egg, some sugar, salt and vanilla extract for seasoning. The recipe calls for a hit of dark rum which has notes of spices and caramel all rolled into one. You can substitute it with some whiskey or bourbon.

Serve cold cinnamon bread pudding with chilled rum custard sauce drizzled on top! This dessert will stay fresh for a good 3 days if you want to make it ahead, but I'm sure it'll be demolished sooner than that 🙂

Guys, I’d love to see pictures of your bread puddings on Instagram! So get baking!

More Make-Ahead Dessert Recipes

• Chocolate Pudding
• Homemade Churros
• Eggnog Tres Leches
• Christmas Plum Cake
• Scottish Dundee Cake
• Coconut Caramel Custard
• Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies

Watch the Video

This recipe was first published on August 21, 2015 and updated on 28 April, 2021 with new photos and a video but no changes to the recipe.

Easy Make-Ahead Cinnamon Bread Pudding

Really easy cinnamon bread pudding recipe with rum custard sauce is the perfect make ahead dessert for a crowd. Great way to use stale bread too!

4.50 from 4 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Desserts

Cuisine: American

Diet: Halal

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 Portions

Calories: 410kcal

Author: Richa

Ingredients

Bread Pudding

• ▢ 7-8 slices stale White Bread sliced diagonally into a triangle
• ▢ 2 Eggs
• ▢ ¾ cup (183 g) Milk
• ▢ 1 tablespoon Vanilla Extract
• ▢ 5 - 6 teaspoons Brown Sugar + Extra for sprinkling
• ▢ Pinch Salt
• ▢ ½ teaspoon Cinnamon powder
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon Nutmeg powder
• ▢ 2 tablespoons melted Butter
• ▢ 2 tablespoons Nuts chopped (I used almonds, hazelnuts and raisins)

Rum Custard Sauce

• ▢ 1 Egg
• ▢ ¼ cup (50 g) Sugar
• ▢ ½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• ▢ 1 pinch Salt
• ▢ 1 ½ tablespoons Dark Rum
• ▢ ¾ cup (183 g) Milk

Instructions

For Bread Pudding:

• Preheat oven to 180C
• Brush a round or rectangle baking dish with melted butter
• In a bowl, whisk together milk, eggs, vanilla extract, sugar, salt, cinnamon powder, nutmeg powder and the remaining butter till properly combined
• Lightly soak each slice of bread for about 5 seconds in this mixture, turning it to soak both ways and arrange on the baking dish like shown in the video. Pour any extra egg mixture all over the bread. Let this soak for 20 minutes
• When ready to bake, sprinkle with chopped nuts and some more sugar
• Bake in a preheated oven at 180C for 35-40 mins. Once baked, remove from oven, and let the pudding cool. Once cool, cover with aluminium foil and and refrigerate for at least an hour or two. Serve cold with some rum custard sauce.
• For Rum Custard Sauce
• In a pan, slowly bring the milk to a simmer. Turn off the heat.
• In a large bowl, whisk together egg, sugar, vanilla and salt till light and fluffy.
• Add hot milk in a slow stream to the egg mixture while whisking vigorously so that the egg doesn't scramble. This method is called tempering, and ensures that the egg is cooked without scrambling. It's important to add milk slowly so that the egg doesn't cook too quickly.
• Strain the mixture into another pan if required. Now put this pan on a slow flame and keep stirring till the mixture starts to thicken up. As soon as the mixture starts coating the back of a spoon, take it off heat and transfer to another bowl. Again it's important to warm up the egg mixture slowly and keep stirring so that it doesn't curdle. Stir in the rum at this point.
• Let the custard cool down to room temperature, after which it can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Serve with cold cinnamon bread pudding.

Video

Notes

1. I've used leftover slices of white bread. I cut them diagonally so it looks good on the platter.
2. Nutmeg powder and cinnamon powder add those warm, nutty, woody flavours, which work as contrasting flavour profiles against the sweetness of the dish. Do not skip it. 
3. When making bread pudding, the bread slices can get mushy really quickly and this isn't the best way to present it. The trick is to not soak the bread slices for too long in the milk and egg mixture. Just a minute or two will do. This way, the slices will be individually seen too.
4. Make sure you brush the baking dish with melted butter so it doesn't stick to the bottom.
5. Make sure both the pudding and the rum custard sauce cool down completely before refrigerating them
6. When making the rum custard sauce, add the milk in a slow and steady stream while whisking vigorously. Remember, we just want the egg mixture to warm up, and not end up with scrambled eggs!
7. Add the rum in the custard sauce right at the end so that the alcohol doesn't evaporate. You can substitute rum with brandy or orange juice. 

Nutrition

Calories: 410kcal | Carbohydrates: 54g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 132mg | Sodium: 315mg | Potassium: 261mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 31g | Vitamin A: 326IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 258mg | Iron: 3mg

Subscribe Today!Sign-up here Email List!