Bread pudding with bourbon sauce recipe comes from New Orleans

When it comes to bread puddings, you can’t beat New Orleans – theirs are among the very best. So when our friend Pepe, who resides in that great city, sent us a recipe for bread pudding topped with a rich bourbon sauce, we were off to find the ingredients.

Sure enough, there in the freezer sat some Italian bread just waiting to be included in a wonderful dessert. As we waited for the bread to thaw, we gathered the other ingredients – sugar, milk, raisins, and pecans, along with the stuff that gives it such a great aroma, the vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg. We found some bourbon to use for the sauce, although we could have subbed some other spirit such as brandy or rum if necessary. Also, we combined the bread, raisins, and pecans in the baking dish before pouring on the liquid.

The result was a nice, puffy, browned pudding that will make a terrific dessert for tonight. In fact, if I were to choose the very best bread pudding of all, this one would rank way at the top of the list. And it has the rich flavor of great bread puddings without all the heavy cream, eggs and high-fat ingredients.

This recipe was adapted by Joe Barkson and posted to his Worldwide Recipes site from a recipe by Paul Prudhomme from his book, "Chef Paul Prudhomme's Louisiana Kitchen." Thanks Pepe for giving us the heads up on this one!

Bread Pudding with Bourbon Sauce

3 eggs

1 1/4 cups (300 ml) sugar

1 1/2 teaspoon (7 ml) vanilla extract

1 teaspoon (5 ml) freshly ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon (5 ml) ground cinnamon

4 tablespoons (60 ml) butter, melted

2 cups (500 ml) milk

1/2 cup (125 ml) raisins

1/2 cup (125 ml) coarsely chopped pecans

5 cups (1.25 L) very stale French or Italian bread, with crust, cut into cubes

1 recipe bourbon sauce (see below)

Using electric mixer or wire whisk, beat eggs until extremely frothy, about 3 minutes with electric mixer, about 6 by hand. Add remaining ingredients except bread and beat until thoroughly mixed. Place bread cubes in greased oven-proof baking dish and pour egg mixture over them. Toss bread to coat with egg mixture and allow to sit at room temperature for 45 minutes, until virtually all liquid is absorbed. Bake in preheated 300F (150C) for 45 minutes, then raise oven temperature to 424F (220C) and bake an additional 15 to 20 minutes, until pudding is well browned and has puffed up. Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature with bourbon sauce. Serves 8.

Bourbon Sauce

1/2 cup (125 ml) butter

1 cup (250 ml) sugar

1 egg, lightly beaten

2-3 tablespoons (30-45 ml) bourbon, brandy, rum, or spirit of your choice

Combine butter, sugar, and egg in small saucepan and cook over low heat, whisking constantly, until mixture thickens - do not boil. Remove from heat and stir in bourbon. Serve immediately or refrigerate and reheat before serving. Makes about 2 cups (500 ml).
(Adapted by Joe Barkson’s recipe site, Worldwide Recipes, from "Chef Paul Prudhomme's Louisiana Kitchen" By Paul Prudhomme.)

Chocolate bread pudding is always in season

So enough of the diet already! We’re sick and tired of watching our calories. We need CHOCOLATE. No frills or fancy stuff. Just any good chocolate will do. Preferably of the darker sweet variety, but hey we’re not picky – we’ll accept whatever falls onto our path. Or candy dish as the case may be.

And a very, although belated, Happy New Year to all my friends in Bread Pudding Land! Thanks so much to all of you who’ve contributed so many wonderful recipes and also made comments. To celebrate the New Year, and also our chocolate craving, here’s a recipe for chocolate bread pudding that swims in a scrumptious bourbon pecan caramel sauce. If we’re going to dive in, this is where we want to be. The pudding has almost a fudge texture. Need we say more?
Thanks to Pepe in New Orleans for suggesting this great bread pudding!

CHOCOLATE BREAD PUDDING WITH BOURBON-PECAN CARAMEL SAUCE

Sauce ingredients:
1-1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1-1/4 cups whipping cream
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted
2 tablespoons bourbon

Pudding ingredients:
2 cups milk (do not use low-fat or nonfat)
2 cups whipping cream
1 cup sugar
8 oz. Scharffen Berger 62% Semisweet Chocolate, chopped
8 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 (1 lb.) unsliced egg bread, crusts removed, trimmed, cut into 1-inch pieces

Directions for sauce:
Stir sugar and water in heavy large saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Mix in corn syrup and lemon juice. Increase heat and boil without stirring until syrup turns deep amber, brushing down sides of pan with wet pastry brush and swirling pan occasionally. Remove from heat. Pour in cream (mixture will bubble up). Stir over low heat until caramel is melted and smooth. Increase heat; boil until sauce is reduced to 1-2/3 cups, stirring often, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat. Mix in pecans and bourbon. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Rewarm before using.)
Directions for pudding:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine milk, cream, and sugar in heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir until sugar dissolves and mixture comes to a boil. Remove from heat. Add chocolate; stir until smooth. Beat eggs and vanilla in large bowl to blend. Gradually whisk in chocolate mixture. Add bread cubes. Let stand until bread absorbs some of custard, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes.
Transfer mixture to 13x9x2-inch dish. Cover with foil. Bake until set in center, about 45 minutes. Uncover, cool at least 15 minutes. Serve pudding warm or at room temperature with warm sauce.
(Recipe by Chef Alison Barshak, chef/owner of Alison at Blue Bell, a suburban Philadelphia bistro)

Buttery bourbon sauce tops bread pudding that's healthier

Watching calories this time of year? Ha! That’s some kind of joke.

But occasionally a great-sounding recipe comes up that’s a healthier version of a traditional rich sweet. Bread pudding topped with a buttery bourbon sauce? Healthy? Well actually this version, made with Smart Balance® products – the Butter Blend stick, and also their fat-free milk – as well as whole grain bread, is lower in fat than the traditional hi-cal dessert. It’s delicious too, laced with dried cranberries and with the scent of cinnamon and vanilla.

This pudding would be a great ending to a holiday party, or just to snack on while wrapping those gifts.
And, please note, I have no relationship with the company that produces Smart Balance® products.
So there.

BREAD PUDDING WITH BUTTERY BOURBON SAUCE

Base:
1-1/2 tablespoons Smart Balance® butter Blend Stick, melted
2 cups Smart Balance™ Fat-Free Milk*
2 eggs
1 egg white
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/2 cup sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 ounces multigrain or whole wheat Italian bread, torn in small pieces

Sauce:
1/4 cup Smart Balance® Butter Blend Stick
1/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons Smart Balance™ Fat-Free Milk*
3 tablespoons bourbon or apple juice
1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat 11x7-inch glass baking dish with Smart Balance® cooking spray; add 1-1/2 tablespoons melted Smart Balance® Butter Blend Stick and set aside.
2. Combine milk, eggs, egg white, vanilla, sugar, cinnamon, and baking powder in large bowl. Whisk until well blended. Add bread and cranberries; gently stir to allow mixture to absorb slightly (do not over mix).
3. Pour mixture into baking dish and bake, uncovered, 35-40 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.
4. Meanwhile, combine remaining ingredients, except vanilla, in small saucepan; place over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla.
5. Cut bread pudding into 8 pieces, place on dessert plates, and spoon sauce evenly over all.
Makes 11x7-inch bread pudding plus 1/2 cup sauce total. Serves 8 (about 2-1/2-inch by 3-1/2-inch pieces plus 1 tablespoon sauce per serving.
*Smart Balance™ Fat-Free Milk is available in Florida and Georgia.

Vegan bourbon peach bread pudding is summer pleasure

Since we’re in a summer fruit frame of mind, we’ll be posting some luscious bread pudding recipes using the best of the summer crop. Here’s a recipe using peaches that I found on a site called LIME.com, “Healthy living with a twist,” where you can get “fresh ideas, videos, and articles on how to live a greener, healthier more balanced life.” This pudding features bourbon, or rum. If you’d prefer, you can substitute a little bit of rum flavoring for the booze.

From time to time we get requests for recipes for vegetarian or vegan bread puddings, and this looks like one of the best, using no animal products at all. It’s vegan, gluten-free, and allergen-free. We’re also going to add a category to our blog sidebar listing Vegetarian/Vegan Bread Puddings. Please note: a listing or mention of a particular product does not indicate our endorsement of that product; it's simply information about where you might find a particular product. Enjoy!!

VEGAN BOURBON PEACH BREAD PUDDING
(Vegetarian, Vegan, Gluten-Free, and Allergen-free)

1/4 cup organic canola oil (Spectrum)
1 cup organic brown sugar
3 cups non-dairy milk, (rice milk, soy milk, or oat milk)
1 vanilla bean
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 heaping cups peaches, fresh or frozen, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
3 tablespoons bourbon (all distilled alcohol is gluten-free, but if you'd rather not use bourbon, you can substitute rum)
5 cups gluten-free bread cut into 1/2-inch cubes (gluten-free bread really lends itself to bread pudding, try Ener-G or Food For Life; this recipe can also be made with regular day-old French bread, if you prefer)
3 tablespoons flax seed meal combined with 1/2 cup hot water ("flax eggs")
1/3 to 1/2 cup turbinado sugar (depending on how sweet you like it)
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Combine canola oil with brown sugar in a heavy pan, and cook, stirring, over low heat about 3 minutes. Add non-dairy milk, stirring well to combine. Using a small sharp knife, split the vanilla bean lengthwise, and scrape out the seeds (they look like a black paste). Whisk the seeds into the pan. Add lemon juice, lemon zest, and cinnamon. Whisk well. Add peaches, bring to a simmer and cook 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Add bourbon. Pour over bread cubes and let soak 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Add "flax eggs" to bread mixture, stirring well to combine. Pour into a greased 9"x9" or 8"x11" pan, at least 2 1/2" deep. Combine turbinado sugar with cinnamon. Sprinkle evenly over top. Bake 1 hour until a caramelized golden brown on top. Allow to set for 1 hour before serving. Makes 6 servings.
(Posted on LIME.com by Cybele Pascal, 2/6/07)