Easy Bread Desserts – From Budín de Pan to Chocolate Zucchini Bread

From using up stale bread to making your own bread studded with zucchini and fruits, these baked bread desserts are perfect for entertaining over tea. Bake them, then store them well to enjoy them, when you start craving something sweet. All of them are easy at home desserts and all you need to do is to follow the recipe well to minimize any errors and get the perfect bread desserts you’ll ever make.

1. Budin de Pan

(Serves 10)

• 500 gm stale bread, cut into pieces
• 750 ml whole milk
• 3 eggs
• 75 gm butter, melted
• 100 gm sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 75 gm raisins
• 1 cinnamon stick (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C and grease an 8-inch square baking pan thoroughly.
2. Tear up the stale bread into small, bite-sized pieces and put them in a big mixing bowl. Pour milk over the bread pieces and let the bread soak for five minutes.
3. Once soft, use a fork to crumble the bread pieces to get a moist and chunky mass. Take another bowl, whisk the eggs pour it over the soaked bread. Add the warm butter, sugar, vanilla extract, ground cinnamon, and raisins. Mix just until the batter reaches a uniform consistency.
4. Transfer the mixture to your greased baking dish and use a spatula to smooth the top.
5. If using the cinnamon stick, break it into smaller pieces and and insert them into the pudding in different areas.
6. Bake the pudding for 50-60 minutes. To check, insert a toothpick into the center, it should come out clean if the pudding is ready.
7. Once baked, you'll notice the top has formed a crust, but the insides are still soft. Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack. Let the pudding cool before you cut it. As it cools, it will settle and become less puffy.
8. Serve your Budin de Pan with a drizzle of honey and enjoy with a cup of coffee.

Tips & Tricks:

• Don’t rush the milk soaking, for it’s not just about softening the bread, but transforming it into a custardy base. If your bread is particularly dense (like sourdough), let it soak for up to 10 minutes. For lighter breads, 5 is plenty.
• Resist the urge to pulverize the soaked bread. A bit of chunkiness in the batter gives the final pudding more character and prevents a rubbery, overworked texture.
• Make sure the melted butter is warm but not hot; pouring hot butter directly into the egg mixture can cause the eggs to scramble slightly, leading to a graininess.
• Soak raisins in warm water (or rum or tea) for 5 minutes to plump them before adding. Cinnamon stick fragments should be pushed deep into the batter.

2. Chocolate Zucchini Bread

(Serves 12)

Ingredients

• 125 gm all-purpose flour
• 50 gm Cadbury Cocoa Powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 60 gm unsalted butter, melted
• 60 ml vegetable oil
• 150 gm packed light brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 300 gm packed shredded zucchini
• 175 gm semisweet chocolate chips, divided

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C, then grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan with butter, and flour it, tapping out the excess.
2. Take a mixing bowl, add flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and sea salt, and whisk. Set aside.
3. Take a bigger bowl, crack the eggs, add butter, oil, vanilla extract, and brown sugar. Stir until it's smooth.
4. Gradually add the flour contents into the egg bowl, stirring to combine. Be careful not to overmix. Fold in the zucchini to the batter. Follow with folding in 130 grams of chocolate chips into the batter.
5. Pour the prepared batter into your greased loaf pan. Sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips over the batter.
6. Bake the bread for 50-60 minutes. To check if it's done, insert a toothpick into the center of the bread, it should come out mostly clean.
7. Remove the pan from the oven and put it on a wire rack. Let the bread cool in the pan for about 15 minutes.
8. After cooling, run a knife around the edges of the bread, then carefully remove it from the pan. Place the bread on the wire rack to continue cooling until it's just warm.

Tips & Tricks:

• The moisture from the zucchini is essential to keep the bread ultra-moist. If your zucchini is super watery, you can blot it gently with a paper towel, but don’t wring it out, you’ll lose necessary hydration.
• Cold eggs can cause the melted butter to clump, resulting in an uneven batter. If you’re short on time, place the eggs in a bowl of warm water for 5 minutes to bring them to room temperature quickly.
• Mix most of the chocolate chips into the batter, but save a few for the top to ensure they don’t all sink to the bottom during baking. Press them slightly into the surface with the back of a spoon to keep them from burning.
• Because of the chocolate chips and moisture from the zucchini, a toothpick test should come out with a few moist crumbs, not bone dry. Overbaking will rob the loaf of its moisture.

3. Fruit and Nut Bread

(Serves 10)

Ingredients

• 250 gm all-purpose flour
• 150 gm white sugar
• 1 ½ tsp baking powder
• ¾ tsp salt
• ½ tsp baking soda
• 150 gm mixed dry fruits, chopped
• 60 gm chopped walnuts
• 180 ml orange juice
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp orange zest

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C and take a 9x5-inch loaf pan and grease it. Set aside.
2. Take a big bowl, sift flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Whisk to mix then add the chopped mixed dry fruits and walnuts. Toss to coat them.
3. Take a separate bowl, pour orange juice, vegetable oil, crack the egg into it and add the orange zest. Whisk until they're well combined.
4. Pour orange juice bowl ingredients into the flour bowl and use to fold the ingredients. Mix just until no large pockets of flour are visible.
5. Pour the batter into the loaf pan, and smoothen the top with the spatula.
6. Bake for approximately 50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.
7. Remove the pan from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool off, for about 10 minutes.
8. Run a knife around the edges of the bread to loosen it from the pan. Carefully turn the bread out onto the wire rack to cool completely

Tips & Tricks:

• Coating the chopped dried fruits and nuts in flour prevents them from sinking to the bottom during baking, ensuring even distribution in every slice.
• Use a fine grater to zest only the orange’s colored skin; the white pith underneath is bitter and can overpower the loaf’s citrus notes. Do this before juicing the orange.
• Once the wet and dry ingredients come together, fold just until you no longer see dry flour. Overmixing activates the gluten and leads to a tough, dense loaf.
• This bread continues to set as it cools. If sliced while warm, the loaf may crumble or seem underbaked even when it’s perfectly cooked.