A lemon-filled bread pudding gives you a soft custard center and browned edges. Limoncello goes into a separate uncooked sauce, making the alcohol-containing and alcohol-free finishes easy to distinguish. This is a source-based home adaptation, not a restaurant formula or a Yenra kitchen-tested recipe.
Gather the ingredients and equipment
The base adapts King Arthur Baking’s lemon-filled bread pudding, using plain brioche and alcohol-free vanilla. For 8–10 small servings, use a greased 9 × 5-inch loaf pan, mixing bowl, whisk and food thermometer.
- 340 g brioche, cut into roughly 1-inch cubes
- 3 large eggs
- 2 cups (454 g) half-and-half or milk
- ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon alcohol-free vanilla flavoring
- 142 g prepared lemon curd
- Butter or neutral oil for greasing the pan
Soak, layer and bake
- Whisk eggs, dairy, sugar and vanilla. Fold in the bread and let it absorb the custard for 30–60 minutes.
- Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Place half the soaked bread in the pan, spread with lemon curd and cover with the remaining bread and custard.
- Bake about 40–50 minutes, until golden and set. Check the center with a thermometer; continue baking as necessary.
- Let stand about 30 minutes before portioning.
For this egg dish, reach at least 160°F (71°C) in the center, following FDA’s egg-safety guidance. Surface color alone cannot establish that the middle is ready. If the top darkens before the center sets, cover loosely with foil and continue baking. Weighing the bread avoids variations caused by loosely or tightly packed cups.
Choose one sauce
Limoncello finish: whisk ½ cup confectioners’ sugar with 1 tablespoon limoncello and 1 teaspoon lemon juice. Add water ½ teaspoon at a time only if needed for a spoonable glaze. This is Yenra’s suggested sauce proportion; sweetness and thickness vary by sugar and liqueur.
The sauce is uncooked and contains alcohol. Label it clearly and keep it separate from the other version. Cooking the pudding does not change alcohol later added in a glaze.
Alcohol-free finish: replace the tablespoon of limoncello with 2 teaspoons water plus 1 teaspoon lemon juice; retain the original teaspoon of lemon juice. Use alcohol-free vanilla in the pudding and check the bread, lemon curd and flavoring labels to meet the intended restriction. Spoon a little sauce over each serving, then offer more separately.
Serve and refrigerate the remainder
Use clean utensils for serving. Refrigerate portions in shallow covered containers within two hours of cooking, or one hour above 90°F; the resting and serving time counts. Keep at 40°F or below, use within 3–4 days and reheat the pudding to 165°F. FDA’s egg guidance supports these storage and reheating limits.
The base includes eggs, milk and wheat; prepared ingredients may contain additional allergens. A change to bread, dairy or egg substitutes alters the custard behavior and needs its own tested recipe. For another custard dessert, explore crème brûlée.