This Apple Pie Cinnamon Roll Bread Pudding is the perfect fall dessert that combines three of my favorite desserts of all time! It's made with King's Hawaiian's cinnamon bites (which are like mini cinnamon rolls), layered with a delicious toffee apple pie filling, and soaked in a brown sugar custard. The bread pudding is baked until golden, then served warm with vanilla ice cream and reserved toffee apple sauce - and it is truly just magnificent. Perfectly soft and comforting, with swirls of cinnamon sugar and baked toffee apples. And, best of all, it is easy enough that anyone can make it!
3 easy components
This bread pudding may sound fancy, but it's actually quite simple and made of 3 components:
- Cinnamon swirl bread. Instead of regular bread, I use King's Hawaiian's cinnamon bites which are like mini cinnamon rolls. This adds the cinnamon roll flavor without any extra effort! But if you can't get your hands on these, you have 3 easy options explained below
- Toffee apple pie filling. The apple pie filling is made with peeled and diced granny smith apples cooked with butter, sugar, cream and a couple other ingredients. Once the apples are soft, the rest of the ingredients turn into a delicious toffee sauce. Most of the apples are layered with the cinnamon swirl bread in a casserole dish, while some of them are reserved with the toffee sauce for serving
- Brown sugar custard. The bread pudding is soaked in a really easy custard made with brown sugar, milk, cream and eggs. You don't even have to thicken it - cook it just long enough until the butter melts and the ingredients are combined!
If you can't find cinnamon bites
If you can't get your hands on King's Hawaiian's cinnamon bites, don't worry! There are a few ways you can still make this dessert:
- Use store-bought cinnamon rolls (or a cinnamon swirl brioche bread). Cut into 1" cubes and follow the rest of the recipe as written
- Use regular brioche bread, and add more cinnamon to the apple pie filling. It will be similar to my classic vanilla bread pudding, but layered with a cinnamon apple pie filling!
- Make your own cinnamon sugar filling. You can make the easy cinnamon sugar filling from my cinnamon roll bread pudding. Then take brioche bread slices and fill them with the cinnamon sugar filling (kind of like sandwiches) and cut into cubes. Layer these cubes with the apple pie filling, soak in the custard, and bake!
Step by step photos
Let's quickly go over the steps with photos to help you visualize this recipe!
Bake the bread pudding until golden and cooked through. Let it rest for 20 minutes, then slice and serve. I love adding a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and drizzling over the reserved toffee apple sauce to serve!
A few quick tips before you make it
- Don't overcook the custard. You don't need to thicken it, you just need to melt the butter and combine all ingredients. Also be sure to keep stirring so the eggs don't cook. Overcooking may result in an eggy texture in the bread pudding
- Cook the apples until just tender. Press into a piece with a fork to check. There shouldn't be any "sharpness" to the apples, but we also don't want them to be mushy
- Adjust the ratios to your liking. My bread pudding has a lot of apples but you can use less of the apple pie filling if you like, and save more of it for serving
- Press down firmly during assembly, and again right after baking. Due to the apples, the bread pudding doesn't bind together as easily. Pressing down firmly helps the components stick together so you can get clean slices
- Don't over-bake the bread pudding! The best way to check is by poking a toothpick in the middle - if you see any wet custard on it, bake for a bit longer. Over baking can make the custard curdle, which we don't want!
Apple Pie Cinnamon Roll Bread Pudding
- Total Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes
- Yield: 12 servings
Description
A delicious bread pudding made with cinnamon swirl bread bites, a toffee apple pie filling and brown sugar custard!
Ingredients
Toffee apple pie filling:
- 4 granny smith apples, peeled and diced (600g)
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter (85g)
- ¾ cup brown sugar, packed (150g)
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ cup heavy cream (60g)
- 2 tbsp water (30g)
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour (16g)
Brown sugar custard:
- 1 ½ cup whole milk (360g)
- ⅔ cup heavy cream (160g)
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter (28g)
- 2 large eggs
- 2 egg yolks
- 3 tbsp brown sugar (37g)
- 1 tsp vanilla
- ¼ tsp salt
Assembly:
- 20 oz King's Hawaiian cinnamon bites (2 packs) - or use any other bread of choice in similar quantity
Instructions
- Pre-heat your oven to 350F (conventional / no fan) and brush a 7"x11" or 8x9.5" casserole dish with butter
- Start by making the toffee apple pie filling. Peel and dice the apples into small chunks. Add the apples, butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, cream, water and flour to a pan. Place on the stove on medium heat, and stir until the ingredients are combined and the butter has melted. Then turn the heat to low, cover, and cook for 5-7 minutes. Remove the lid, and continue cooking and stirring for another few minutes on medium-low heat until the apples are just cooked and the sauce is bubbly and golden. This will take ~15-20 minutes total
- Add the ingredients for the custard to a saucepan. Place on the stove on low heat, and cook and stir until the butter has melted and the ingredients have just combined. Do not do this on high heat as the custard might curdle. Make sure the eggs are fully combined. Do not over cook or try to thicken the custard, we are just combining the ingredients for now
- Cut the cinnamon bites / bread into 1" cubes (I cut the King's Hawaiian bites into halves)
- Now, to assemble, add half of the cinnamon bites to the prepared dish. Press down firmly. Then spread a third of the cooked apples on top - you want to pick up the apples and any sauce that is naturally sticking to them, but don't pick up the sauce itself as we want to reserve it for serving. Pour over half of the custard and press down firmly again
- Cover with the rest of the cinnamon bites, but save a handful of them. Spread on a third of the apples again, and place the remaining cinnamon bites on top of the apples in different spots so the pudding looks pretty on top. Pour over the remaining custard, ensuring the bread is fully soaked. Press down firmly again. At the end, you will have a third of the cooked apples and most of the toffee sauce left over for serving
- Bake the pudding in the pre-heated oven for ~40 minutes, or until it's golden on top and cooked through (test with a toothpick - it shouldn't have wet custard on it). Remove from the oven, and press down firmly again with a spatula. Let the pudding rest for 20-30 minutes
- Slice and serve the bread pudding. Optionally, place a scoop of vanilla ice cream on each slice. Drizzle over the reserved apples and toffee sauce. Enjoy!
Video tutorial:
Notes
- Cinnamon swirl bites: If you can't find King's Hawaiian cinnamon bites, you can use store-bought cinnamon rolls or cinnamon bread, or regular brioche bread. If using regular brioche bread, you can either add more cinnamon to the apple pie filling, or make a separate cinnamon sugar filling like I use in my cinnamon roll bread pudding
- Prep Time: 40 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
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