Bread Pudding with Whiskey Sauce

Bread Pudding with whiskey sauce recipe

Ingredients:

For the Bread Pudding:
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened, for buttering the pan
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Pinch of salt
6 Eggs
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
6 cups French bread, cut into 1 inch cubes (be sure it’s a light bread, meaning not too dense)

For the Whiskey Sauce:
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons water
1/3 cup bourbon
1/3 cup sugar
Few drops of vanilla extract

Method of Preparation:
To make the Bread Pudding:
1. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.  Butter a square cake pan; set aside.
2. In a small bowl mix together the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
3. In a large mixing bowl whisk the eggs.  Whisk in the cream and vanilla extract.  Whisk in the sugar mixture.  Fold in the bread cubes gently; keeping the cubes in tact and making sure the bread soaks up the custard before it is baked.
4. Place the prepared mixture into the cake pan.  Cover the pan with foil.  Place the cake pan into a larger pan.  Add water to the larger pan until it reaches half way up the sides of the cake pan.
5. Place the pans in the oven and bake for 2 hours. Carefully remove the foil from the cake pan, raise the oven temperature to 300 degrees, and continue baking for 1 hour more or until the top of the pudding is golden brown.  The finished pudding should be slightly firm, while moist but not runny.

To make the Whisky Sauce:

1. In a small bowl whisk together the water and cornstarch.
In a small saucepan bring the cream to a boil. With the cream still boiling slowly whisk in the cornstarch slurry.  When the sauce is thickened, remove it from the heat and add the, bourbon, sugar, and vanilla.  Set aside to cool to room temperature.  Serve with warm Bread Pudding.

Cooking with Class airs on NBC10, WJAR-TV, Providence, Rhode Island and is hosted by Chef Frank Terranova, an associate instructor at Johnson and Wales University College of Culinary Arts. “Cajun Recipes,” aired during the week of Dec. 22, 2008.