New Orleans Bourbon Bread Pudding
We started our New Orleans Bourbon Bread Pudding recipe by tearing a baguette into ragged pieces, which gave the bread pudding a rustic look. We then toasted the bread to a deep golden brown, which prevented the prepared recipe from turning soggy. Once the custard set up in the oven, we sprinkled cinnamon, sugar, and butter on top and let it bake until the topping was caramelized. Then, for a real taste of New Orleans, we drizzled the bread pudding with our warm Bourbon Sauce. This bread pudding is great on its own, but for a little more punch drizzle Bourbon Sauce over individual servings. A bakery quality French baguette makes this dish even better.
Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 1 French baguette 18 to 20 inctorn into 1 inch pieces (10 cups
- 1 cup golden raisins
- 3/4 cup bourbon
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter cubed and chilled, plus extra for baking dish
- 8 large egg yolks
- 1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
- 3 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Arrange bread in single layer on baking sheet and bake until crisp and browned, about 12 minutes, turning pieces over halfway through drying time and rotating baking sheet front to back. Let bread cool. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees.
- Meanwhile, heat raisins with 1/2 cup bourbon in small saucepan over medium high
- heat until bourbon begins to simmer, 2 to 3 minutes. Strain mixture, reserving bourbon and raisins separately.
- Butter 13 by 9inch broiler safe baking dish. Whisk yolks, brown sugar, cream, milk, vanilla, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in large bowl. Whisk in remaining 1/4 cup bourbon plus bourbon used to plump raisins. Toss in toasted bread until evenly coated. Let mixture sit until bread begins to absorb custard, about 30 minutes, tossing occasionally. If majority of bread is still hard when squeezed, soak for another 15 to 20 minutes.
- Pour half of bread mixture into prepared baking dish and sprinkle with half of raisins. Pour remaining bread mixture into dish and sprinkle with remaining raisins. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes.
- Meanwhile, mix granulated sugar and remaining 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon in small bowl. Using fingers, cut 6 tablespoons butter into sugar mixture until size of small peas. Remove foil from pudding, sprinkle with butter mixture, and bake, uncovered, until custard is just set, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove pudding from oven and heat broiler.
- Once broiler is heated, broil pudding until top forms golden crust, about 2 minutes. Transfer to wire rack and cool at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hours. Serve. (Leftover bread pudding should be refrigerated; reheat individual portions in microwave.)
Old Time Favorite Pudding
Bread pudding was created by the early settlers as a way to use leftovers, particularly stale bread, It has become a very popular dessert served in may fine restaurants. It is very popular in New Orleans, where many new versions have been created.
Ingredients
- 3 T butter melted
- 1 loaf French or stale bread
- 4 cups milk
- 3 eggs beaten
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 T vanilla extract
- 1 cup raisins
- Bourbon Whiskey sauce
Bourbon Whiskey sauce
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- ½ cup butter melted
- 2 T bourbon whiskey or to taste
Instructions
Pudding
- Preheat oven to 350º
- Pour butter into a 13×9 baking pan, turning pan to coat the sides and bottom
- Tear bread into pieces
- Place in a large bowl
- Add milk and let bread pieces soak
- Crush with your hands until well mixed
- Stir in eggs, sugar, vanilla extract, and raisins
- Pour mixture into pan
- Bake, uncovered one hour until very firm
- Remove from oven
- Cool on a wire rack
- To serve, cut into squares. Serve warm with Bourbon Whiskey sauce
Bourbon Whiskey sauce
- In a medium saucepan, over medium heat, combine sugar and egg
- Stir until well blended
- Add butter, stir until sugar is dissolved
- Stir in whiskey
Rich Chocolate Pudding
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 cups hot milk
- 3 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate preferably imported, coarsely chopped
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Stir sugar and cornstarch together in medium saucepan. Gradually stir in milk. Heat, stirring constantly, until sugar dissolves and mixture begins to boil and thicken, about 10 minutes. Add chocolate.
- Cook over medium-low heat, stirring, until chocolate is melted and mixture thickens, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; cool for 5 minutes. Stir in vanilla. Pour into small custard cups. Serve warm or at room temperature. Refrigerate leftovers.