©istockphoto.com/Mat Greiner
Who doesn’t like bread pudding?
I guess it’s not the best summer dessert, but it’s not quite summer yet, and since I just returned from New Orleans, where I sampled a half a dozen bread puddings (including a lovely Apricot Bread Pudding for breakfast), I kind of have bread pudding still on my brain…or is it my hips?
I’ll just have to run faster, jump higher, etc., because I’m heading back to the kitchen for another bite.
Bread Pudding with Bourbon Sauce
Serves 8 to 10
Ingredients
For the bread pudding
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
2 large eggs
2 egg yolks
1-1/4 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon butter
1 pound day-old challah bread, crust removed and cut into 1-inch cubes
1/3 cup raisins (optional)
For the bourbon sauce
1/2 cup butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons to 1/4 cup Bourbon
Method
Make the bread pudding
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Whisk cream, milk, eggs and yolks together. Whisk in the next 5 ingredients (sugar through nutmeg).
2. Slather the butter generously all over the bottom and sides of a 9 X 13-inch baking pan. Cover with bread cubes and sprinkle raisins (if using) evenly on top.
3. Pour cream mixture over bread, making sure each cube is moistened. Soak at room temperature for about 10 minutes. (After soaking, I mash the bread cubes with the back of a spoon just to make sure everything is good and soaked.)
4. Set the pan into a larger roasting pan in the oven and pour enough hot water into the larger pan to come half way up the sides of the bread pan. Bake until a knife inserted in the center comes out almost clean, about 50 to 60 minutes. The center should jiggle just a little.
5. Cool slightly and serve with Bourbon sauce. (If you cool completely, you can cut the bread pudding in neat squares as in the picture, otherwise it will be a little messy.)
Make the bourbon sauce
1. Whisk butter and sugar together in a double boiler over low heat until mixture is smooth and hot.
2. Drizzle a few tablespoons of the hot butter sugar mixture into the egg and whisk until smooth. Pour the egg mixture into the remaining butter/sugar mixture in the double boiler and whisk until smooth.
3. Remove from heat and stir in Bourbon to taste. (start with 1 or 2 tablespoons, taste, and if you like a strong Bourbon flavor, stir in the remaining liquor. Serve warm over bread pudding.
Tags: Bourbon Sauce, bread pudding, New Orleans bread pudding
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