Tres Leches Bread Pudding

This rich and indulgent Tres Leches Bread Pudding recipe is a delightful dessert mash up that is a must for Cinco de Mayo!

I’ve mentioned quite a few times that growing up my family was really big into holidays. Yup, over the top decorations, traditions and some sort of little surprise (a card, special treat or small trinket) was my Mom’s thing. 

Of course there were holidays, like Christmas or Halloween, that were more over the top than others, but we loved it all! It wasn’t until I was older that I realized that there were so many other holidays that we really never celebrated. For us it was just a day off school or something we briefly learned about in class. These holidays, Labor Day, Flag Day, Earth Day, Cinco de Mayo, etc. were holidays that growing up, were just another day.

Being not only a blogger, but recipe developer and cooking instructor means that it is part of my job to know what foods are in season, what activities are in season (grilling, back to school, etc.), what holidays, big or small (even cheesy food holidays like National Grilled Cheese Day), are approaching, and what the food trends are. In this line of work, you have to start planning for these things months in advance because for the rest of the world they only start thinking about said holidays a few weeks before, so that means I already have to be ready. Because the day of said holiday, it is a trending topic with hash tags and such!

Boy the world has changed quite a bit since I was a kid, but if that means I get to enjoy Flag Day by eating a fruit topped “flag” cake or eat compost cookies on Earth Day or enjoy a margarita and some tacos on Cinco de Mayo, which let’s face it, if I am being honest, is actually at least a once a night thing already in our house, then well I’m in!

Today’s recipe, Tres Leches Bread Pudding, is a heavenly mash up of two popular desserts. Tres Leches Cake is a popular dessert in central and south America and Tres Leches means “three milks,” which the cake is soaked in. Bread pudding is similar, as it is old bread soaked in an egg and milk custard, and so a Tres Leches Bread Pudding is a no brainier!

Bread pudding is such a spectacular dessert and yet is so easy to make. I threw together this version one time on a whim for a dinner party and had multiple guests say it was the best bread pudding ever. With raving reviews like that, I think that means you must make this Tres Leches Bread Pudding for your Cinco de Mayo celebration!

One Year Ago: Easy Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta 
Two Years Ago: Burgers with Blue Cheese and Red Wine Caramelized Onions
Three Years Ago: Easy Mediterranean Pizza
Four Years Ago: Green Monster Smoothie
Five Years Ago: Greek Pasta Salad
Six Years Ago: Lime Cheesecake Dessert Squares
Seven Years Ago: Dulce de Leche Tres Leches Cake

Tres Leches Bread Pudding
by Heather H. of Kitchen Concoctions: www.kitchen-concoctions.com
Prep Time: 20 minutes Bake Time: 30 minutes Serves: 8-10
Printable Version

Rich and indulgent bread pudding made with three different milks and topped with sweet Dulche de Leche and homemade whipped cream.

Ingredients:
2 cups whole milk
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk
5 large eggs
½ cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
¾ cup room temperature butter, cubed and divided
12-13 cups torn croissants (about 20-24 croissants)

For Serving:
1 (14-ounce) can Dulche de Leche
2 cups freshly whipped cream

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Generously grease a 9×13 -inch baking dish with 1-2 tablespoons butter. Set aside.

In a large bowl whisk together whole milk, sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, eggs, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.

In a separate large bowl, toss together remaining cubed butter and torn croissants. Pour custard over bread pieces and stir just until bread is saturated. Add additional milk, if needed, to ensure the bread is completely saturated.

Pour bread pudding into prepared pan and bake at 400 degrees F, for 25-30 minutes, or until set. Allow bread pudding to cool for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Tres Leches Bread Pudding is best served warm or at room temperature, topped with Dulche de Leche and homemade whipped cream. Store leftovers for 3-4 days in the refrigerator.

Other recipes you might enjoy:
Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Pumpkin Creme Anglaise 
Dulce de Leche Tres Leches Cake
Oven Baked Cinnamon Toast French Toast 
Bananas Foster French Toast 
Mixed Berry “Shortcake” Sheet Cake