This is a rich bread pudding that everyone seems to enjoy 
(co-workers requested that it be posted on the site so they could make it too), and it really doesn’t need the whiskey sauce to be delicious.
The bread pudding recipe is adapted from Best Recipes by Cooks Illustrated while the whiskey sauce is from a Penzeys spice catalog. The inspiration for combining these two recipes came from the bread pudding we often order at a favorite restaurant – Ken Stewart’s Grille.
They make a wonderful bread pudding with whiskey sauce and even if we were too full to eat dessert after dining there, we would often order the bread pudding with whiskey sauce to go.
The “to-go” version was just as delicious heated and eaten later, but one day we decided it should be something we could make at home too. So, this rich bread pudding and whiskey sauce became our go-to recipe for at home.
We still order the bread pudding often when we go to Ken Stewart’s, but these days they often vary the recipe and make it peach, or chocolate cherry, or pumpkin bread pudding, depending on the season. Thankfully, we can still enjoy our version of the original at home!
Bread Pudding Just Out of Oven
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 4 large eggs plus 1 large yolk
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 1/2 cups whole milk
- 2 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 3 tablespoons bourbon
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 12 ounces firm white bread (sliced 3/8" thick & cut into 1 1/2" square pieces (app. 8 cups)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- 1/2 cup bourbon
Mix the sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl and set aside. Adjust the oven rack to lower-mid oven and heat to 325°F. Butter a 13 x 9-inch baking dish.
- Whisk eggs and sugar in a large bowl, and then blend in the milk, cream, bourbon, vanilla extract, nutmeg, and salt. Stir in 6 cups of the bread cubes and mix thoroughly to moisten. Let stand 20 minutes.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish. Scatter the remaining 2 cups bread on top, pushing down to submerge. Brush exposed bread with melted butter and sprinkle with reserved sugar & cinnamon mixture.
- Bake 45 - 50 minutes or until pudding is golden brown, is beginning to rise in the dish, and jiggles slightly at the center when shaken. Let cool about 45 minutes to set, and serve warm with whiskey sauce (below). Serves 8 - 10.
- Heat butter and sugar over medium heat until all the butter is absorbed. Remove from heat and blend in egg yolk. Pour bourbon in gradually, stirring constantly. The sauce will thicken as it cools. Yields 1 cup sauce.
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