Italian Browned Butter Garlic Bread Pudding (Panettone-Style)

About This Recipe

This dessert repurposes panettone, the iconic Italian holiday sweet bread studded with candied fruit and raisins, into a rich custard bread pudding -- a well-known way Italian households use up leftover panettone after the holidays rather than letting it go stale. The unusual addition here is a savory-sweet garlic breadcrumb topping, browned in butter until deeply nutty, which sits somewhere between novelty and genuine flavor contrast against the sweet custard. The technique that matters most is letting the torn panettone pieces soak thoroughly in the egg-custard mixture before baking -- at least 20-30 minutes -- so the bread absorbs the liquid evenly rather than baking up dry in the center while soggy at the bottom. Browning butter properly, watching for the milk solids to turn a nutty amber color without burning, is what gives the topping its distinct toasted flavor. Baked until the top is golden and the custard is just set with a slight wobble in the center, this bread pudding transforms a sometimes-overlooked holiday bread into a genuinely interesting, rich dessert worth making on purpose, not just as a way to use leftovers.

Ingredients

Serves 8

• 500 gpanettone(torn into chunks)
• 4eggs
• 2 cupswhole milk
• 0.5 cupheavy cream
• 0.5 cupsugar
• 1 tspvanilla extract
• 0.25 tspsalt
• 4 tbspbutter
• 3 clovesgarlic(very finely minced)
• 0.5 cupbreadcrumbs
• 2 tbspsugar(for topping)

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the pan

   Butter a baking dish and arrange torn panettone chunks evenly inside.

2. 2

   Make the custard

   Whisk eggs, milk, cream, sugar, vanilla, and salt together until smooth.

3. 3

   Soak the bread

   Pour the custard evenly over the panettone. Press gently so all pieces are submerged, and let soak 20-30 minutes.

4. 4

   Brown the butter and make the topping

   Melt butter in a small pan over medium heat, swirling, until the milk solids turn amber and it smells nutty, about 4-5 minutes. Add garlic and breadcrumbs, toasting 2 minutes until golden. Stir in sugar.

5. 5

   Bake

   Preheat oven to 175C/350F. Scatter the garlic breadcrumb topping over the soaked panettone. Bake 40-45 minutes until the top is golden and the custard is just set with a slight wobble.

6. 6

   Rest and serve

   Let rest 10 minutes before serving warm, on its own or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Variations

• •

  Skip the garlic topping for a more traditional, purely sweet panettone bread pudding with a simple sugar-cinnamon crumb instead.

• •

  Use brioche or challah instead of panettone if it's not available, adding a handful of raisins and orange zest to mimic panettone's flavor.

• •

  Serve with a warm zabaglione (Marsala custard sauce) instead of ice cream for an even richer, more traditional Italian dessert.

Storage

Refrigerate covered up to 3 days. Reheat individual portions in the microwave for about 30 seconds, or in a low oven covered with foil to prevent drying out.

Frequently Asked Questions