Every once in a while, I'll snag a day-old bag of donuts from a discount cart at my grocery store. Sometimes they are just a quick and easy treat, but other times, they find their way into recipes that might otherwise call for bread or cake. And when that happens, something delicious finds its way onto the brunch table!
This time around, classic cake donuts form the foundation of a traditional bread pudding recipe. Sure, you could serve this for dessert, but when you pack fresh blueberries and sweet preserves into the mix, it quickly resembles a breakfast or brunch item. And if you're lucky, you might get two helpings!
This dish can be prepped the night before so all you need to do in the morning is take it out of the refrigerator, remove the plastic wrap, aluminum foil, or lid you used to cover it overnight, and continue with the baking step. Allow the dish to rest outside of the refrigerator for about 15 minutes before placing it in the oven so that you do not shock the dish with a severe temperature change. Whether you make it the night before or in the morning or opt to serve it as dessert, enjoy this fun dish.
Blueberry Donut Bread Pudding
- 6 eggs
- 1 c. half and half
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 3 cake donuts, cut or torn into pieces (day old donuts work beautifully)
- 1 pint fresh blueberries
- 1/4 c. blueberry or other berry preserves
Preheat the oven to 400° F. Spray a 9x7-inch baking dish with nonstick spray and set aside.
Combine the eggs, half and half, cinnamon, and vanilla extract in a resealable mason jar. Tightly screw on the lid and shake vigorously to combine. Make sure all of the eggs have broken and a fairly homogenous mixture has formed before you are done shaking.
In the prepared baking dish, combine the donut pieces and fresh blueberries. Dot the top of the donuts and fruit with the preserves. Pour the egg mixture evenly over the pan, making sure to completely cover all the donut pieces with the egg mixture. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes or until the egg mixture is set and the donut pieces are lightly crisped. If desired, serve with maple syrup.
- Yields: 4-6 servings
- Preparation Time: 40 minutes