A strange thing happened to me last week. I went to a meeting and there were donuts leftover at the end. Leftover donuts are like leftover champagne … inconceivable Yet here we are. To no one’s great surprise, I took the remaining ½ dozen home. They weren’t great, more so the grocery store type that were a little stale to start but I can’t stand throwing away food. In high school, I worked at a bakery and rather than throw the leftover bread away at the end of the night because we couldn’t find a charity to take them, I would leave with bags and bags of bread and drop them off at friends’ houses on my way home. I had a route; I knew who liked what and I’ll be damned if it was going in the trash. My friends’ parents didn’t buy bread for years. And I’ll be damned if those damn donuts were going in the trash. I would do something with them.
Fast forward 3 days later in the chaos of a work project cluttered kitchen and I spotted that box still sitting on the table, partially hidden. Whoops. Though to be fair, time and indifference made my idea even better – Donut Bread Pudding. Is that a thing? It was about to become a thing. The box contained a few – now very stale – cinnamon twists, a couple chocolate glazed, a pair of apple fritters and a raspberry jelly. By this point, they were the ideal texture as stale bread soaks up the custard so very well. I cubed the donuts and mixed up a simple custard of milk, sugar, eggs and vanilla. Poured it all into a baking dish and let it sit for an hour or two to soak. So far, so good. In the midst of things, I discovered that yeasted donuts hold up better than cake donuts which are so tender, even when stale, that they tend to disintegrate in the custard. But stale donuts are stale donuts. You get what you get.
Baked with some cinnamon sugar thrown on the end for a lovely crunch, I have to say … this was delightful. Sure, it all depends on what donuts you’re working with but even the random combination I had was very tasty. There was a little bit of chocolate here, a taste of raspberry there and cinnamon throughout. Some rainbow sprinkles would not be amiss nor would a random pocket of custard from a cream filled. It all works. To really gild the lily, a drizzle of icing after baking would bring it full circle.
A note about this custard mix. It’s a very simple mix of dairy, sugar and eggs. This time I used half whole milk and half heavy cream, because it’s what I had and dark brown sugar because it was the easiest to reach. 100% milk would be fine, as would regular granulated sugar or whatever you have. I’m not convinced a lower fat milk would be as delicious but you do you. Let’s keep in mind that the bulk of dish is comprised of old donuts so there’s really no need to overthink it. Use what you have.
STRESS THERAPY BAKING FACTOR: FANTASTIC. Take something about to be wasted and turn it into a special treat? Oh yes! Like the idea but don’t have any old donuts? Start a freezer stash. As they appear, throw them into a Ziploc bag in the freezer. You’d be amazed how they magically appear before you when you start paying attention. And you should pay attention because this thing is delicious. It’s breakfast, it’s a snack, it’s dessert. Be smart, eat well.
fifteen years ago: Brown Butter Banana Bread, Roasted Tomato & Asparagus Quiche
fourteen years ago: Kentucky Derby Tarts, Pretzel Rolls, Pretzel Dogs
thirteen years ago: French Onion Soup, Roasted Garlic Potatoes
twelve years ago: Popovers & Strawberry Butter, Pickled Ramps, Liege Sugar Waffles, Whatchamacallit Brownies
eleven years ago: Avocado Lime Tequila Popsicles, Scallop Ceviche, Queso Fundito
ten years ago: Guinness Crème Anglaise
nine years ago: Flourless Chocolate Cookies
eight years ago: Horchata Strawberry Swirl Ice Cream, Coconut Tres Leches Ice Cream
seven years ago: Bacon Fat Polvorónes, Parisian Gnocchi with Asparagus and Brown Butter
six years ago: Cotija Churros with Guava Sauce, Sweet & Spicy Cashew & Coconut Snack Mix
five years ago: Candied Jalapenos
four years ago: Chorizo & Cornbread Strada (Savory Bread Pudding)
three years ago: Roasted Beet & Orange Salad
two years ago: Spinach Feta White Bean Hand Pies
last year: Cookies for Cinco de Mayo
DONUT BREAD PUDDING
serves 6-8; I used an 8”x11” baking dish which was perfect.
8 cups diced stale donuts, cut into ¾” cubes (about 6-8 donuts)
4 large eggs
2 cups whole milk, half & half, heavy cream or a combo
¾ cup sugar – granulated, light or dark brown sugar or a combo
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or brandy, bourbon, dark rum, etc.)
for an optional topping:
cinnamon sugar: 1 tablespoon sugar + 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
or
icing: ¼ cup sifted powdered sugar + 1 ½ teaspoons water
- Cut the donuts, preferably stale, into roughly ¾” pieces – icing, fillings, sprinkles and all – and spread out on a sheet pan in a single layer. Leave them out uncovered overnight to get nice and stale (they’ll soak up the custard better if they’re dry. If you don’t have the time, leave them out as long as you can, giving a toss once in a while. A little stale is better than nothing.)
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon and vanilla until smooth and the sugar dissolves.
- Butter a shallow baking dish, place on a parchment paper lined sheet pan and fill the dish with the dry donut pieces.
- Pour the custard over the bread and give it a little toss. Let sit at room temperature for 1 hour to soak, giving a stir halfway.
- Preheat the oven to 300°F with a rack in the lower third.
- Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes
- Remove the foil, sprinkle a little cinnamon sugar on top if you like and bake for another 15 minutes, uncovered, until the custard is set.
- Serve warm, room temperature or chilled with heavy cream or whipped cream.
- If you like, let cool and mix up a simple icing and drizzle over the cooled bread pudding (if drizzled over a warm pudding, the icing will melt, which is ok too).