Apple and Walnut Whole-Wheat Bread Pudding

From the kitchen of Carly

Cubed whole-wheat bread soaks up a honey-egg custard spiked with cinnamon and nutmeg, then bakes until golden alongside chunks of tart apple and toasted walnuts. Warm spice and fruit make this bread pudding feel like breakfast and dessert at once.

Apple and Walnut Whole-Wheat Bread Pudding

Whole-wheat bread pudding gets its sweetness straight from honey and structure from toasted walnuts and tart green apple. The trick is tempering the eggs with hot spiced milk without scrambling them, then giving the bread time to soak before it hits the oven. What emerges is custardy in the center, caramelized at the edges, and substantial enough to satisfy without feeling heavy.

Prep
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Cook
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Total
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Servings
4
Difficulty
medium

Ingredients

4 servings

  • 12 slicehoney whole-wheat bread, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
  • 1 cuphoney
  • 6 largeeggs
  • 3egg yolks
  • 1 tbspvanilla extract
  • 2 1/4 cupwhole milk
  • 1 tbspground cinnamon
  • 1 tspfreshly grated nutmeg
  • 1 largegreen apple, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
  • 1 cuptoasted walnuts
  • 1roughly chopped

Instructions

  1. Set the oven to 325°F and grease a 9- by 12-inch baking pan.

  2. Spread the bread cubes in an even layer on a large cookie sheet and bake until lightly toasted, 7 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

  3. Whisk the honey, eggs, yolks, and vanilla together in a medium bowl until smooth.

  4. In a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan, bring the milk, cinnamon, and nutmeg to a simmer, then pull it off the heat immediately. With the whisk moving constantly, pour the hot milk into the egg mixture in a slow, steady stream. Let the custard cool slightly.

  5. Toss the bread cubes, apple, and walnuts together in a large bowl, then gently fold in the custard until every piece is coated. Let the mixture stand for about 10 minutes, tossing once or twice, until the bread has absorbed most of the liquid.

  6. Pour the pudding into the prepared baking pan and spread it into an even layer. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, until the top is brown and the edges are bubbling. Cool briefly, then slice and serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Tips from the kitchen

  • Toast the bread cubes first on a sheet pan. They'll hold their shape and give you texture instead of dissolving into mush once the custard hits them.
  • Whisk the hot milk into the eggs slowly and constantly. Pour too fast and you'll have scrambled eggs instead of custard. Room temperature eggs help too.
  • Let the soaked bread sit in the baking pan for a few minutes before the final bake. The custard keeps absorbing, and you want it distributed evenly so some pieces don't end up dry and others waterlogged.

Variations

  • Swap the green apple for pear or dried apricots. The logic stays the same, you just shift the flavor from bright to deeper.
  • Skip the walnuts and fold in 3/4 cup of chocolate chips or chunks instead. Add it to the custard before soaking the bread so it melts slightly.
  • Brown some butter and drizzle it over the bread before the custard goes in. Nutty flavor and extra richness without changing the technique.
  • Use brown sugar or maple syrup in place of honey. The spices will adapt to whatever sweetener you pick.

Make ahead and storage

Keeps in the fridge for 3 days. Reheat gently in a 300°F oven for about 10 minutes to warm through without drying out the top. Not ideal for freezing since the bread texture suffers when thawed.