King Cake Bread Pudding with Bourbon Cream Cheese Frosting
Rich king cake bread pudding topped with a cream cheese bourbon frosting. This dessert (or breakfast) is indulgent and delicious!
As described in detail in the notes below, for my tweak to a traditional bread pudding I used cinnamon raisin bagels, but you should feel free to use croissants or cinnamon rolls if you’d like a less dense bread pudding.
The bourbon cream cheese frosting is just the best thing ever. Tasty and festive. Enjoy!
Notes: Using bagels will yield a much denser bread pudding. If you use cinnamon rolls or croissants, you can expect your final result to be taller and not quite as dense. I used bagels since I needed to use them up and wanted to experiment with the recipe, and I enjoyed the result. Not a traditional way to make bread pudding but it works!
King Cake Bread Pudding with Bourbon Cream Cheese Frosting
Makes a 9×13-inch pan
Ingredients:
- For the bread pudding:
- 6 large cinnamon rolls, croissants or cinnamon raisin bagels (roughly 7-8 cups of bread, whichever route you go), cut into 1 inch cubes
- 6 eggs beaten
- 2 cups half and half
- 1/2 cup sugar (original recipe called for 1 cup but I reduced it since we have a sweet frosting)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- For the frosting:
- 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
- 3 Tablespoons butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 Tablespoon bourbon
- 1 Tablespoon milk (less if you want the consistency thicker)
- For garnish: purple, yellow/gold and green sanding sugar
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 325-f degrees. Spray or butter a 9×13-inch casserole dish with cooking spray.
- Set your cubed bread pieces in a large mixing bowl.
- In a separate large bowl, whisk together the beaten eggs, half and half, sugar and vanilla. Pour evenly over your bread pieces. Stir in chopped pecans, raisins and cinnamon.
- Let mixture sit for about 20 minutes to allow the liquids to soak in.
- Bake uncovered for 50-55 minutes or until set.
- While the bread pudding bakes, prepare the frosting. Beat the cream cheese and butter at medium speed with an electric mixture until creamy. Gradually add powdered sugar and salt, beating until blended. Stir in vanilla, bourbon and milk. Frost the bread pudding after it has finished baking and is still warm.
Recipe by Jam Hands.
