Tres Leches Bread Pudding

By Samantha Seneviratne

Tres Leches Bread Pudding
Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.
Total Time
1¼ hours, plus 20 minutes’ cooling
Rating
4(710)
Notes
Read community notes

Pastel de tres leches, a traditional Latin American dessert, consists of a basic sponge cake doused in three types of milk: condensed, evaporated and whole milk or cream. Inspired by the classic cake, this bread pudding transforms those three milks into a rich custard that gets absorbed by buttery cubes of brioche. As it bakes in a water bath, it becomes golden and toasty on the top and soft and pillowy on the bottom. Serve it at any temperature with a dollop of whipped cream and a drizzle of condensed milk. If you have any leftovers, eat them for breakfast topped with a little Greek yogurt and some fresh fruit.

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Ingredients

Yield:8 to 10 servings
  • Butter, for greasing the baking dish
  • 3large eggs
  • 4large egg yolks
  • 2cups/480 milliliters heavy cream
  • 1cup/240 milliliters condensed milk
  • 1cup/240 milliliters whole milk
  • 1(12-ounce/360-milliliters) can evaporated milk
  • 2teaspoons vanilla extract
  • ½teaspoon kosher salt
  • 12ounces/340 grams brioche, cut into 1½-inch cubes (about 8 cups)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (10 servings)

487 calories; 31 grams fat; 18 grams saturated fat; 1 gram trans fat; 9 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 40 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 24 grams sugars; 13 grams protein; 348 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch square baking dish.

  2. Step 2

    In a large bowl, beat together the eggs and egg yolks until completely combined. Whisk in 1 cup/240 milliliters heavy cream, ¾ cup/180 milliliters condensed milk, the whole milk, evaporated milk, vanilla and salt.

  3. Step 3

    Set the bread in the prepared dish and pour the egg mixture on top. Press the bread down gently with a spatula to make sure all the pieces are immersed and soak up the liquid. Let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes.

  4. Step 4

    Meanwhile, bring a kettle of water to a boil. Drizzle 2 tablespoons condensed milk over the pudding. Cover the baking dish tightly with aluminum foil then set it inside a large roasting pan. Pour the boiling water into the roasting pan until it reaches about halfway up the sides of the baking dish.

  5. Step 5

    Bake until the center of the custard is almost set but still slightly wet, about 25 minutes. Carefully remove the foil and continue to bake until the custard is set in the center and the top is golden, about 30 minutes longer. Carefully remove the roasting pan from the oven and let the pudding cool in the water for about 20 minutes.

  6. Step 6

    Whip the remaining 1 cup/240 milliliters heavy cream to soft peaks. Serve the pudding warm, room temperature or cold with a dollop of whipped cream. Drizzle with the remaining 2 tablespoons condensed milk.

Ratings

4 out of 5
710 user ratings
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Cooking Notes

Nick Pengelley

I inadvertently added the 2 cups of cream into the mixture. Cursing, I allowed an extra 5 minutes with the foil on to compensate. The result was truly spectacular and this is now our household's favourite dish!

Christine

Made this yesterday. Used 1 less egg yolk, added 1 cup stale cinnamon bread and 1/2 tsp cinnamon. It was delicious.

Karla

I followed the recipe but I add 1 can of sweetened condensed milk instead of 1 cup. I also add raisins and sliced almonds. Baked for 30 minutes covered with foil and 45 minutes uncovered. Superb!!!!

JB

Made this recipe exactly. Instant hit. The middle was just a bit underdone (it was a bit cumbersome to get the foil off to check the middle in the first step), but the whole dessert got rave reviews. This dessert is sweet, but I would say on the lower end of sweet. If you like very sweet desserts, maybe add powdered sugar to the whipped cream. I ate most of mine without whipped cream as I thought it was perfect as baked. Will make again for sure. Vanilla ice cream might be a great add on.

Christine

My guess is sweetened condensed milk since there is no other added sugar and it is a dessert. I have made tres leches cake and the cake batter is sweet. I will try this recipe with brioche bread.

Melanie

This is a good recipe that I would serve for breakfast with fruit. I didn't get much of a tres leche flavor. It was more like a really yummy french toast. I think I either need staler bread (to add more texture) or maybe add toasted slice almonds or something crunchy to break up the texture. The condensed milk drizzle really made this yummy...but maybe that is what condensed milk does to anything you add it to?

SGS

Evaporated and condensed milk aren't the same thing, even if evaporated milk is sweetened.

SGS

Sweetened condensed milk and condensed milk are used interchangeably - they are the same thing. The thick sweetened milk. Sounds like the only sweetness comes from the condensed milk.

Paula

I sweetened the whipped cream with sweetened condensed milk and salted lightly. Also added generous amounts of cinnamon to the pudding. It was incredible!

Aubrey K

Extremely rich and decadent, but not too sweet. I didn't get much of the traditional tres leches flavor, which was a disappointment. I couldn't find unflavored brioche at my grocery, and I wasn't willing to make two stops, so I subbed in challah. It was great! Made in a 13x9 (used ~1lb of bread and all of the custard) and cooked in a shallow pan of water (probably would have been better with a taller water bath).

Tim

Loved it! My brioche bread was very fresh, so I dried out the bread cubes in the oven for 15 minutes at 325 before soaking.

Hillary C

Yum! Transformed a truly mediocre brioche into a luscious brunch, served with fruit. Nor one crumb left.

Danielle H

A couple posts conflated evaporated and condensed milk, but they are different. Evaporated milk is relatively thin and not sweetened. Condensed milk is a little thicker and sweetened A link about how and why they're made https://www.allrecipes.com/article/evaporated-and-condensed-milk/

csl

Made with 16 oz challah in a 9x13. Increased custard a bit (a little more sweetened condensed milk, a little more milk, and one extra egg). Also added about a tsp of cinnamon. Did not do the water bath. Baked covered for 25 and uncovered for 30. It was PERFECT.

SpideySense

This was entirely too eggy for me until it had sat on counter for a day - We ate every single crumb. I’m giving it a go with 3 or 4 eggs instead.

KLao

For those looking to make this recipe a little sweeter - I adjusted the milks so I could use up some cans leftover from the seis leches cake. I used 1 c of a mix of sweetened condensed milk and sweetened condensed coconut milk, an extra 1/2 c of evaporated milk in addition to the 12oz can, then used heavy cream to make up the rest of the milk. Turned out great. Also topped with dulce de leche made from another can of sweetened condensed milk to add a little more sweetness. Needs cinnamon though!

Terry

This was great. Everybody loved it! Thank you!

Nercon5

This was good but some acidity would’ve taken it over the top! If next time, tidbits of drained pineapple would do nicely, perhaps coconut condensed milk in lieu of regular

PepperPod

Do you think this dessert could be cooked, cooled, frozen, and then reheated?

Kay

Oh, panettone! Another delicious fate for you!

FdP

Like another poster, I used all the heavy cream and skipped the whole milk. It was wonderful, the hit of the party, tres leches flavor without having to do the baking. Definitely a keeper.

Excellent cake and quite easy to make.Bernie

Excellent cake and quite easy to make.

PolyTheWicked

Delicious, but I didn’t bother with a water bath and it turned out fine. I hate using them and most recipes for bread pudding don’t require one. I baked at 350F for 25 with foil on, removed foil, then baked another 30 or so mins. Used a 9x13” pan and just used more bread (french bread without crusts as I had some that was stale). This makes plenty of custard for that size pan.

molly

Served by Raye and Bill Leith with sliced strawberries.

Needs Tres Leches Flavor

This is really a delicious recipe, and could be made even better with a bit of a nostalgic flair. My partners grandmother used to make tres leches for him all the time, and she’d add strawberries on top. So we modified the recipe a bit: -Add cinnamon and all spice to the egg and milk mixture (we did 1 tblsp cinnamon, 1 tsp all spice) -We macerated some strawberries with lemon juice / sugar, and poured the syrup into the whipped cream and added the strawberries on top Yum!

Belinda Brown

I followed the instructions exactly but also added into the milk mixture the finely grated rind of two oranges and I sprinkled about 100 gr of dark chocolate onto the brioche (I didn't weigh it - I am guessing). It was utterly delicious. To be honest I think it might have been a tiny bit dull without these flavourings.

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