This best recipe – how to make bread pudding – for a festive day, or for a Sunday dessert. Just dip the bread cubes in eggs, sugar and milk, then bake. Add bourbon-soaked raisins and spices to make it extra special. This New Orleans dessert is a classic for Christmas, Easter, or any special occasion.
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The recipe is based on a bread pudding recipe from the now-closed Bon Ton Café in New Orleans. It was given to me by a former employee many years ago and is now one of my favorite desserts, especially during the holidays.
The sauce uses a lot of bourbon (the Bon Ton sauce recipe had even more bourbon), but you are welcome to reduce the amount. In the recipe note, we have instructions for making a kid-friendly version of the bread pudding and sauce without the bourbon.
If you still decide to increase the amount of bourbon in the recipe, then we advise you to prepare Polish zhurek for the morning, the recipe of which you can also find on our website.
Bread pudding is simply cubed stale bread mixed with a mixture of milk, sugar, and eggs. The result is something like the creamy center of a stack of French toast.
What elevates bread pudding to the realm of a truly gourmet dessert is the sauce. You can serve the pudding with a caramel sauce, vanilla sauce, or a hard whiskey sauce like the one in this recipe.
👩🍳 Traditional bread pudding recipe
- If you only have fresh bread, here’s what to do: cut the bread into cubes and spread them on a baking sheet. Heat in a 90 °C (194 °F) oven for about 10 minutes, until the bread cubes are dry to the touch but still pale. Then follow the recipe as usual.
- Use Country French or Italian Bread: For this recipe, use good quality country bread instead of store-bought sliced bread.
- Soak raisins in bourbon before starting any of this recipe. Let them soak for an hour or two. You can even soak them a day or two ahead of time.
- When cooking the sauce, don’t be tempted to turn up the heat. This can cause the eggs to curdle in the mixture.
- If your sauce curdles, try using a blender to blend it until smooth.
👩🍳 To make pudding for children: soak raisins in water instead of bourbon. For the sauce, use 1/2 cup water mixed with 1 tablespoon vanilla extract and 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar or white vinegar instead of bourbon.
You can also make some modifications to the recipe: replace the raisins with any other dried fruit, such as cranberries or cherries, or use none. You can also add a cup of chopped nuts like hazelnuts or walnuts, or add some chocolate chips.
Bread pudding recipe
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How to make Yorkshire puddings
This ultimate bread pudding is super easy to make. Just dip the bread cubes in eggs, sugar and milk, then bake. Add bourbon-soaked raisins and spices to make it extra special. This New Orleans dessert is a classic for Christmas, Easter, or any special occasion.
Ingredients
For pudding
- Raisins – 240 gr. (1 cup (0.24 l))*
- French bread – 1 loaf**
- Milk – 960 gr. (4 cups (0.95 l))
- Eggs – 3 pcs.
- Sugar – 480 gr. (2 cups (0.47 l))
- Vanilla extract – 2 tbsp. l.
- Whiskey – 60 ml. (1/4 cup)***
- Allspice – 1/4 tsp.
- Cinnamon – 1/4-1/2 tsp.
- Butter – 3 tbsp. l.
For the sauce
- Butter – 120 gr. (1/2 cup)
- Sugar – 240 gr. (1 cup (0.24 l))
- Egg – 1 pc.
- Whiskey – 120 gr. (1/2 cup), less or more to taste
Instructions
In a small bowl, combine raisins and 60 grams of bourbon. Cover and soak for 1–2 hours. During this time, the raisins should absorb most of the bourbon (there may be some bourbon left in the bowl after soaking).
Preheat the oven to 180 °C (356 °F). Cut the bread into small cubes.
Place the milk in a large bowl and add the sliced bread. Press the bread into the milk with your hands until the bread is completely soaked (the bread may not absorb all the milk).
In a separate bowl, beat the eggs, then add sugar, vanilla, allspice, and cinnamon. Mix thoroughly to a homogeneous mass.
Pour over the bread and milk mixture. Add the bourbon-soaked raisins. Mix gently to combine all ingredients.
Pour the melted butter into the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish. Grease the bottom and walls well with oil. Pour the mixture of milk, eggs, raisins, and bread into a baking dish.
Bake at 180 °C (356 °F) for 35–45 minutes until the liquid has set. The pudding is ready when the edges begin to brown slightly and pull away from the edge of the pan.
While the bread pudding is cooking, prepare the sauce. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over low heat.
Add sugar and egg and mix well. Cook slowly over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, then remove from heat. Do not allow the mixture to boil, or the sauce will curdle. (By the way, if your sauce curdles, just remove it from the heat and purée it in a blender.)
Add bourbon to taste. Beat again before serving. The sauce should be soft, creamy, and homogeneous.
Serve bread pudding with sauce; pour to taste.
Bon appétit!
Notes
If you have extra soaking liquid after draining the soaked raisins, feel free to mix some or all of it into the egg-milk mixture to your liking.
Bread pudding is best served immediately after it has been baked. However, leftovers can be stored for up to 5 days in the refrigerator and reheated in the microwave.
To reheat, microwave individual portions in 1-minute cycles until heated through. The sauce can be poured over immediately and heated together with a separate slice.
*Soak raisins in bourbon before starting anything with this recipe. You can even soak them a day or two ahead.
**The bread you use should be slightly dry. If you use fresh bread, cut it into cubes, spread it on a baking sheet and put it in an oven heated to 90 °C (194 °F) for 10 minutes.
***For a non-alcoholic version, soak raisins in water instead of bourbon. For the sauce, use 1/2 cup water mixed with 1 tablespoon vanilla extract and 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar or white vinegar instead of bourbon.
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Nutrition Information
Serving Size
8 servingsAmount Per Serving Calories 633Total Fat 18gSaturated Fat 10gCholesterol 116mgSodium 460mgCarbohydrates 102gFiber 2gSugar 77gProtein 11g
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