Slow cooker panettone bread and butter pudding (or panettone French toast casserole for my readers in the USA) is a delicious festive dessert ideal for using up that leftover panettone from Christmas.
Full of festive flavours, the light spices intensify the flavour of the panettone. I love mine sprinkled with a little sugar before serving for some added crunch!
I had some leftover panettone that needed to be used up (just a cheap supermarket one) and made a bread and butter pudding with it, with a little cinnamon and ginger.
I think Jamie Oliver made something similar in his latest series.
I make this in my slow cooker but it would equally work in a dish in the oven.
The slow cooker is cheaper to run though so this was a frugal dessert in more ways than one!
Plus there is no need to worry about burning if you don’t keep your eye on the pot. It takes longer for slow cooker dishes to burn.
The panettone was only 99p as it was near its sell by date, I then kept it for another week and it was still perfect.
Excellent after Christmas when you need to save the pennies.
If you have some panettone left after Christmas this easy dessert is a great way to use it up. It would even make an ideal slow cooker Christmas breakfast recipe!
This was so easy to put together, and the whole family found it tasty which is always good.
What is panettone
Panettone is an Italian yeasted bread with candied fruit and raisins.
It is typically enjoyed over the Christmas period, and is now often given as a foodie gift in the UK at Christmas time.
Panettone are baked in paper cylindrical moulds which give them their distinctive domed shape.
The flavour is reminiscent of British hot cross buns!
Ingredients
Here are the ingredients you will need for this panettone bread and butter pudding. You’ll find the quantities together with the full directions in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- panettone – I use up the leftover panettone after Christmas.
- granulated sugar
- ground ginger
- ground cinnamon
- eggs
- milk – I use semi-skimmed
Step by step
Before you start, read my step-by-step instructions, with photos, hints and tips so you can make this slow cooker panettone pudding recipe perfectly every time.
Scroll down for the recipe card with quantities and more tips at the bottom of the page.
Step 1. Slice up your leftover panettone, I like to cut each slice into triangles. In this recipe I used half a 750 g panettone, so about 375 g of it.
Step 2. Grease the slow cooker pot with a little butter and put half of the panettone pieces into the pot.
Step 3. Sprinkle over 1 tsp of sugar, half a teaspoon of cinnamon and half a teaspoon of ground ginger.
Step 4. Layer the rest of the panettone pieces on top then sprinkle over the rest of the cinnamon and ginger.
Step 5. In a jug, to make the custard, beat together the eggs and milk, then stir in the sugar. Pour this over the panettone in the slow cooker pot.
Step 6. Sprinkle over the last teaspoon of sugar, then put on the lid and cook for 2 hours on high. Use a thick tea towel under the lid to stop condensation making the top of the dessert soggy.
To check it is cooked, use a knife or skewer to check that the custard is set.
Sprinkle over a little extra sugar then serve with custard, cream or ice cream!
After baking in the slow cooker as you can see the custard will cook and become set during that time, as the edges of the panettone crisp up!
No need to get an oven involved at all, just brilliant!
Recipe twists
As an optional twist this dessert can also be made more luxurious by using cream for the custard but I think milk works just as well for an everyday pudding.
If you have leftover Baileys- or brandy-flavoured cream from Christmas then you could use that in your custard.
You could also add in chocolate chips, raisins or sultanas in between and on top of the layers.
So if you need a festive and comforting dessert for a cold day, then slow cooker panettone bread and butter pudding might fit the bill perfectly!
It’s simple enough for everyday but also has those Christmassy flavours to indulge in.
Why not try
If you need more ideas with your sweet Christmas leftovers – check out this collection. Need more slow cooker desserts, I have you covered.
Recipe
Slow Cooker Panettone Bread and Butter Pudding
Ingredients
- 0.5 panettone sliced (I used 375 g of panettone)
- 5 tsp granulated sugar
- 0.5 tsp ground ginger
- 0.5 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 medium eggs
- 300 ml (1.25 cups) semi-skimmed milk
Equipment
Instructions
- Grease the slow cooker pot and place half the panettone slices on the bottom.0.5 panettone
- Sprinkle over 1 tsp of sugar and half the ginger and cinnamon.0.5 tsp ground ginger, 0.5 tsp ground cinnamon, 5 tsp granulated sugar
- Place the rest of the panettone slices on top, and sprinkle over the rest of the cinnamon and ginger.
- Beat the eggs in a jug, add the milk and 3 tsp of the sugar, and whisk together.2 medium eggs, 300 ml semi-skimmed milk
- Pour the egg and milk mixture over the panettone in the slow cooker pot, and sprinkle with the remaining 1 tsp of sugar.
- Place the lid on the slow cooker (use a tea towel under the lid to catch drips of condensation) and cook on high for around 2 hours, or until set. Check with a knife or skewer to see if it is done.
- Sprinkle with a little sugar then serve with custard or cream for a delicious dessert!
Jan says
Am making this now and looking for the butter that is noted in the title of this recipe. Do you grease the pot with the butter?
bakingqueen74 says
Hi Jan, there is no butter in the ingredients for this recipe. Because panettone is essentially a rich yeasted cake I find the additional step of buttering the bread is not needed here, whereas you would use it when using plain white bread to make bread and butter pudding. Hope that helps! If you prefer you can butter the panettone as well. You can use a small amount of butter to grease the pot.
Munchies and Munchkins says
This sounds delicious. Although never any leftover panettone here! Ha. I made a lovely bread & butter pudding last month using choc chip brioche. It’s such an indulgent, comforting but cheap pudding.
bakingqueen74 says
Mmm, that sounds lovely, although we always eat those up too quickly here! I love a comforting pudding when it is cold out.
Sue Cross says
Great idea! I love recipes for the using up of stale and/or sell-by-date breads. We have become such a wasteful society and there are some horrendous statistics on food waste, I believe half to a third of all food purchased in the UK is thrown away. The use of the slow cook method but adds to your pudding’s ecological advantage. Love it!
All the best,
Sue
bakingqueen74 says
Thanks Sue, I do like to use up what I can, the slow cooker is perfect for that when you can whip up a vegetable soup or bulk out a stew with old, curled up veg!
Sylvia @ Happiness is homemade says
Oh wow! This looks so scrumptious! I only tired savoury version of bread and butter pudding 🙂
bakingqueen74 says
Thanks Sylvia, thanks for visiting!