Bread Pudding with Bourbon Sauce
With a nice crispy top and an amazing soft texture, this elevated Bread Pudding with Bourbon Sauce version is absolutely delicious!
Ingredients
PUDDING
- 1/2 cup Thompson raisins
- 1/4 cup bourbon
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, plus more to grease the baking dish tips & tricks
- 4 large free-range eggs, beaten
- 2 cups half-and-half
- 1 cup milk
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp. ground Himalayan sea salt
- 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp. freshly ground nutmeg
- 14 cups (15 oz.) bread such as Challah, Brioche, Hawaiian or French loaf, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 tbsp. confectioners' sugar, or as needed for dusting tips & tricks
BOURBON SAUCE
- 2 tbsp. unsalted butter tips & tricks
- 2 tbsp. unbleached all-purpose flour
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup bourbon
- 1 pinch ground Himalayan sea salt
Directions
PUDDING
- In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, add the raisins and pour over the bourbon. Stir to coat and when it’s about to simmer, remove from the heat; let the fruit macerate for 30 minutes.
- Scoop up the soaked raisins into a bowl using a slotted spoon and reserve the liquid for later.
- Preheat oven to 350º and grease a 3-quart baking dish with butter; set aside.
- In a medium saucepan over medium-heat, add butter, half-and-half, milk, sugar and ground sea salt.
- Stir until the sugar dissolves and heat the mixture until the bubbles begin to form around the edges and the milk starts to steam – make sure it doesn’t simmer.
- Remove from the heat and temper the beaten eggs by slowly adding a little amount of the hot mixture at a time, whisking constantly.
- When the egg temperature is brought up, add the mixture to the saucepan, whisking continuously.
- To this, add pure vanilla extract, ground cinnamon, freshly ground nutmeg and the reserved bourbon. Whisk the ingredients until nicely blended and set aside.
- Add half of the bread cubes to the prepared baking dish and half of the soaked raisins; repeat the layers.
- Pour over half of the custard. Press down gently with clean hands to compact the bread mixture before pouring the rest of the custard over.
- Transfer the casserole to the preheated oven and bake for 40 minutes.
- About 25 to 30 minutes through cooking, cover with foil to prevent the top from getting too dark; continue baking for the remaining time.
BOURBON SAUCE
- While the pudding is baking, make the sauce. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt butter before adding flour; whisk constantly for 2 minutes.
- Pour in a small amount of milk while whisking continuously and continue adding until it’s all in and the mixture is smooth without any lumps; whisk for 2 minutes.
- Add sugar, bourbon and ground sea salt. Whisk constantly for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Remove bread pudding from the heat and sprinkle on confectioners’ sugar. Serve warm with a generous spoonful of hot bourbon sauce.