The most lemony bread pudding ever.
This bread pudding recipe packs a serious punch of lemon flavor that is perfect for all foodies who love all things lemon. It’s made with cubed brioche bread soaked in a lemon-laced custard, baked to golden perfection, and then topped with bright lemon sauce that adds just enough extra lemon flavor to set this bread pudding apart from the rest!
It all started while visiting my grandmother one Sunday afternoon. I had grabbed an old edition of Taste of Home magazine from her shelf of cookbooks, and we were deciding what yummy dishes we wanted to try. I saw a recipe for a lemon bread pudding, and thought, “huh??? Lemon and bread pudding sounds like an unusual flavor combo. There’s no way that’s going to taste right at all!” I have tasted many variations of bread puddings over the years, like white chocolate blueberry, chocolate, cinnamon, and my all-time favorite ‘The Biltmore Bread Pudding,’ but never a citrus-flavored one. I made the recipe out of the magazine exactly as written, but then I decided it was a little mild on the lemon spectrum. It needed a more powerful punch. I made a couple of test runs and decided that THIS was finally the best lemon bread pudding ever. It’s lemony. It’s punchy. It’s sassy. It’s amazing! I hope you love it as much as we did!
Y’all! This is from October/November 1997, but it’s still in pristine condition over in my grandmother’s kitchen. Who keeps their kitchen that clean?!?!
First things first: I used this brioche bread loaf from the good old Wal-Mart bakery. Most bread pudding recipes start with an eggy bread like brioche so they’ll have a sturdy base. I tried this recipe with Italian loaf bread first, and finally landed on brioche for the third try. The brioche does seem to add another layer of flavor.
Cube your loaf of brioche into 1 inch cubes, and put them into a deep 9x13 casserole dish (I love this one!) sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. I feel there is no need to use day old bread or any other form of stale, dry bread. I’ve made bread pudding with and without stale bread, and the end results are all the same! It’s just an unnecessary step in my opinion.
Whisk together the half and half, heavy cream, eggs, the zest and juice of two lemons, and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla. Add 1 whole cup of sugar, whisking until it dissolves. Pour the liquid over the bread.
Look at this skint, naked lemon. Does it have no shame?!?!
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Waiting to preheat the oven until now will ensure that your little bread cubes will have plenty of time to soak up all the lemon custardy goodness. The flavors can fully marry before your bread pudding goes into the oven.
Soak, baby, soak!
Bake uncovered until the crust is golden brown and the middle is set (about 50-55 minutes). If you are unsure about doneness, you can always insert a knife close to the middle to see if it comes out clean. My last bread pudding took 53 minutes to fully set!
For the lemon sauce: Combine 1/2 cup sugar, cornstarch, dash salt, and 1 cup water in a saucepan, and the zest of 1 more whole lemon. Whisk all ingredients together, and bring them to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in 2 tablespoons butter (now we’re talkin’) and 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Add two drops of food coloring just to give it more pizazz. The sauce actually comes together surprisingly easy considering how flavorful it is. I tell you no lies!
That’s some bright stuff!
