A rich, custardy bread pudding made from panettone, with a swirl of browned butter and toasted garlic bread crumb topping.
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.
Serves 8
Butter a baking dish and arrange torn panettone chunks evenly inside.
Whisk eggs, milk, cream, sugar, vanilla, and salt together until smooth.
Pour the custard evenly over the panettone. Press gently so all pieces are submerged, and let soak 20-30 minutes.
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.
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.
Let rest 10 minutes before serving warm, on its own or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Let the panettone soak in the custard for the full 20-30 minutes -- rushing this step leaves dry pockets in the finished pudding.
Watch the browned butter closely; it goes from perfectly nutty to burnt in under a minute once the color starts changing.
Mince the garlic very finely for the topping so it toasts evenly with the breadcrumbs rather than burning in spots.
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.
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.
Panettone bread pudding is a well-known Italian way to use leftover panettone after Christmas and New Year's celebrations, when households often have more of the sweet bread than they can eat fresh; the savory garlic-crumb topping here is a playful, less traditional addition.
Yes, brioche or challah work well as substitutes -- add a handful of golden raisins and a bit of orange zest to get closer to panettone's characteristic flavor.
No, it's an optional savory contrast -- for a more classic dessert, skip it and use a simple cinnamon-sugar crumb topping instead.
It likely needed more baking time, or the custard-to-bread ratio was too high -- check for a slight wobble (not liquid movement) in the center before pulling it from the oven.
Per serving (180g / 6.3 oz) · 8 servings total
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