Is it possible to improve on a box of doughnuts? Here’s your delicious hot mess of an answer.
There are numerous sources for this sugary recipe. I first tried it thanks to my friend Pat Watson in Trenton, FL, and have modified it somewhat. Some attribute it to Paula Deen and others to Ina Garten, but the bottom line is that it’s a perfect version of bread pudding—good as dessert or as a breakfast treat.
There are doughnuts, and there are Krispy Kremes. They’re not filled or sprinkled, but are simply sugar-sweet raised perfection. If the “hot light” is on at your local Krispy Kreme store, getting a dozen home without poaching a few is no easy task. If you don’t have a store nearby, most supermarkets sell them cold. And if that’s the case, they’re day-old, but that works just fine for this recipe.
Imagine this to be a twist on your Aunt Hilda’s bread pudding. Doughnuts rather than stale Wonder Bread and a finish with cinnamon, orange zest, butter and rum, all bound together by creamy sweetened condensed milk. It’s a “sugar fit” waiting to happen, but a winning dessert treat at a southern fish fry, or just for an early morning pre-fishing breakfast! FS
Death By Doughnuts: Bread Pudding
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
- 12 Original glazed Krispy Kreme doughnuts
- One 14 ounce can, sweetened condensed milk
- 2 eggs
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 stick butter
- 2 ounces dark rum
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
- Orange zest*
Directions
*A Doughnuts Bonus
Don’t waste that orange just because you needed some zest. Squeeze its juice into a small saucepan with a couple of tablespoons of the butter/sugar/ rum sauce and warm on low heat until thick. Baste fish fillets, duck breasts or game birds with the mixture and bake in a 350-degree oven.
Published Florida Sportsman Magazine January 2020

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