There’s an honest pleasure in baking with leftovers. Croissants that have gone past their best — those slightly stale ones sitting in the bread basket on a Sunday morning — turn out to be the perfect material for one of the great desserts. They have structure but no moisture, which means they drink custard the way good bread should, becoming tender all the way through without ever turning to mush.
Why this works
This recipe started in our kitchen as a way to use the morning’s unsold croissants. Three years in, it’s the dish I make most often when friends come over — partly because it’s genuinely delicious, mostly because it requires almost no skill and produces something that looks like it took serious effort.
The single most important step is browning the butter. It takes four minutes and it’s the difference between a fine pudding and one that has people asking for the recipe.
Croissant Bread Pudding
A warm, almost-pudding-almost-pastry hybrid — buttery croissants soaked in a brown-butter vanilla custard, baked until the tops crackle and the inside stays just-set. The trick is using day-old croissants: they drink the custard like a sponge instead of going soggy.
- Course: Dessert
- Cuisine: French
- Servings:
6
- Prep: 20 mins
- Cook: 45 mins
Ingredients
For the pudding
- 6 day-old croissants, torn into rough chunks
- 85g unsalted butter
- 360ml whole milk
- 240ml heavy cream
- 4 large eggs
- 2 large egg yolks
- 100g granulated sugar
- 50g light brown sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 0.5 tsp fine sea salt
- 0.5 tsp ground cinnamon
- 100g dark chocolate, chopped (optional)
To finish
- 2 tbsp demerara sugar
- Flaky sea salt, for finishing
Instructions
-
Brown the butter
Melt the butter in a small light-coloured saucepan over medium heat. Keep swirling — it will foam, quiet down, then start to smell nutty and the milk solids at the bottom will turn deep golden brown. About 4–6 minutes. Pull off the heat the moment it smells like toasted hazelnuts. -
Tear the croissants and toast
Heat the oven to 160°C / 325°F. Tear the croissants into rough 4cm chunks and scatter on a baking tray. Toast for 8 minutes until lightly dried but not coloured — this is what keeps them from going soggy. -
Build the custard
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and egg yolks with both sugars, vanilla, salt, and cinnamon until smooth and a shade lighter. Warm the milk and cream in a saucepan until steaming. Stream the warm dairy into the eggs while whisking constantly, then whisk in the cooled brown butter. -
Assemble
Butter a 23×23cm baking dish. Pile in the toasted croissant chunks and tuck the chocolate between them if using. Pour the custard slowly over the top, pressing the croissants down gently. Let sit 20 minutes — this is the most important step. -
Top and bake
Heat the oven to 175°C / 350°F. Sprinkle the demerara sugar over the top. Bake for 40–45 minutes, until the custard is set with a slight jiggle in the centre and the top is deeply golden and crackling. -
Rest, finish, serve
Rest the pudding for 15 minutes — it will keep cooking and the custard will firm up. Finish with flaky salt and serve warm.
Notes & Tips
Make-ahead: Assemble through step 4, cover, and refrigerate overnight. Bring to room temperature for 30 minutes before baking.
Croissant tip: Truly stale (2–3 days old) croissants work best. If yours are fresh, tear and dry them in a 120°C oven for 15 minutes instead.
Variations: Swap the chocolate for fresh berries in summer, or for thinly sliced pears tossed with a little lemon in autumn.
Storage: Keeps 3 days covered in the fridge. Reheat individual portions in a 160°C oven for 8 minutes.