This first page of the collection gathers five comforting desserts centered on soft, soaked bread or a rich chocolate batter. Each one uses a simple oven method and finishes with a sauce or glaze that adds extra warmth and flavor.
The recipes range from raisin-studded bread puddings to a hot fudge cake with bubbling sauce underneath. Several include vanilla-based finishing touches, while others lean on cinnamon, nutmeg, or chocolate for their character.
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- Cinnamon Raisin Bread Pudding
- Grandma’s Old-Fashioned Bread Pudding with Vanilla Sauce
- Classic Bread Pudding with Vanilla Custard
- Grandma’s Bread Pudding with Vanilla Cream Sauce
- Hot Fudge Pudding Cake
Cinnamon Raisin Bread Pudding
Cinnamon Raisin Bread Pudding starts with stale challah, which is cubed and soaked in a custard made from eggs, milk, cream, vanilla, sugar, and cinnamon. The raisins are prepared separately with water, butter, and cinnamon until they plump, then their liquid is added to the custard so the flavor carries through the whole dish.
After the bread sits in the mixture for 10 minutes, it is transferred to a greased baking dish and baked covered before being uncovered to finish. A glaze of powdered sugar, vanilla, milk, and cinnamon is whisked together and drizzled over the warm pudding just before serving.
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Grandma’s Old-Fashioned Bread Pudding with Vanilla Sauce
Grandma’s Old-Fashioned Bread Pudding with Vanilla Sauce uses stale white bread and raisins, soaked in warm milk and butter before the eggs, sugar, vanilla, and nutmeg are added. The mixture is stirred gently so the bread holds together without breaking down too much, which helps create a soft, baked custard texture.
The pudding bakes in a buttered dish until golden and set in the center. While it bakes, a separate vanilla sauce is made by melting butter with white and brown sugar, then stirring in cream until slightly thickened and finishing with vanilla for a warm sauce to serve over the top.
Get the full Grandma’s Old-Fashioned Bread Pudding with Vanilla Sauce recipe
Classic Bread Pudding with Vanilla Custard
Classic Bread Pudding with Vanilla Custard begins with day-old bread cubes in a buttered baking dish, optionally dotted with raisins. The custard is whisked from eggs, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, milk, and heavy cream, then poured over the bread and pressed down gently so every piece soaks evenly.
Before baking, melted butter is drizzled over the top and the pudding rests for about 15 minutes to absorb. It bakes until the custard is set and the top is golden, then is served with a separate vanilla custard sauce made by simmering cream, milk, sugar, and vanilla until slightly thickened.
Get the full Classic Bread Pudding with Vanilla Custard recipe
Grandma’s Bread Pudding with Vanilla Cream Sauce
Grandma’s Bread Pudding with Vanilla Cream Sauce uses cubed white bread with raisins, though brioche can also be used. Warm milk and sugar are combined with butter and poured over the bread for an 8 to 10 minute soak, then a separate custard of evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, eggs, nutmeg, cinnamon, and vanilla is folded in.
The pudding is baked in a buttered dish until the top turns golden brown and the center is just set with a slight wobble. A vanilla cream sauce is made alongside by heating heavy cream and butter, then whisking in powdered sugar and sweetened condensed milk before vanilla is stirred in off the heat.
Get the full Grandma’s Bread Pudding with Vanilla Cream Sauce recipe
Hot Fudge Pudding Cake
Hot Fudge Pudding Cake is built like a cake batter rather than a bread pudding, with flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, salt, milk, melted butter, egg yolk, vanilla, and chocolate chips. A separate sugar-cocoa mixture is mixed first and held back as a topping, which gives the finished dessert its distinct layered effect.
The batter is spread into a prepared baking dish, the topping is sprinkled over it, and boiling water is poured on slowly without stirring. During baking, the top sets and cracks while a bubbling sauce forms underneath, and the cake is served warm after a short cooling period.
