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Two-Bread Pudding with Honey-Bourbon Sauce

Source of Recipe

From "Southern Casseroles" by Denise Gee


Recipe Introduction

"I've had bread puddings galore, but none so beautiful as this one from the Fort Griffin General Merchandise Company Restaurant in Albany, Texas (near Abilene). The place is renowned for its steaks, but their bread pudding has been kept somewhat a secret. It's a chunky mix of light and dark breads -- with the Bavarian being a nice nod to Texas' German heritage -- and the silky-sweet sauce is, well, find out for yourself."

List of Ingredients

â—¦ 5 cups cream
â—¦ 3 eggs, lightly beaten
â—¦ ¼ cup sugar
â—¦ 1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
â—¦ 1 Tbsp cinnamon
â—¦ 1 tsp ground nutmeg
â—¦ 6 cups cubed French boule or sourdough bread
â—¦ 4 cups cubed Bavarian or pumpernickel bread

Honey-Bourbon Sauce:
â—¦ ½ cup unsalted butter
â—¦ 1 cup light honey
â—¦ 1½ ounces American honey or Wild Turkey whiskey


Recipe

To Make the Bread Pudding:
Preheat the oven to 350° F. Lightly grease a 13x9-inch glass baking dish.

In a medium bowl, whisk to combine the cream, eggs, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg; set aside.

Lay 4 cups of the French bread cubes in the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Next, lay the Bavarian bread cubes on top, then place the remaining 2 cups French bread on that. Use clean hands to mix up the middle and top layers to the desired appearance.

Pour the cream mixture over the bread. Gently press down on the bread to ensure that the pieces are covered with the cream mixture. Let the dish sit for 10 minutes, then cover it with aluminum foil.

Bake for 20 minutes. Rotate the dish, uncover it, and bake it for another 20 minutes. When the pudding is set, remove it from the oven and set it aside to cool, loosely covered, for 30 minutes. Cover it tightly and place the pudding in the refrigerator to cool (and have the flavors meld) for at least 2 hours.


To Make the Sauce:
In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the honey, then the whiskey. Reduce the heat to low and cook the sauce for 2 to 3 minutes, until it's slightly thickened and thoroughly heated. Set aside. Cover to keep warm or let cool and refrigerate. Reheat over low heat in a small pan.

To reheat the pudding, place it in a 325° F oven and cook, covered, for 30 minutes, or until thoroughly heated. Run a knife around the outer edge of the pudding before slicing it into squares. Serve each piece with 3 to 4 tablespoons of warm sauce.


Serves 8