This croissant bread pudding is the kind of breakfast worth waking up early on a Saturday morning for. Butter croissants are slathered with a generous amount of lemon curd butter then allowed to soak in an indulgent mixture of eggs, milk, cream and limoncello before baking, and then coming out crisp, golden and delicious. What a wonderful breakfast to wake up to!
Did you ever watch that show Anna & Kristina’s Grocery Bag where they reviewed and tested cookbooks by making dishes off of it and then having a professional chef come over to grade their work?
I love that show. I would watch reruns over and over and never get tired of it.
Gordon Ramsay’s bread pudding
One time they featured Gordon Ramsay’s Family Fare
.
They raved about the book and this bread pudding recipe in particular which was made with baguette and booze. That was one of my favourite episodes.
Sadly though I think the cookbook is out of print and mainly available through 3rd party re-sellers.
The recipe is scarce online too. I did find one that looks similar (I couldn’t be sure) and when I made it we loved it and it stayed in my recipe box.
Over time though I experimented a bit and this version is my favourite by far.
My favourite bread pudding
It has lemons (no surprise there), I use butter croissants instead of baguette (I prefer the flavour already in the croissants and besides, we always have extra croissants from the big box we always end up buying from Costco) but of course I kept the booze (of course).
It is outstanding. Just the kind of thing that would make us sleeping-in-on-the-weekends people wake up early on a Saturday morning.
Stale croissants
First you need stale (at least 2 days old) butter croissants.
If you use fresh ones they’d be too soft and might fall apart once soaked in the custard.
The ones we buy are big ones too, about 6 inches long, so I cut them in half lengthwise then crosswise.
Lemon curd butter
I then take lemon curd and mix it with some butter.
Now I have lemon curd butter spread which I have to stop myself from eating; instead I spread it generously on the bottom of each croissant before I arrange each piece in my baking dish.
Speaking of, I don’t have any recommendations on specific dish size because I’ve used different sizes and they all worked well.
I think the critical thing to remember is that it should be deep enough for all your bread to fit and be submerged in (the one on the pictures is approximately 5×10 inches and 2.5 inches deep).
Limoncello custard
Which brings us to the custard.
Like most bread pudding, the custard mixture is a combination of milk, eggs and cream.
There’s limoncello in this one and I have Chef Ramsay to thank for the idea of putting alcohol in bread puddings (genius).
Limoncello mixed with the custard just makes the custard so flavourful and wonderful.
Don’t worry, you won’t taste the alcohol but it does make this an adult pudding (this can be your breakfast, the kids can have their chocolate pancakes).
Croissant bread pudding
So now you wait 20 minutes for the croissants to soak in all that goodness.
Another 40 minutes in the oven. Once it’s out put some lemon curd glaze on top and I promise what you’ll have is the most fantastic lemon butter croissant bread pudding. Blueberries sprinkled all over is just an added bonus.
So this Saturday, get up early and wake up the rest of the house with the smell of croissant bread pudding baking in the oven.
Croissant Bread Pudding with Lemon Butter and Blueberries
Ingredients
For the Pudding:
- 4 pieces 6-inch butter croissants cut into quarters (slice half lengthwise then crosswise)
- ¼ cup salted butter room temperature
- 2 tablespoons lemon curd
- ¼ cup dried blueberries
- 3 pieces large eggs room temperature
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 ¼ cups heavy cream room temperature
- 1 ¼ cups milk room temperature
- 3 tablespoons limoncello
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
For the Glaze:
- 1 teaspoon lemon curd
Instructions
For the Pudding:
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Mix ¼ cup butter and 2 tablespoons lemon curd until fully incorporated. Spread the croissant slices with the lemon curd butter mixture and arrange on baking dish in overlapping layers.
- Sprinkle ¼ cup dried blueberries between layers and all over the top. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk 3 eggs and ¼ cup sugar until smooth and creamy. Add 1 ¼ cups heavy cream, 1 ¼ cups milk, 3 tablespoons limoncello and 1 teaspoon lemon zest and stir until well combined.
- Pour this mixture gently into your baking dish, making sure each croissant is submerged. Gently press down if necessary. Allow the croissants to soak in the custard for about 20 minutes.
- Put the baking dish in a roasting pan filled with hot water that goes halfway up the sides of the dish. Bake for 40-60 minutes or until golden brown and the inside of the pudding is set.
For the Glaze:
- Microwave 1 teaspoon lemon curd for about 15 seconds to make it easier to spread. Once the bread pudding is out of the oven and still warm, spread the glaze on top of the pudding immediately.
Notes
- Tip on the dish to use – assemble your cut croissants in the dish you’re planning to use first. If they all fit and they can easily be submerged by the custard, you’re good.
- Make sure the croissants absorb the custard properly. If your bread still looks dry after 20 minutes, press down gently and soak for another 10 minutes or so.
- Check your pudding at the halfway mark. If you think the tops are getting a little too brown too fast, you can loosely cover it with aluminum foil and continue baking.
- You can check for doneness by gently peeking in the middle of your bread pudding with a knife or fork. If liquid comes out or if it’s still too mushy, adjust your bake time.
Nutrition
Nutritional information are estimates only.
Happy baking!
Did you make this croissant bread pudding? Tell me about it in the comments section below. I’d love to hear all about it.
What’s your favourite thing to make/eat for breakfast on a Saturday or any day? Here’s The Ultimate List of Breakfast Ideas if you can’t decide!
Nate
It sounds delicious! The perfect combination of three things I love – croissants, lemon and custard. I have to try it very soon, but I can also get up late and bake it. I am a lover of breakfast in the afternoon 😀
Jolina
That’s an excellent point Nate! As adults, we can eat breakfast anytime we want lol! In fact, I eat this for lunch and dinner too haha.
Tara
Croissants definitely take this bread pudding to the next level. Such a great way to start the day! That lemon curd butter sounds perfect.
Jolina
It really does! And the limoncello too I would say, but don’t listen to me I love lemons so I’m biased lol 🙂
Suchi
This is crazy good!! Bread pudding made with croissants with lemon butter!! feels like you custom made this more me!!
Jolina
Yes especially for lemon lovers like us Suchi! This is crazy good if I say so myself 🙂
Ali
I just so happen to have a box of croissants in my freezer and this would be the perfect way to use them before it’s too late. Love the combination of lemon curd and blueberries. That sounds wonderful. Pinning this one!
Jolina
Aha! Perfect timing 🙂 And berries are in season too 🙂 Thanks for pinning Ali! Hope you enjoy this.
Ashley
Oh my god. Croissant bread pudding sounds INCREDIBLE. I love crossants but never thought to put them in a dessert!
Jolina
It is kind of unusual isn’t it? But trust me it works and it’s so good! Hope you can try the recipe sometime and let me know what you think 🙂
Kate
What an AMAZING way to use up stale croissants. Such a lovely recipe.
Jolina
Thanks Kate! It would be a shame to waste awesome (albeit stale!) bread 🙂
Rika
Awesome recipe! I love croissant with lots of butter!
Jolina
Oh yeah. Warm croissant with butter just melting perfectly on top of it. Yum! 🙂
Kristen
I LOVE croissants! I eat them all the time! I am totally going to make this!
Jolina
OMG us too. We really shouldn’t buy that big box but they are just so delicious aren’t they? 🙂 Let me know how you like the pudding! Thanks Kristen 🙂
Carrie
Love a bread bake like this for breakfast on the weekend. And made with croissant? Perfection!!
Jolina
It’s great to just put everything in a dish and bake it and voila! Pudding 🙂 Hope you get to try the recipe Carrie! 🙂
Ashlee
I could LIVE off bread pudding and I love that this is different than regular bread pudding. Looks so good!!
Jolina
Come to think of it, me too! 🙂 There are so many different ways to do it too. This one is my favourite 🙂 Thanks Ashlee!
Ahu
YUM! I have always made bread pudding with different types of bread, but never croissant. And as a lemon lover this is really singing to me!
Jolina
Croissant already has great flavour on its own so it’s great as a pudding 🙂 Hope you try the recipe and let me know what you think! Thanks Ahu!
Caitlin Culver
I think the hardest part of this recipe for me would be allowed the croissant to get stale – they are so darn delish! When I get the will power to do that, I’ll make sure to try it! And it looks so customizable, too. I could see myself using all sorts of fruit depending on what’s in season or what tickles my fancy on any given day. Thanks for sharing, Jolina!
Jolina
LOL! You’re not the first person to say that haha. And yes, it’s a real problem! And yes, you can use strawberries or apricots (though you may need to switch up the liqueur you use, not sure how they pair up with limoncello). Thanks Caitlin!
Nicoletta
This croissant bread pudding is something I would love to wake up to. Deliciously over the top breakfast! Pinned!
Jolina
Absolutely 🙂 Thanks very much for the pin Nicoletta!
Dawn
I’ve seen that show before, but haven’t recently. Oh my goodness…I would GLADLY get up early on Saturday morning if I got to have this. Talk about taking it over the top with croissants and them lemon curd butter!! This is just simply divine! Pinning to try real soon 🙂
Jolina
Yeah, they’ve stopped running the reruns too. So sad, I really liked it! Anyway…hope you get the chance to try this bread pudding Dawn! Thanks for the pin 🙂
Elzabeth
Great way to use up stale croissant. I like your idea!
Jolina
Thanks Elizabeth! We always have extra croissants at the house 🙂