Sticky Toffee Bread Pudding

Zoha Malik

by Zoha Malik

Published:

Rated 5.00 out of 5

27 Comments
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Sticky Toffee Pudding and Bread Pudding come together in one of the most comforting and decadent desserts you won’t be able to stop eating: Sticky Toffee Bread Pudding. The bread is soaked in a rich custard sweetened with dates (just like classic sticky toffee pudding), baked until golden, then drenched in a buttery toffee sauce and served hot with vanilla ice cream. The texture is soft, custardy and caramel-y at once, and the flavor is beautifully balanced and not too sweet. It is also incredibly simple to make!

A slice of sticky toffee bread pudding topped with a melting scoop of vanilla ice cream sits on a small white plate. Another similar dessert is blurred in the background. Pieces of pecan are scattered nearby.

I was inspired to create this recipe by my favorite Easy Vanilla Bread Pudding, which is one of my all-time favorites. But I have to say, the sticky toffee pudding touch makes this one a whole lot better. I’m not exaggerating when I say my friends and I ate half of it straight from the pan while standing at the kitchen island!

A close-up of a hand using a spatula to serve a portion of bread pudding covered in caramel sauce from a white baking dish on a beige surface.

3 simple components of this bread pudding

To make this sticky toffee bread pudding, 3 simple components are needed:

  1. The bread. You can use any kind of bread you like, including stale bread! I think bread pudding is best made with a soft and fluffy bread like brioche or – my personal favorite – King’s Hawaiian bread. For this bread pudding, I used King’s Hawaiian round bread and cut it into big cubes
  2. Custard. We soak the bread in a simple custard made with dates, milk, cream, butter, eggs, and a touch of sugar that comes together in a blender. You don’t actually need to cook or thicken it – just bring together the ingredients, and the cooking happens in the oven!
  3. Toffee sauce. Lastly, we make a very easy toffee sauce with butter, brown sugar, and cream. Pour this on top of the bread pudding, just like a sticky toffee pudding, for an extra touch of warmth and caramel-y goodness!

Although optional, I HIGHLY recommend serving this bread pudding with a scoop of vanilla ice cream! The warm pudding and cold ice cream pair together beautifully. My personal favorite is Tillamook.

A slice of sticky toffee bread pudding topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and toffee sauce sits on a small plate, with a fork and pecan pieces nearby. The dessert appears gooey and partially eaten.

A few quick tips

  1. Use good quality medjool dates! My personal favorite are the Natural Delights dates that are available at Amazon or Whole Foods
  2. Press in the bread cubes and make sure there aren’t any large gaps. Otherwise, you will have big chunks of baked custard that don’t have the best texture!
  3. Make sure you thoroughly soak the bread chunks! Press in the pieces on top so they soak the custard and aren’t dry
  4. Don’t overbake the pudding! It will be quite jiggly and puffy when it comes out of the oven but will settle within a few minutes. A toothpick test is best – if it comes out with just a few crumbs on it and no wet custard, the pudding is ready. Overbaking it can make it curdled
  5. Don’t rush cooking the sauce. Low and slow for a good 8-10 minutes will get it to the right texture and degree of caramelization
  6. Serve it hot! It’s best when it’s warm, but it also reheats really well
A spatula lifts a serving of sticky toffee bread pudding covered in toffee sauce from a baking dish, with more sauce-coated pieces visible. In the background, there is a decorative chocolate Christmas tree.
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A slice of sticky toffee bread pudding topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and drizzled with toffee sauce, served on a small white plate.

My Favorite Sticky Toffee Bread Pudding Recipe

by Zoha Malik

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 stars from 10 reviews

Delicious, warm and comforting Sticky Toffee Bread Pudding made with a date-sweetened custard and a buttery toffee sauce!

Yield:8-10 servings

Prep Time:
20 mins
Cook Time:
30 mins
Total Time:
50 mins

Ingredients

Bread pudding:

  • 16oz King’s Hawaiian Hawaiian Sweet Round Bread, cut into 1″ cubes (or use brioche bread or similar bread of the same quantity; bread can be stale / dried out overnight or fresh)
  • 6 oz pitted medjool dates (about 10 dates)
  • 1 2/3 cup whole milk (400g)
  • 2/3 cup heavy cream (160g)
  • 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted (30 g)
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 2 tbsp brown sugar (25g)
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 tsp salt

Toffee Sauce:

  • 1 cup heavy cream (240g)
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter (113g)
  • 3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed (150g)
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp vanilla

Instructions

  1. Pre-heat oven to 350F (conventional) and brush a 7×11″ casserole dish with butter
  2. Cut the bread into 1″ cubes and arrange them in the casserole dish. Leaving no gaps, press the bread chunks down slightly
  3. To make the custard, chop the dates into small chunks and place them in a blender. Add the milk and cream to a saucepan, and cook on low heat until the mixture comes to a boil. Pour over the dates in the blender, cover and rest for 5 minutes. Then blend until smooth
  4. To the same blender, add the melted butter, eggs, egg yolks, brown sugar, vanilla and salt. Blend on low for just a few seconds until the ingredients are combined
  5. Pour the custard over the bread in the casserole dish, making sure every chunk is soaked. If needed, press down on the bread again or tilt the dish in different directions to ensure everything is soaked
  6. Place the dish in the pre-heated oven and bake for 30 minutes or until the pudding looks set on the edges but jiggly in the middle. If you insert a toothpick in the middle, it should have moist crumbs but not wet custard. Avoid overbaking as it can give bread pudding a curdled texture
  7. While the bread pudding is baking, make the toffee sauce. Add all the ingredients (heavy cream, butter, brown sugar, salt and vanilla) to a saucepan, and place on the stove on low heat. Keep cooking and stirring for about 8-10 minutes. First the butter will melt and the ingredients will come together, then the sauce will start to simmer at thicken. At the end it should be a deep golden color but still fairly runny – it will thicken as it cools
  8. Once the bread pudding is baked, rest it for 2 minutes at room temperature. Then poke holes in it using a skewer, and pour over half of the toffee sauce. Let it absorb for 5-10 minutes
  9. Slice the bread putting into slices, and serve each slice with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and some more toffee sauce poured on top. Enjoy hot!

Video Tutorial

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Comments

  1. Nz

    The recipe looks amazing ! I’ve tried a bunch of your recipes and each one of them turned out great ! Thanks for such detailed explanation .quick question .can I make the pudding (not bake it) just toss all the ingredients together (not the sauce ) and put it in the freezer and take it out the day of my dawat and bake it frozen .Will that work .

    1. Zoha Malik

      Thank you nz! and yes, you definitely do that!

  2. Samiyah

    Loveeee this recipe! I made this for a family dinner and literally every single person loved it and ate it so happily!!! Everything about this bread pudding is amazing – the custard, the toffee sauce, all of it! (As usual of course 🙂 every recipe I’ve tried of yours has turned out amazing) Thank you for sharing your recipes, Zoha!!

    1. Zoha Malik

      You’re so kind, Samiyah – thank you for the amazing review!

  3. Sidrah Khokhar

    Great recipe. Tried it and it turned out amazing 😍

    1. Zoha Malik

      Yay, so happy to hear that!

  4. Mahrosh

    turns out perfect!

    1. Asma @ Bake with Zoha

      So glad that this recipe met your expectations Mahrosh.:)

  5. Laraib Shahid

    I’ve made this 3 times in 1 week and everyone just loves it. So easy to make when hosting a dawat. It’s so comforting and so gooey. Definitely recommend.

  6. Cyrus

    Looks delicious and would love to make it.

    Any tips on how we can reheat this if it’s made the day ahead of a party.

    Can the toffee sauce be made before hand or will it get too thick to pour?

    1. Zoha

      Microwaving will work great for this! You can also keep and microwave the toffee sauce

  7. Fatima Nasir

    Can I use any brioche bread and dates for this recipe

    1. Zoha

      brioche bread will be fine! I recommend medjool for the optimal sweetness

  8. Aisha Qazi

    I made this a few days ago and let me tell you, it was all gone in one go! Everything loved it so so much! The toffee sauce is just mouthwatering good and added so much to the whole dessert!

  9. Safa

    The dessert disappeared in no time at a potluck. Added some cinnamon to the custard and served warm. Was delicious

    1. Zoha

      OOOf that sounds so good, I’ll add cinnamon next time too!

  10. Areeba

    very accurate measurements and details. and very yummmyyy pudding

    1. Zoha

      Yay thank you!

  11. Samira Shahid

    Can we make it a day in advance for a party? if yes then how to reheat

    1. Zoha

      You can do all the steps until the baking part, then bake fresh 🙂

    2. Aisha Qazi

      Made it yesterday and I just microwaved it, tasted as good as freshly baked!

      1. Zoha

        yes! It is just insanely good, I miss it

  12. Yumna Sikander

    Making it for the second time as everyone loved it. Finger licking good! The recipe is so well explained and easy to follow! Thanks alot zoha!

    1. Zoha

      AWW thank you so so much!

  13. Kasandra

    Sooo yummy! I have never made bread pudding before. I have found it hard to find a really good bread pudding dinning out. But, my husband loves bread pudding so I decided to try this recipe. It’s amazing! 10 out of 10.
    I would add a picture of my end product because it looks as good as it tastes but there’s not an option for a photo.

    1. Zoha

      I am so happy you loved it as much as I do!! <3

  14. Jammy

    What can be replacement for eggs?

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