Ponche de Crème Bread Pudding
There’s bread pudding, and then there’s Ponche de Crème Bread Pudding. This Caribbean holiday favorite takes the creamy, spiced goodness of ponche de crème and bakes it into soft, custardy perfection. Sweet, boozy, and comforting in every bite. This one deserves a permanent spot on your Christmas dessert table.
Bread pudding is already comfort food royalty, but when you swap regular milk for ponche de crème? That’s a Caribbean game-changer. This recipe is rich, cozy, and a little indulgent — the kind of dessert that uses up leftover bread and ponche de crème in the most delicious way possible.
This recipe is a cozy spin-off of my classic Ponche de Crème recipe; the same creamy, spiced base that gives all my holiday desserts their signature Caribbean flair.
Why you’ll love this
- That warm ponche de crème flavor baked right into dessert form
- Perfect for using up leftover bread or ponche de crème.
- Ready in under an hour. No fussy steps
- Makes your kitchen smell like pure Christmas
How to make ponche de creme bread pudding
Ingredients you’ll need
To Build the Base:
Start with a soft, rich bread like challah or brioche. It holds its shape but still soaks up that custardy mix like a champ. Day-old bread works best here — a little stale means maximum flavor absorption.
For the Custard Mixture:
Eggs, milk, ponche de crème, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and essence. The ponche de crème adds that signature Caribbean creaminess, warmth, and a hint of rum.
For the Festive Touches:
A handful of raisins or cherries for color and sweetness. Optional, but very on-brand for the holidays.
For the Glaze:
A simple brown-sugar glaze made with ponche de crème, cream, milk, and a touch of essence. It’s the silky finishing touch that pulls everything together.
How to make ponche de crème bread pudding
- Prep the Oven and Dish
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and grease your baking dish with butter. - Build the Base
Cut up your loaf of challah (or similar bread) into cubes and place them in a large bowl.
- Mix the Custard
In another bowl, whisk together eggs, whole milk, ponche de crème, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and essence until smooth and well combined.
- Bring It All Together
Pour the custard mixture over the bread cubes, stirring gently so everything gets coated. Let it sit for 10–15 minutes so the bread can soak up all that holiday goodness. Add raisins or cherries if using.
- Bake to Perfection
Pour into the greased dish and bake for 35–45 minutes, until the top is golden brown and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. - Make the Glaze
In a saucepan, whisk together brown sugar, flour, ponche de crème, heavy cream, milk, and essence. Cook over medium heat, stirring until the sugar melts and the mixture is smooth and glossy. Don’t let it boil over or burn — this glaze is sweet perfection. - Finish and Serve
Pour the warm glaze over the bread pudding as soon as it comes out of the oven. Sprinkle with a little nutmeg if you’d like and serve warm. Trust me, no one’s walking away from this one.
Tips & Variations
- Bread: Challah gives this pudding its rich, soft texture, but brioche or hard dough bread works beautifully too.
- Don’t skip the soak: Give the bread time to absorb the custard for a creamy, pudding-like finish.
- Serving Idea: Drizzle extra glaze or serve with a scoop of Ponche de Crème Ice Cream (coming soon!).
- Make it ahead: Assemble ahead, refrigerate, then bake when ready. Perfect for stress-free holiday mornings.
Storage
Let it cool completely, then cover and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
Reheat in the oven at 300°F until warm, or microwave gently for quick comfort.
You can also freeze individual portions for up to a month. Thaw overnight in the fridge and warm before serving. Ponche de crème desserts are good any time of year.
More Ponche de Crème recipes
All these treats start with my original Ponche de Crème recipe. The base for every creamy, spiced holiday dessert on the blog:
Each one brings that Caribbean Christmas flavor we love.
FAQs
For this recipe, 10–15 minutes is good. But if you want a deeper flavor, you can let it sit for a few hours or even overnight. That longer soak helps every piece soak up the custard.
Yes, that’s a great way to bake gently for a softer, more custard-like texture.
Absolutely! Store-bought works perfectly fine, but your homemade version will always have that authentic spiced flavor that sets it apart.
Recipe
Ponche de Creme Bread Pudding
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Cut up bread into cubes
- Mix eggs, milk, ponche de creme, cinnamon, sugar, nutmeg and essence together till well combined.
- Pour milk mixture over bread and saturate.
- Add raisins and cherries if using
- Pour into greased dish Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 45 minutes until golden brown and knife test in center comes out clean
- Whisk everything together over a medium heat.
- Then simmer till combined and sugar melted. (Don't let it over boil or burn)
My guests loved this. Done in no time.