Orange Bread Pudding with Maple Cream
So you want bread pudding. But you want something light and refreshing, yet feels like a warm hug by the fireplace. Among all the bold winter spiced flavors, this Orange Bread Pudding with Maple Cream is the perfect recipe to switch it up a little. The best part? It is super easy to pull together because they are no intimidating baking techniques required – you basically throw ingredients into a pan and bake! Enjoy for a satisfying snack or breakfast spread.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- No complicated baking techniques required: If you can tear some bread and heat up some milk, you can make this recipe!
- Perfect for entertaining: What makes a good recipe for entertaining in my opinion is that the dish itself has a wow factor and you don’t need to spend a ton of time decorating or setting up. No fuss in the kitchen means you get to spend more time with your guests stress free!
- Easy to customize flavors: This recipe is very forgiving when it comes to flavor substitutions. The most basic version of would be a classic bread pudding where you just leave out the orange zest and candied orange bits and let the vanilla extract subtly scent the custard. Or you can add in blueberries, chocolate chips, coconut flakes, really whatever your heart desires!
- Leftover friendly: I love whipping this bread pudding up when I have extra bread that’s going stale. Instead of throwing it out next time, try this eggless bread pudding for a little sweet treat!
Ingredients
The ingredients for this recipe are very minimal and of those that are listed, not all are required! So you can essentially make this recipe with pantry staples and it will STILL turn out absolutely delicious! Trust me, I’ve tried it both ways. For a complete list of ingredients, see the recipe card below.
- Bread: I like to use french baguettes or ciabatta bread because they aren’t made with eggs (there’s an egg allergy in my home) and I like their denser texture. But you can also use brioche or sourdough.
- Naval Orange: Feel free to use any type of oranges but I find naval oranges are the easiest to find at the grocery store all year around and because they are large, they’re also easy to zest.
- Candied Oranges: Candied orange bits are such a fun addition to this recipe because they add a really nice strong tangy flavor which compliments the warm custard really well. I get mine from Trader Joe’s but they can also be found at Whole Foods.
- Corn starch: This is important because it serves as a thickening agent for the custard; especially because this recipe doesn’t call for eggs.
- Heavy Whipping cream: My favorite hack for this recipe is to get the shelf stable heavy whipping cream from Trader Joe’s because it comes in just the right size needed for this recipe. So no wastage!
- Maple Syrup: I love the flavor maple syrup gives to round out the dish but honey is a great alternative if you prefer.
Kitchen Tools
Just the basics needed for this one! Below are recommendations for some of my favorite tried and true essential kitchen tools.
How to Make Orange Bread Pudding
Prepare the baking pan and ingredients: I always like to get all the chopping and pans ready first to make the rest of the process as seamless as possible! This is especially great if you hate multi-tasking. Generously butter your baking pan and place your torn or cut bread in the pan. Then zest the orange and chop up the candied orange slices.
Prepare the custard and assemble: Add milk, sugar, salt, and corn starch to a pot over medium heat. Whisk together until there are no lumps. Now lower the heat and add in the orange zest and vanilla extract. Continue mixing until the custard thickens just enough to lightly coat the back of a wooden spoon or spatula. Then remove from heat and stir in the candied orange bits. Now pour the custard over the bread and bake.
Make the maple cream: While the bread pudding is cooling down just a bit, get the maple cream ready! In a bowl, combine the heavy whipping cream, maple syrup and pinch of salt. Next, whisk together with a standing mixer or by hand. I find that because this is a small amount and I just need the consistency to be soft peaks, I can do this myself and don’t need to pull out the standing mixer.
I hope you enjoyed learning about the easiest Orange Bread Pudding with Maple Cream! If you try this recipe out, I would love to see your creation – tag me on Instagram @cherrycreekbakes. And don’t forget to let me know your thoughts in the comments below and give it a star rating.
Orange Bread Pudding
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 8-10 slices of bread
- 3 cups whole milk
- 4 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 Tbsp corn starch
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 naval orange
- 1/4 cup chopped candied orange peels
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 4 Tbsp maple syrup
Instructions
Prepare pan and ingredients
- Generously butter an 8×8 square or round baking pan with softened butter.
- Roughly tear or chop up all the bread and place into baking pan. Set aside.
- Zest the naval orange and set aside.
- Chop the candied orange peels into small cubes and set aside. Chopped orange peels should be 1/4 cup
Prepare the custard
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a sauce pan, heat the milk, sugar, salt, and cornstarch on medium heat and mix with a metal whisk until smooth and no lumps remain.
- Lower the heat and add in the vanilla extract and orange zest. Stir until consistency has thickened just enough to lightly coat the back of a wooden spoon.
- Remove pan from heat and stir in the candied orange bites.
Assemble the bread pudding
- Pour the milk custard over the baking pan, covering all the bread pieces evenly.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the top is golden brown and bread looks crusty.
Prepare the whipped cream
- In a bowl, whisk together whipped cream, maple syrup, and salt. Whisk until you can see soft peaks developed. This can also be done with a standing mixer but I prefer to use a metal whisk since the quantity is so little and I find it to be doable manually.
To serve
- Bread pudding is best served warmed out of the oven. Let it cool for 5-10 minutes. Use spoon to scoop some onto a plate and then add a dollop of the maple whipped cream on top. Enjoy!
