Steamed Caramel Bread Pudding or Flan - smooth, creamy and satiny, drenched in a divine caramel sauce is the to-die-for dessert you can make with bread, milk, sugar and eggs; steamed in a pressure cooker.
Any time you make this, it is going to be a show stopper. Enjoy this as a dessert at your next party or to celebrate any special occasion.
My favorite has always been caramel custard which uses only milk, eggs and sugar (4 recipes for caramel custard in my blog are proof of that!!). Recently, my elder daughter-in-law had whatsapped me a picture of bread caramel pudding she had made and I was blown away by how scrumptious it looked. My younger son loves caramel custard and I do not fail to make it whenever I visit him.
But this bread pudding (using bread slices to give a denser texture to the pudding) sounded interesting, so with to and fro conversations on whatsapp, she shared her amazing recipe. Milk, eggs, sugar and bread are always in my pantry and refrigerator. I could not wait to try this.
All caramel custard desserts are self saucing and this one was too. The fun part is, you can use stale bread too (a great way to finish off those unwanted sides and slightly dry leftover bread); either white or brown; I had only white.
The caramel custards I have made previously used an oven; this one was fascinating because it needed steaming in a pressure cooker. Lot of homes do not have ovens in their kitchen; this recipe is apt for them.
It involves only two steps in preparation; prepare the caramel sauce by melting sugar with a splash of water until the mixture is amber or light golden brown. Keep an eye on it as it can turn dark brown and bitter in seconds!
Once the caramel sauce is ready, pour it into the pan you will be steaming the custard and allow it to set.
Second step is to prepare the bread custard mixture; blend eggs, bread slices, sugar, vanilla and milk in a blender or food processor until smooth and cream. Pour into the prepared caramel coated pan, lightly cover it, and it is ready to be steamed.
You can either steam it or bake it in an oven with a water bath (check the method here) until the custard is cooked but there is still a slight jiggle to the pudding. Chill in the refrigerator, invert, and serve delectable, scrumptious slices of creamy, scrumptious bread pudding, coated with the golden sweet caramel sauce dripping and drizzling all over it.
This show-stopper dessert can be made well ahead and stays in the refrigerator for at least 3 to 4 days (if it lasts that long!); so it is perfect as a make-ahead dessert for any special party at your home or just to enjoy any time!
Smooth, creamy and satiny steamed bread pudding or custard/flan, drenched in a divine caramel sauce made in a pressure cooker.
Ingredients
- ½ cup sugar
- 3 tsp water
- 4 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla essence/extract
- 500 ml milk
- 1 cup sugar
- 4 slices of bread (white or brown; my slices were big, so I used only 4; if small you can use more)
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, melt sugar and water on medium heat.
- After a few minutes, the sugar will melt and will start to bubble up.
- The color will begin to change to light golden and start to become darker.
- When the sauce turns golden brown or amber, remove from heat and immediately pour into a pan you will use to steam the custard.
- Swirl the pan to spread the caramel sauce evenly over the bottom of the pan.
- In a blender jar, mix eggs, vanilla essence, milk and 1 cup sugar.
- Add bread slices one by one and beat or mix again to a smooth mixture.
- Pour into the caramel coated pan.
- Fill a pressure cooker with water up to 2 inches.
- Place a trivet at the bottom of the pan and place the bowl with custard over it.
- Lightly cover the custard with foil (make a few holes in the foil for steam to escape).
- Close the pressure cooker and steam (without weight) for 45 minutes to one hour (checking in between around 45 minutes).
- Remove from pressure cooker, uncover the foil and cool the custard slightly.
- Run a knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the custard and let cool in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or even overnight.
- Slice and serve chilled.
Notes
For a denser pudding or custard, use more bread slices; for a lighter pudding, use just one or two.
How to make Caramel Bread Custard:
To make the caramel sauce:
- In a small saucepan, melt sugar and water on medium heat.
- After a few minutes, the sugar will melt and will start to bubble up.
- The color will begin to change to light golden and start to become darker.
- When the sauce turns golden brown or amber, remove from heat and immediately pour into a pan you will use to steam the custard.
- Swirl the pan to spread the caramel sauce evenly over the bottom of the pan.
To make the bread custard:
- In a blender jar, mix eggs, vanilla essence, milk and 1 cup sugar (you can reduce the amount of sugar if you prefer a slight less sweet flan).
- Add bread slices one by one and beat or mix again to a smooth mixture.
- Pour into the caramel coated pan.
- Fill a pressure cooker with water up to 2 inches.
- Place a trivet at the bottom of the pan.
- Place the bowl with custard over it.
- Lightly cover the custard with foil (make a few holes in the foil for steam to escape).
- Close the pressure cooker and steam (without weight) for 45 minutes to one hour (checking in between around 45 minutes with a toothpick test). Once cooked, remove the foil gently.
- Remove the pan from pressure cooker, cool the custard slightly.
- Run a knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the custard and let cool in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or even overnight. Some prefer warm custard, but we love it thoroughly chilled.
- Just before serving, invert gently onto a large serving plate. Immediately, the creamy, golden brown caramel will cover the custard fully and start to drizzle down the sides of the creamy, divine bread pudding.
- Slice and serve chilled.
- Enjoy!!
Join the party at : #FiestaFriday | #cookingwithauntjuju | #herbspicesandtradition | #sweetinspiration |
For more caramel custard recipes, try:
Caramel Custard (with condensed milk)
Creme Caramel Custard (without condensed milk)
If you like my posts and recipes, do not forget to Pin, Share, comment in the box below or like my Facebook page.
What does “without weight” mean in instructions? Also do you naturally release after cooking time or quick release pressure?
Hi Judy,
All Indian pressure cookers have a small top to seal the hole on top of the lid which then builds up pressure inside the cooker.
By without weight, it generally means without that seal on top; so basically the pudding is steamed.
In Instant pot you will be pressure cooking on vent and not seal.
Let the pressure drop naturally before opening the lid of the pressure pan.
Hope this helps.
Thank you so much for stopping by 🙂 and hope you enjoy making and eating this pudding.
Hello. I plan to make this recipe. However, been a veg, what should i use instead of egg
Hi Reenal 🙂 I have not tried to make these without eggs so far, so I cannot help you with this right now. Thanks for stopping by dear!!
Hi mam like to know How much is the 1 cup measures?
Hi, I have used the cup which is 250 ml. Hope this helps 🙂
I’ve been looking for a recipe similar to this. 14 years ago a Venezuelan woman taught me to make flan using a stale baguette in a blender. I can’t find my note and can’t remember much more about it. She didn’t speak English and I didn’t speak Spanish. It was fun getting to know each other in our own way. Thanks for posting this. I’ll try ina nd see if it brings back memories!!
Thank you so much Teresa 🙂 🙂 Hope this recipe helps you in recreating the one she shared with you..thanks so much for stopping by!
This recipie reads and looks yummy. The best thing is it serves as a dessert due to its satinny texture. I love the use of bread in a caramel custard giving it a lovely texture. Just has a few questions. Firstly did you use 4 Jumbo bread slices cos i have a regular slices not small...so how many should i use. Just want to get the quantities right 🙂 Do we need to cut the sides and should we soften it lightly with water before the bread is added to the blender. Waiting to make and devour??
Thanks Patricia 🙂 I used the jumbo bread slices along with the sides; just crumble them and add to the blender little by little. It should work fine.. thanks so much for stopping by 🙂
Wow ! Such a beautiful blog ! Thanks for sharing the wonderful recipe.
Thank you so much Vinanti 🙂 🙂 So glad you could stop by; appreciate it a lot!!
That looks like it is so easy to make and delicious to boot. Love that it has so few ingredients. Why I could probably make it right now!
Thanks so much Mary 🙂 Not only are they easy, but awesome tasting too! Please do try this; I am sure your whole family will love it!! Thanks for stopping by 🙂
I want to try this is my Instant Pot. I'll let you know how it turns out. Thanks for the inspiration.
Tracey
Great idea!! Do let me know how it turned out? Thanks for stopping by☺️
Thanks so much Freda 🙂 Caramel custard is a favorite in our family too!
Looks absolutely tempting! This is by far, my favorite dessert! This was a must every Sundays for us, I feel like having some now 🙂