Panettone Bread Pudding with Brandy Sauce

Name: Panettone Bread Pudding with Brandy Sauce
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 1 h
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 6 cups panettone cut into 1-inch cubes (~13oz/370g); 1 ½ cups whole milk; 1 cup heavy cream; 3 large eggs; 2 egg yolks; ¼ cup granulated sugar; 1 tablespoon brandy (optional); 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract; ½ teaspoon orange zest (optional); 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (1/4 tsp fine salt); Dash nutmeg, freshly grated; ½ cup sliced almonds; ½ cup light brown sugar, packed; 2 tablespoons brandy; 3 tablespoons heavy cream; ¼ teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract; 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt (1/8 tsp fine salt); 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, sliced

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Panettone Bread Pudding is a great recipe for re-purposing leftover panettone. Top it off with a brandy-spiked toffee sauce to make it extra special and indulgent.

Straight on view on a plate of panettone bread pudding topped with almonds and brandy sauce on dark wood with the pan and Christmas lights in the background.

Ingredient Notes

Panettone- This recipe is great for leftover store-bought, or homemade panettone. Any type of panettone is fine, but I suggest sticking to a traditional version. I used a less-than-successful loaf of homemade panettone for the bread pudding depicted here.

Flavorings- The orange zest and nutmeg are optional, but I really love how they enhance the flavors of the panettone. Lemon zest and cinnamon would be good substitutes.

Dairy- I would avoid non-dairy or low fat substitutions.

Ingredients including panettone, cream, milk, sugar and eggs.

Recipe Steps

To make panettone bread pudding, first cut the bread into 1 inch cubes (1). Dry out the bread cubes in a 325F oven until completely dry on the outside and lightly golden.

In a bowl, combine the milk, cream, eggs, sugar and flavorings (2). Soak the bread in the custard at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hours at room temperature (3). Top with almonds and bake in a 350F oven until puffed and set (4-5).

Bread pudding, steps 1-4 including soaking the bread in the cream mixture and sprinkling almonds on top.

To make the toffee sauce, bring the brandy and brown sugar to a simmer in a pot (6). Add the cream, salt and vanilla, and simmer another couple minutes (7). Emulsify in butter until fully incorporated (8).

Bread pudding steps 5-8 including baking the pudding and making the rum sauce.

Straight on view on a plate of bread pudding with brandy sauce being poured on top of it on a dark wood surface.

Recipe Tips and FAQs

Toast your bread. Drying out the bread in the oven helps the bread absorb more of the flavorful, custard.
Let your pudding soak. Before baking, let the bread soak up the custard for the best end result.
Make it your own. Feel free to tweak this recipe to make it your own. You could even use this same recipe with challah or brioche instead of panettone.

How long can bread pudding sit before cooking?

Bread pudding can sit up to 24hrs in the fridge before baking.

How do you know when bread pudding is done?

When bread pudding is done baking, it should puff up and there should be no visible unabsorbed liquids. A tester inserted into the center should come out clean.

Should you refrigerate bread pudding?

After baking and serving bread pudding, store any leftovers in the fridge for up to 5 days.

A close up of a plate of bread pudding topped with almonds on a dark wood surface with Christmas lights in the background.

More Holiday Sweets

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