Orange & Cardamom Bread Pudding

This is a sweet, incredibly easy and low-effort recipe that is super customizable depending on what you’ve got in your pantry. I use whatever bread I’ve got lying around (and there’s always SOMETHING, with how often I bake), and whatever flavors I feel like- usually vanilla, orange zest, rum, and cardamom, but I’ll occasionally spice this up with some chopped chocolate and walnuts, or some cinnamon. No raisins though. I am adamantly anti-raisin. Argue with the wall.

Sprinkling some sugar on the bottom of your greased pan gives this pudding a gorgeously caramelized, crisp bottom that contrasts with the gooey goodness of the rest of the pudding, but if you’re in a time crunch, you can skip it. You can use all whole milk instead of half heavy cream if there’s not any in your fridge, or go all white or all brown sugar. Stale bread will always be best for bread pudding but if yours isn’t, chop it into chunks, spread it on a sheet pan, and bake it at 375 for 5-10 minutes before you make this recipe. This recipe makes enough for three servings and takes about one hour start-to-finish.

Ingredients

• 5 cups stale bread of your choice, chopped into 1” cubes

• 3 large eggs

• 1/4 cup brown sugar

• 1/4 cup white sugar

• 1/2 cup whole milk

• 1/2 cup heavy cream

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1 tablespoon rum or bourbon (optional)

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

• 1 teaspoon orange zest

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• Butter, for greasing your pan

• 1-2 tablespoons white sugar, for caramelizing the bottom (optional)

• Vanilla ice cream, for serving (optional)

Directions

1. In a large bowl, beat your eggs until yellow and frothy, then add your sugar, milk, cream, extract, rum/bourbon, cardamom, orange zest, and salt, and whisk until completely combined.

2. Dump in your chopped-up bread and any mix-ins like chocolate or nuts, and mix until all of the bread is wet. Leave it to marinate for 20-30 minutes.

3. In the meantime, preheat your oven to 350F

4. Once your bread mixture is almost done marinating, grease a pan with the butter (I use an 8x8”) and sprinkle the extra sugar on the bottom.

5. Dump your bread mixture on top, pouring any excess liquid over the top. Put the pan in the oven and bake for about 25 minutes. Check for doneness by pulling it apart slightly in the middle with a fork. If no liquid comes out, it’s done.

6. Serve warm with ice cream if desired :)