Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bread Pudding (Printable View)

Rich, warm bread pudding layered with caramel cheesecake, tender apples, and spiced custard, finished with sweet caramel drizzle.

# What You’ll Need:

→ Bread and Fruit

01 - 8 cups brioche or challah bread, cut into 1-inch cubes (about 1 standard loaf, day-old preferred)
02 - 2 large apples (Granny Smith or Honeycrisp), peeled, cored, and diced

→ Cream Cheese Mixture

03 - 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
04 - 1/2 cup granulated sugar
05 - 1/2 cup caramel sauce, plus more for drizzling
06 - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

→ Custard

07 - 4 large eggs
08 - 2 cups whole milk
09 - 1 cup heavy cream
10 - 1/2 cup brown sugar
11 - 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
12 - 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
13 - 1/4 teaspoon salt

→ Topping

14 - 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
15 - 2 tablespoons brown sugar

# How To Make It:

01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish with butter or nonstick spray.
02 - Arrange bread cubes and diced apples evenly in the prepared baking dish.
03 - In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese with granulated sugar until smooth. Add caramel sauce and vanilla extract, mixing until fully combined.
04 - Drop dollops of the caramel cream cheese mixture evenly over the bread and apples.
05 - In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, heavy cream, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt until well blended.
06 - Pour custard evenly over bread, apples, and cream cheese mixture. Gently press down to soak the bread.
07 - In a small bowl, combine melted butter and brown sugar. Drizzle over the top of the pudding.
08 - Cover loosely with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
09 - Remove foil and bake an additional 20 minutes, or until golden brown, puffed, and set in the center.
10 - Let cool for 10 minutes before serving. Drizzle with extra caramel sauce if desired.

# Best Practices:

01 -
  • It tastes like a fancy dessert but comes together faster than you'd think, transforming humble bread into something your guests will ask for the recipe to.
  • The caramel element hits that sweet spot between decadent and comforting, especially when served warm with ice cream melting on top.
02 -
  • Day-old bread is absolutely essential because fresh bread will disintegrate into mush no matter how carefully you handle it, so buy your loaf a day ahead or let it sit overnight uncovered.
  • Don't overbake it past the point where the center is just set, or the custard will separate and become watery rather than creamy, a lesson I learned the hard way on my third attempt.
03 -
  • Always let your cream cheese reach room temperature before beating it with sugar, otherwise you'll have lumps that refuse to dissolve no matter how much you mix, which I learned after one frustratingly grainy attempt.
  • If your custard seems thin after whisking, it probably isn't, so resist the urge to add more cream cheese or eggs because the bread will absorb liquid and everything will set properly during baking.
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