Blueberry Bread Pudding Maple Sauce
By Emma
Certified Culinary Professional
•
Recipe tested & approved
A nostalgic mix of torn stale bread soaked in spiced vanilla milk, folded with eggs, sugar, and fresh blueberries. Baked until puffed and golden, it’s moist but firm. The balance lies in the texture of the bread absorbing just enough custard without becoming mushy. Maple sauce with a roux thickens on the stove, glossy and rich, warming the room with sweet, buttery aroma. Perfect for using leftover bread and berries, this dish brings contrasting textures and a sticky sweet drizzle for a satisfying finish. Substitutions for dairy or fruit swaps work well, forgiving and versatile.
Prep:
25 min
Cook:
Total:
Servings:
8 servings
#dessert
#baking
#blueberries
#maple syrup
#French-Canadian
#custard
#leftover bread
Always loved how stale bread makes pudding humility in texture. Not some mushy mess but a balance. Blueberries pop up surprise in each bite. Milk with nutmeg-vanilla combo lets simple flavors shine. Eggs hold it all with elegant custard. Maple sauce thickened with classic roux, that’s old school but reliable. Maple syrup and water simmered down are sweet but not cloying. The butter-flour paste is trick I learned from grandma for glossy sauce thickness, no flour lumps here. Baking till puffed, golden and just firm, that wobble means not overdone. Can’t stand when dried out or too gooey.
Ingredients
- 700 ml (about 3 cups) whole milk
- 15 ml (1 tablespoon) pure vanilla extract
- 3 ml (1/2 teaspoon) ground nutmeg
- 380 g (about 7 1/2 cups) stale white or wheat bread torn into cubes
- 50 g (1/4 cup) unsalted butter softened
- 100 g (1/2 cup) granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 330 g (2 cups) fresh or frozen wild blueberries
Maple Sauce
- 220 ml (3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons) pure maple syrup
- 200 ml (just under 1 cup) water
- 40 g (about 3 tablespoons) unsalted butter softened
- 25 g (2 1/2 tablespoons) all-purpose white flour
About the ingredients
Milk amount tweaked slightly down from traditional 750 ml to 700, avoiding pudding swim. Vanilla extract has to be pure; it’s where much aroma lives. Nutmeg, just a scrape less keeps warmth but not overpowering. The bread: day or two stale is prime, but if fresher, dry it in oven a bit. White or wheat bread give different textures; last time used old sourdough which turned dense but still tasty. Butter softened, no melts allowed here. Sugar slightly reduced to avoid cloying; you can tweak sweetness based on berry tartness. Blueberries are classic here but can swap for raspberries or cherries if desired. Sauce uses less maple syrup to control sweetness and thicker consistency. Butter-flour ratios important; too much flour makes gritty sauce, too little runs thin. Water added to maple prevents immediate burn and helps simmer reduction. Good maple syrup key for flavor; no imitation.
Method
Blueberry Bread Pudding
- Preheat oven to 175 C (350 F). Adjust oven rack center position. The slight turn down in temp helps browning without drying out pudding edges.
- Pour milk, vanilla, nutmeg into a large bowl. Toss in cubed bread. Let sit 7-10 minutes, not more. You want bread to soak but not disintegrate. If stale bread too dry, extend soak time. The softness is your texture base.
- Meanwhile, beat softened butter and sugar in another bowl with electric mixer. Cream until fluffy, around 4 minutes. Don't rush this step; it brings lightness and melt-in-mouth effect to pudding.
- Add eggs gradually, one at a time, beating after each addition until fully combined and pale. This ensures custard sets properly and prevents curdling later.
- Fold the egg mix gently into the bread soaked mixture. Use a spatula. You want to keep air in while ensuring everything blends evenly.
- Carefully fold in blueberries, fresh or frozen. Frozen berries can make pudding a bit juicier and may slightly stain the batter, adding rustic blurples around the edges.
- Transfer mixture to a buttered glass or ceramic baking dish approx 2 liters (8 cups). Smooth top gently but don’t compress. A loose surface means light pudding.
- Bake 1 hour 10-15 minutes. Look for puffed surface turning golden brown. Jiggle the dish gently, pudding should wobble slightly but not be liquidy inside. Insert skewer into middle. A few moist crumbs clinging is better than soggy batter.
- Let rest 10 minutes. The pudding firms up during cooling but keeps moist texture inside.
Maple Sauce
- While pudding bakes, combine maple syrup and water in a small saucepan.
- Bring to boil, then simmer gently for 4 minutes. This reduces thin watery sweetness concentrating flavor.
- In a small bowl, mash softened butter and flour with a fork till smooth paste forms. This beurre manié thickens the sauce without lumps.
- Whisk in butter-flour paste gradually to simmering syrup. Stir constantly. Sauce thickens in 1-2 minutes to a glossy medium-thick coat consistency.
- Remove from heat. Sauce cools thick but stays pourable and rich.
- Serve pudding warm, topped or dipped with hot maple sauce. The contrast between the soft fruity custard and buttery maple drizzle is memorable.
- If sauce thickens too much on cooling, warm gently before serving. Too thin? Simmer a minute longer but watch carefully.
- Store leftovers covered in fridge. Pudding reheats well in oven or microwave but texture softens over time.
Cooking tips
Start soaking bread in spiced milk first, then creaming butter and sugar while you wait. Creaming butter right affects texture; don’t shortchange this with just quick mix. Eggs add structure — beat in one at a time to prevent curdling and bad texture. Fold in blueberries last, carefully so they keep shape and don’t pulverize. Using a glass dish helps watch color and bubbling edges through baking. Oven temps vary; don’t fixate on time but check color and texture. Pudding is done when edges are golden and top slightly cracked, but still tender in middle. Wobble is sign of custard set but not dry. Sauce thickens quickly once roux paste added, keep stirring or will clump. Cool sauce will thicken more; reheat gently if needed, don’t boil. Serve pudding warm, sauce hot. Leftover pudding can be reheated but expect softening. For fridge leftover sauce, stir before use. If bread too fresh or pudding soggy, bake a bit longer uncovered to dry top slightly. Don’t overbake or you lose moisture. I usually prep sauce while pudding bakes, saves time and energy, plus sauce ready to spoon straight out of pot.
Chef's notes
- 💡 Start soaking bread right after mixing milk vanilla nutmeg. Timing crucial; bread needs to absorb but not turn mushy. Keep watch, around 7-10 minutes. If bread too dry, extend soak but careful not soggy. Stale bread best but slice thickness varies soak times. Experiment with bread types; sourdough changes texture noticeably.
- 💡 Cream butter and sugar thoroughly. Takes around 4 minutes beating electric mixer at medium speed. Skip this step, pudding turns dense, heavy. Light and airy butter mix traps air, makes custard hold nice shape without cracking. Adding eggs slowly keeps mix stable; prevents curdling, erratic texture.
- 💡 Fold eggs and soaked bread gently. Use spatula; do not overmix. You want pockets of air trapped in batter. Blueberries last, fold carefully to avoid staining batter too much or crushing berries. Frozen berries add moisture, bake time might shift slightly.
- 💡 Oven temp matters. Set 175C, 350F convection or conventional. Slightly lower than usual browns edges nicely without drying. Position rack center; odd colors or too much browning means rack too high or too low. Pudding wobble after bake means set but moist inside; skewer test always better than timer here.
- 💡 Maple sauce roux needs steady whisk after adding butter flour paste to syrup. Stir without stop or sauce lumps up fast. Sauce thickens in about 1-2 minutes, glossy sheen signals done. Cool sauce thickens more but keep heat low when reheating, don’t boil or breaks smooth texture.
Common questions
Can I use other berries?
Raspberries cherries work but texture changes. Juicier berries mean more moisture in pudding, watch baking time. Blueberries hold better, less leak. Adjust sugar if substituting sour or sweet fruits.
My pudding is soggy inside. Why?
Usually soak time too long or bread too fresh, soak properly but avoid mush. Oven temp might be off, too low gives soggy pudding. Bake longer uncovered top dries slightly. Also check bread dryness before soak.
Can I freeze leftovers?
Yes, but texture alters slightly; custard softens on thaw. Wrap well, freeze in airtight container. Thaw in fridge overnight reheated slow oven or microwave low power. Sauce separate freeze better; warms up faster no lump.
How long keep pudding and sauce?
Fridge best covered 3-4 days. Sauce thickens cold, stir or warm gently. Can reheat pudding wrapped in foil to retain moisture. Avoid repeated heating to keep texture less crumbly. If sauce gets grainy whisk in small splash warm water.
