Bread Pudding with Bourbon Sauce #1
Submitted by edwina
Bread pudding loaded with pecans, raisins, and chopped apple, baked in a spiced custard and drowned in a rich bourbon butter sauce. A classic New Orleans-style dessert.
YIELD
6 servingsPREP
45 minCOOK
45 minREADY
90 minThis is the kind of bread pudding they serve in the French Quarter. Stale French bread cubes soaked in a spiced egg custard with pecans, raisins, and chopped apple, then baked with a two-temperature method that sets the custard gently before crisping the top to golden.
That 45-minute soak before baking is non-negotiable. The bread needs time to absorb the milk and egg mixture completely. Properly soaked bread pudding is creamy throughout. Undersoaked pudding has dry, crumbly patches in the middle that no amount of sauce can fix.
The three-stage bake is clever: start hot to get initial heat into the center, drop low for 40 minutes so the custard sets without curdling, then crank it up at the end for a bronzed, slightly crunchy crust on top. That contrast between crispy edges and a soft, custardy interior is what makes bread pudding worth eating.
The bourbon sauce is cooked in a double boiler, which keeps the eggs from scrambling. Powdered sugar, half a pound of butter, and two eggs cook together into a thick, glossy sauce. The bourbon goes in after cooling so the alcohol doesn’t cook off. You want that warm burn when it hits the hot pudding.
Pro Tips
- Use genuinely stale bread, at least a day old. Fresh bread falls apart into mush instead of holding its shape in the custard
- Beat the eggs a full three minutes until frothy. That aeration keeps the pudding light rather than dense
- Stir the bourbon sauce constantly in the double boiler. Step away for 30 seconds and you’ll have sweet scrambled eggs
- Serve warm, not hot. Give it ten minutes out of the oven so the custard firms up enough to hold a slice
Variations
- Swap pecans for walnuts or toasted almonds
- Use pears instead of apples when they’re in season
- Replace bourbon with dark rum for a Caribbean-leaning dessert
Ingredients
Directions
With an electric mixer, beat eggs until frothy (about 3 minutes).
Add sugar, nutmeg, vanilla and cinnamon, and beat until well blended.
In a sauce, heat the butter and milk until the butter melts (but do not allow it to boil).
In a large bowl, mix together raisins, pecans and bread cubes.
Combine the milk and egg mixtures, pour this over the bread and allow it to soak for 45 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350℉ (180℃). Lightly grease individual ramekins or a large loaf pan.
Add the apple to the bread pudding, and spoon mixture into the baking container.
Place in oven immediately reduce heat 300℉ (150℃) and bake for 40 minutes.
Increase heat to 425 degrees F and bake for another 15 minutes until nicely browned.
To make bourbon sauce, combine 2 eggs and icing sugar.
Melt butter in a double broiler, whisk in egg mixture and cook, stirring constantly, until sugar has melted and sauce has thickened slightly.
Allow to cool, and add bourbon.
Serve over bread pudding.
Comments
