Croissant bread pudding with rhubarb compote

Try this croissant bread pudding with vanilla – the perfect way to use leftover croissants. Creamy, buttery, and crisp on top, ideal for brunch.

📝 Ingredients

• 7 croissants
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 cup cream
• 5 eggs
• 1 vanilla bean
• 1.5 cups sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1.75 lbs rhubarb
• 1 lime
• butter (for greasing)
• confectioner’s sugar (for serving)
• vanilla ice cream (for serving)
• mixed berries (optional)
• mint (for garnish)

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1Preheat the oven to 180 °C/355 °F (top/bottom heat). Grease a baking dish with butter. Scrape out the seeds from the vanilla bean and set the empty pod aside for later. Cut the croissants into large pieces and place them in the dish. If using fresh croissants, spread the pieces on a baking sheet and dry them in the oven at 150 °C/300 °F for approx. 10–15 min.
2. 2In a large bowl, whisk together milk, eggs, cream, sugar, vanilla pulp, and salt until the sugar has dissolved. Pour the mixture evenly over the croissants, cover with aluminum foil, and let soak for approx. 20 min. (or overnight), allowing the croissants to fully absorb the custard. Bake covered with the foil in the preheated oven for approx. 50–60 min., until the custard is set and the croissants are golden brown. Remove the foil for the last approx. 2 min., keeping a close eye on it, as the top browns quickly.
3. 3Meanwhile, prepare the rhubarb compote. Trim the rhubarb and cut into approx. 2 cm pieces. Combine with sugar in a saucepan and let sit for approx. 20 min. Add the reserved vanilla pod and a few strips of lime zest, then bring to a gentle simmer over low heat. Cook for approx. 10 min., until the rhubarb has reached your desired consistency. Dust the finished bread pudding with powdered sugar, cut into pieces, and serve warm with the rhubarb compote, a scoop of vanilla ice cream and garnish with mint and more fresh fruit, like raspberries, if you like.