The Easy Way To Get A Gorgeous Crunch On Top Of Bread Pudding
If you've never had bread pudding before, you're in for a real treat. The circa-11th century English dessert is a serious classic, hinging on a few simple ingredients, including bread, eggs, milk, sugar, butter, and some spices. The bread — which can range from a simple challah bread to leftover cinnamon rolls — is soaked in a sweet, creamy custard, and then baked in the oven, creating a soft interior and a slightly crispy crust. It's incredibly easy to make at home, and if you do, don't forget to add a sprinkle of Turbinado sugar before baking to give your bread pudding a gorgeous crunch.
Turbinado sugar is one of our favorite types of sugar. If you've never baked with it or used it to sweeten your coffee, you should know that it's not like your average granulated sugar. Turbinado sugar is super crunchy and chunky; it's not fine like sand. It's minimally processed, which is why it's crunchier than your typical sugar. Its golden brown color comes from the molasses that remains from the refining process, which allows it to shimmer and shine. It's essentially a natural sprinkle that adds both crunch and sweetness to your recipes, and that applies to bread pudding too; Turbinado sugar only makes it that much more delicious.
Turbinado sugar brings a burst of sweetness to every bite
Turbinado sugar works especially well overtop a simple, rich bread pudding recipe. Our recipe features raisins and golden raisins which add a nice chewiness to the interior, so a tablespoon or two of Turbinado sugar will complement it nicely. If you make something more elaborate and sugary, like our cinnamon roll bread pudding, you might find that Turbinado sugar makes things a little too sweet, especially since there's already a powdered sugar-based icing. Therefore, it's important to think about what's in your recipe before you decide to add additional sugar.
If you don't love the idea of adding a crunchy element to your bread pudding but you still want to spice it up a bit, there are plenty of other ingredients to elevate your bread pudding with. One of our favorite additions is fruit. During the winter months, chopped apples add a brightness to bread pudding. They soften up in the oven, making the dessert reminiscent of an apple pie. Pumpkin purée, too, adds a lovely orange hue to the dish, and when mixed with the classic pumpkin pie spices, you've got yourself a delectable, autumn-inspired sweet. Whether you add a fruit, a sprinkle of sugar, or you keep it as is, bread pudding is hard to mess up, so you're bound to create a showstopper.