Cinnamon Almond Bread Pudding for Two

This Cinnamon Almond Bread Pudding for Two is a simple, no-fuss, small batch dessert. Great for making ahead, too!

Quite often for special occasions and holidays, I like to make a small batch dessert just for the two of us. It’s nice to have a special treat without making lots of servings.

This Cinnamon Almond Bread Pudding for Two is inspired by my abiding love of almond croissants. With lots of almond flavor and a good dose of cinnamon, this is one delicious dessert! It’s that magical kind of recipe that’s wonderfully quick and easy to make but is still elegant and amazingly delicious.

This bread pudding recipe makes exceptionally delicious use of a leftover croissant by turning it into a luscious dessert with plenty of almonds and cinnamon. In fact, forget that whole waiting-for-a-leftover-croissant thing. Just go get a croissant specifically to make this fantastic dessert!

What You’ll Need

• Croissants – One large croissant is usually plenty for this recipe. You’ll need to cut it into 1-inch cubes. Stale croissants work best for soaking up the filling, but fresh is fine if that’s what you have.
• Almonds – You’ll need chopped almonds for the filling, and you may want some more chopped or sliced almonds for garnish.
• Almond paste – You can adjust the amount of almond paste if you want more or less almond flavor. Most times, I don’t measure this accurately but rather just crumble some until it looks like the amount I want.
• Milk – I use either whole or 2% milk.
• Brown sugar
• Egg
• Ground cinnamon
• Almond extract
• Salt
• Cinnamon-sugar – This is optional to sprinkle on top just before baking. Use store-bought or make your own with a 4:1 ratio of sugar to cinnamon. I like to make my own with sanding sugar just for how it looks, but regular sugar is just fine.

Topping Ideas

• Caramel or dulce de leche – The topping in these photos is a store-bought salted caramel.
• Whipped cream and toasted almonds – Simple and delicious!
• Ice cream – Besides adding the obvious scoop of ice cream on top of these beauties, try drizzling melted ice cream over them when serving.
• Confectioners’ sugar – A heavy dusting of confectioners’ sugar is a simple topping that will bring to mind almond croissants from your favorite bakery.

How to Make Cinnamon Almond Bread Pudding

This bread pudding is wonderfully easy to make. You’ll have it assembled and chilling in no time!

Combine the bread, almonds, and almond paste. Stir them together in a medium bowl.

Combine the other ingredients. Whisk together the milk, brown sugar, egg, cinnamon, almond extract, and salt. This will not mix thoroughly, but mix as well as you can.

Add the milk mixture to the bread. Pour the milk mixture over the bread, and stir until all the bread is coated.

Transfer to ramekins. Lightly grease two 8-ounce ramekins. Divide the bread pudding mixture between them.

Refrigerate. Cover the ramekins and chill for at least an hour or up to overnight.

Prepare for baking. Heat the oven to 350°F. If you like, sprinkle the tops of the puddings with more almonds and a heavy pinch of cinnamon-sugar.

Bake. I recommend placing the ramekins on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper to catch any potential spills and to make it easier to get them into and out of the oven. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, or until the tops are browned and a thin knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Serve warm.

Tips for Success

• Stale croissants work best. Fresh croissants have more moisture, so they don’t quite absorb the liquid mixture as well. It doesn’t make a huge difference, so don’t hesitate to use what you have.
• Adjust the cinnamon as you like. If you want more or less, simply make that adjustment. For something a little different, use a blend of spices, like my Fall Spice Blend.
• Make ahead. These bread puddings need some chilling time, so they’re great for making a day in advance and then baking when you’re ready to serve them. For longer chilling times, get them out of the refrigerator when you start heating the oven.
• Want to make more servings? This recipe makes two generous servings of bread pudding for you and your favorite dessert lover, but you can also easily scale it to make a couple more if you like. More scaling than that, and it’s not likely to work as well. You can find other bread pudding recipes in the recipe index.

How to Store Leftovers

With just two servings, you’re not likely to have leftovers. But if you do, cover the cooled bread pudding tightly with plastic wrap or transfer to an airtight container. Place in the refrigerator. Properly stored, it should keep up to 5 days. To reheat it, warm it briefly in the microwave or in a low temperature oven.

You can also freeze bread pudding. After it has cooled completely, place it in an airtight, freezer-safe container. It should keep up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.

More Bread Pudding Recipes

• Cookie Butter Pound Cake Bread Pudding
• Chocolate Bread Pudding
• Praline Bread Pudding

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