Bourbon Sauce for Desserts

This is the kind of bourbon sauce they ladle over bread pudding in New Orleans restaurants. Butter creamed with sugar, enriched with egg yolks and hot cream over a double boiler, then finished with a generous half cup of bourbon. It’s rich, velvety, boozy, and completely irresistible.

The double boiler is essential here. The egg yolks need gentle, indirect heat to thicken into a custard without scrambling. Place the bowl over simmering water, never touching it, and stir constantly as you add the hot cream in a slow stream.

Creaming the butter and sugar first creates the smooth, emulsified base that keeps the sauce from breaking when the liquids go in. Room temperature butter is key. Cold butter won’t cream properly and you’ll fight lumps the whole way through.

The bourbon goes in last, after the sauce has thickened. Adding it earlier would evaporate the alcohol during cooking and dull the flavor. Stirring it in off the more intense heat preserves that warm, oaky punch.

Chef Tips

• Heat the cream before adding it to the egg yolks. Cold cream will cool the mixture and the yolks won’t thicken.
• Stir constantly while the sauce thickens. Walk away for 30 seconds and you’ll have sweet scrambled eggs.
• The sauce should coat the back of a spoon when it’s ready. Draw a line through it with your finger and if it holds, you’re done.
• Keep warm over the double boiler until serving. Reheating from cold is tricky and can cause the sauce to break.

Variations

• Rum sauce: Swap the bourbon for dark rum for a more Caribbean-leaning sauce that’s classic over banana foster.
• Vanilla bourbon: Add a scraped vanilla bean or a teaspoon of vanilla extract with the bourbon for an extra layer of warmth.