Vegan Blueberry Bread Pudding Breakfast Cake with Vanilla-Hemp Crème Anglaise
Gooey blueberry bread pudding is tucked into a bundt pan and baked to golden perfection. The warm bread pudding is served with a plant-based vanilla-hemp anglaise sauce that takes this brunch treat from delightful to dreamy.
Prep Time30 minutesmins
Cook Time55 minutesmins
Total Time1 hourhr25 minutesmins
Course: Breakfast, Brunch, Cake
Cuisine: plant-based, Vegan
Servings: 8servings
Ingredients
Blueberry Bread Pudding Breakfast Cake
6cupscubed sprouted or gluten-free fresh sandwich bread (8-10 slices cut into 1-inch cubes)
¾cupunsweetened almond milk or other unsweetened plant-based milk, at room temperature
¾cupfull-fat coconut milk, can shaken or mixed well before measuring
½cup, at room temperaturepure maple syrup
2tablespoonsvirgin coconut oil, melted, plus more for greasing
1tablespoonpure vanilla extract
½teaspoonground cinnamon
¼teaspoonfine grain sea salt
1cupfresh blueberries or thawed frozen blueberries, juices strained off (about 8 ounces before thawing)*
Vanilla-Hemp Creme Anglaise
½cupfull-fat coconut milk, can shaken or mixed well before measuring, plus more if needed
¼cupManitoba Harvest Hemp Hearts
3 ½tablespoonspure maple syrup
2tablespoonsvirgin coconut oil, melted
1to 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice (I use 2 teaspoons for a subtle but tangy brightness)
1teaspoonarrowroot starch
¼teaspoonfine grain sea salt
1vanilla bean, halved lengthwise and seeds scraped/collected or ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Optional Toppings
Fresh berries
Fresh mint
Instructions
For the Blueberry Bread Pudding Breakfast Cake
Preheat the oven to 350F. Generously grease a small, 8-inch (i.e., 6-cup) bundt pan with coconut oil, and fill a large casserole dish with 1 inch of water; set aside.
Add the bread cubes to a large mixing bowl. Add the unsweetened almond milk, coconut milk, maple syrup, melted coconut oil, vanilla, cinnamon (if using), and sea salt to a high-speed blender; blend on high for one minute or until smooth. Pour the mixture over the bread cubes and toss to coat. Let the bread mixture stand for 15 minutes to soak, stirring every few minutes to ensure each bit of bread has access to that sweet, creamy liquid. (Note: the bread cubes will mush and break down a bit as they soak, and that's exactly what you want).
Scoop half of the bread pudding mixture into the bundt pan and smooth out the surface. Ensure that the any excess juices are strained off the blueberries; then, spoon them evenly over the bread mixture. Gently spoon the remaining bread pudding mixture over the layer of blueberries, and use the back of a spoon to compact and smooth the top layer.
Place the filled bundt pan, open-side-up, in the casserole dish with the water. Transfer to the middle rack of the oven and bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until the top of the bread pudding is deep golden-brown, it feels well set but slightly springy and custardy, and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.
Remove from the oven and transfer the bundt pan to an oven-safe cooling rack. Let the cake cool for at least 15 minutes. Then, wearing oven mitts, grasp the bundt pan and gently shake it back and forth to loosen the cake from the walls of the pan. Place a cake platter or large dinner plate, face-side-down, over the bundt pan and flip to invert the cake. Carefully lift the bundt pan off of the bread pudding cake, and allow it to cool for another 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
For the Vanilla-Hemp Creme Anglaise
While the bread pudding cake is baking, add the coconut milk, Hemp Hearts, maple syrup, coconut oil, lemon juice, arrowroot, and sea salt to a high-speed blender. Blend on high for 3 minutes or until completely smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides if needed. Add the scraped vanilla bean seeds or vanilla, and blend for another 10 seconds to disperse the seeds throughout the sauce.
Pour the mixture into a medium saucepan and heat over medium-low for 5 minutes or until the sauce thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, whisking constantly. Do not overheat. Serve warm. For leftovers: transfer the sauce to an airtight jar and refrigerate. If the sauce is to thick after refrigerating, reheat over low heat and whisk in more coconut milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, as needed to thin.
To Assemble
Slice and plate the bundt cake. Generously drizzle each piece with Vanilla-Hemp Creme Anglaise and top with fresh berries and mint (if using). Serve warm.