Croissant bread & butter pudding

serves 6 desserts

difficulty moderate

prep time 10mins (approx.)

total time 1hr (approx.)

main ingredient(s) croissants, milk, chocolate, Ricotta, cream

6 comments

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This could quite possibly be the best bread and butter pudding you have ever tasted. It’s a decadent spin on an old classic, taking advantage of the beautiful rich butteriness of croissants, smothering them in Nutella, and layering them with fresh ricotta and chocolate buttons. The whole lot is then covered in vanilla and hazelnut custard and baked. Salivating yet?

Stale croissants are needed for this pudding - just purchase extra next time you visit a good bakery. It makes such a difference to use a real vanilla bean for this custard, not just for its flavour but also its perfume.

I bake the pudding in a rectangular baking dish, 40 cm x 15 cm, but you can also use a round one of similar size.

Ingredients

200 ml milk

200 ml cream

1 vanilla bean, split, scraped and sliced lengthways into 6

120 grams caster sugar, plus 2 tablespoons, extra

3 whole eggs

40 ml Frangelico

7 croissants, day-old

5 tablespoons Nuttela

300 grams ricotta, in the piece, sliced

50 grams dark chocolate buttons

pouring cream, to serve

Method

Preheat oven to 180°C.

Heat the milk and cream in a pot over medium heat with the vanilla bean and its seeds. Bring to a simmer then remove from heat.

Place the 120 grams sugar and eggs in a bowl and whisk for 1 minute. Pour in the hot cream mix and whisk to combine, then add the Frangelico to make a boozy custard.

Cut the croissants horizontally into 3 slices. Spread Nuttela generously on one side of a croissant slice and lay it in the dish, Nuttela side up. Add a slice of ricotta and 5 pieces of chocolate and top with croissant top. Repeat with all croissants then pour over the custard. Press into the croissants to help them absorb the custard and scatter over remaining chocolate and extra caster sugar.

Bake for 25 minutes till a little golden and slightly puffed then serve with cream poured all over.

Comments & Reviews6

Somebody Fabulous
Jul 5, 2012

Hi Karen
This looks amazing.
Can it be prepared a few hours in advance and kept in the fridge before baking?
I am thinking of making it for my next dinner party!
SF.

Karen Martini
Jul 19, 2012

Hi SF,

You can certainly make this ahead of time - letting it rest will mean the croissants will absorb the custard, and you may need to adjust the cooking time if the pudding is going straight from the fridge to the oven.

Cook, eat and enjoy...

Maraki
Jul 20, 2012

Hi Karen,
I have to say you are an inspiration.......I recently saw you make the above recipe on Better Homes & Gardens, without the frangelico, chocolate buttons & ricotta.
Do you have the recipe you made on the show to send me please. I would like to make it for the kids.

Thank you
Kind Regards

Maria Matheas

Team KM
Jul 23, 2012

Hi Maria,

The croissant bread and butter pudding recipe, as seen on television, is available in the September issue of the Better Homes and Gardens magazine - on shelves now.

Happy cooking...

Team KM

smspice
Aug 7, 2012

Hi Karen,

I am planning on making this delicious dessert this weekend at a family (belated) Christmas in July as I saw you making this on BHG. I have noticed though that the recipe in the BHG magazine and the recipe on this website differ slightly.
I am happy to cook either this weekend, however I am an amateur cook and was hoping you could provide some advice as to what sets these two recipes apart.

Thanks heaps
Sarah

Team KM
Aug 11, 2012

Hi Sarah,

This croissant bread & butter pudding is a little more sophisticated on the palate than the recipe on BHG, but you should find that they both require the same level of skill.