White Chocolate Bread Pudding

I love a good bread pudding recipe. And this white chocolate bread pudding is such a treat. Rich, warm, and comforting, it’s perfect for fall weather and these individually portion sized desserts are great for holiday entertaining too. Plus, if you have any left over they’re great with coffee in the morning. Who says you can’t have bread pudding for breakfast?

This white chocolate bread pudding recipe below is from the pastry kitchen of Carnival Cruise Lines.  I sailed away with them for a relaxing girlfriends getaway, and this homemade recreation of what we had on the ship has the same decadent rich flavor that I remember while on vacation.

On the ship, it’s named “Bitter & Blanc” for it’s two main superstar ingredients – dark chocolate ganache and white chocolate sauce. At first I was a little intimidated about making these sauces at home, but it turns out they are surprisingly easy and a little fool proof. You could just make the vanilla sauce, but the bitter sweetness of the dark chocolate ganache pairs well with the white chocolate mixed with the bread pudding.

I baked this white chocolate bread pudding recipe at home and shared it with my husband and friends and it was a big hit!  Here’s a couple of quick tips here for you as well as step-by-step instructions. But if you’re ready to get started, just hit the “jump to recipe” button.

White Chocolate Bread Pudding Cooking Tips:

• When shopping for ingredients, 1 pint of heavy cream will be enough for the whole recipe, bread pudding and sauces too.
• Make the dark chocolate ganache first as you’ll need it to layer in the bottom of your ramekins.
• Stir up the vanilla sauce while you’re waiting for the white chocolate bread pudding to bake.
• Have an empty mason jar ready on the side as you’ll probably have some chocolate ganache and vanilla sauce left over to use in other recipes. Even better, you could always make a couple of batches and give the sauces away as gifts.

White Chocolate Pudding Recipe: Step-By-Step

Gather together the ingredients and preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Having all the ingredients pre-measured in prep bowls helps make this white chocolate pudding recipe easy to follow. Here’s what you’ll need to get started:

WHITE CHOCOLATE BREAD PUDDING INGREDIENTS

• egg yolks
• butter
• heavy cream
• Brioche bread
• white chocolate chips
• sugar

VANILLA SAUCE

• whole milk
• sugar
• corn starch
• egg yolks
• vanilla extract

CHOCOLATE GANACHE

• dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips
• heavy cream
• vanilla extract

Making The Bread Pudding

Remove the crusts of the bread, dice into squares. Put in a large bowl and pour 1/2 cup cream over bread; let it soak in.

In saucepan, melt the white chocolate chips with butter and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, mix cream, sugar, yolks, and add the melted white chocolate/butter mixture on a slow speed.

The mixture will have a yellow consistency once blended.

Add the cream-soaked bread pieces and stir together with a spoon until bread is well coated.

It will look a bit mushy, but will bake up nice and fluffy. Set the bread aside to make the dark chocolate ganache.

Making The Dark Chocolate Ganache

In a saucepan, heat 1 1/2 cup heavy cream and bring to simmer. Put 1 cup of dark chocolate chips into a bowl and pour simmering cream over chocolate. Add vanilla and stir gently until it has a smooth chocolate sauce consistency.

Grease individual soufflé cups or ramekins with butter and sprinkle lightly with sugar. Spoon a layer of dark chocolate ganache into the bottom of each cup. 

Top the dark chocolate sauce with white chocolate bread pudding mixture. Bake at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 minutes.

Making The Vanilla Sauce 

While the white chocolate bread pudding is baking, make a vanilla sauce for the topping. Boil 1 cup of milk and mix in 2 tablespoons of sugar in a small saucepan.

Once sugar is melted, lower heat to a simmer. In a small bowl, cream together two egg yolks & 1 tablespoon of corn starch with a whisk.

Pour milk into egg yolks and corn starch mixture. Add 1 tsp vanilla extract.

Return vanilla sauce mixture to sauce pan and cook on low heat until it reaches a coating consistency (coats a spoon).

Pour vanilla sauce through strainer into a small bowl to remove lumps. Once white chocolate bread pudding is done baking, it’s ready to add the sauce and serve!

Add a spoonful of vanilla sauce to each serving of white chocolate bread pudding.

Serve and enjoy! This recipe makes 5-6 servings depending on the size of your soufflé bowls or ramekins.

The dark chocolate ganache at the bottom pairs nicely with the white chocolate bread pudding and vanilla sauce making a decadent and impressive dessert. If you have any sauce left over, store in a glass container in the refrigerator for up to one week.

 

This post was created as part of my collaboration with Carnival. As always, all of the opinions, thoughts, and ideas in this post are my own. Originally published Oct 27, 2014, updated 2022.

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