Mom’s Big Easy Bread Pudding

Bread pudding seems to be one of those desserts that people either love of hate.  I personally think it has to do with the experience you have had with where you ate the dessert at for the first time.  Some people have had their first experience trying bread pudding in a cafeteria-style restaurant.  The soggy mess with raisins was enough for them never to want to see it again.

I was lucky.  Growing up, my mom used to throw this dessert together when she had extra bread and the other required ingredients, such as sugar, eggs, and milk.  She would through it together effortlessly, and in no time at all, you would have a tasty dessert ready to go.  She was sprinkle sugar on top right before putting it in the oven.  The result was that the top was slightly caramelized.  The dessert was pretty as it was tasty.  I couldn’t wait to dig in.

If my mom wanted to make the bread pudding extra special, she would jazz it up with a tablespoon of red food coloring and colored sugar on top.  This would give the bread pudding a special occasion look worthy of the Big Easy and Mari Gras.

Why two sauces?  First of all, I love options.  Second, since New Orleans is a place of culinary indulgences, why limit myself to just one.

The steps to sweet indulgent goodness:

First you preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Next, generously butter a 9 by 13 inch baking dish.  I use a clear glass baking dish because you can better see how the pudding is baking, and also because it makes for a nice presentation.

Tear the bread into approximately 1 inch pieces and stuff them into the buttered baking dish.

In a large bowl, mix the eggs until they start to get frothy.

Add 2 cups of the sugar, light brown sugar, melted butter, half and half, cream, vanilla, bourbon, rum, and brandy.  You are basically making a delicious custardy mixture.

Beat until the mixture starts to become more pale in color.

At this point, you can add the red food color (if using).  You will get a pinkish mixture.

Pour the mixture evenly over the bread. If using, now would be a good time to drizzle your raisins on top.  Sprinkle with the remaining sugar.

Put the Bread Pudding in the oven, catch up on your favorite show, and you will have desert ready in about 1 hour.  You will know when it’s almost ready because it smells fantastic.

See how the pudding has puffed up while baking?

It’s probably best if you let it rest a few minutes, but if you are like me, you will want to start picking on it immediately…especially on those crispy caramelized sweet edges.

As if this wasn’t indulgent enough, we are going to serve it warm with one or both boozy sauces.

Vanilla-Bourbon Caramel Sauce and Brandy Rum Sauce

The steps are the same for both sauces.

First, you melt the butter in a tall saucepan.  Make sure that your saucepan is tall because the mixture will more than double in volume as it cooks.

Add the sugar, vanilla (or rum), bourbon (or brandy), corn, syrup, and cream.

Cook at low to medium heat, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon until the sugar dissolve and the sauce simmers and thickens.

The mixture will increase in size as it cooks.

The mixture will double in volume as it cooks.

Take the mixture off of the heat.  At this point, we will temper the eggs in order to incorporate them safely into the mixture. In a small dish, bowl or dish beat the egg yolks. Take a small about of the Vanilla Bourbon or Brandy-Rum Caramel Sauce and whisk it into the egg mixture. Repeat the process several times until the egg yolks have been incorporated into the caramel sauce.

Return the egg mixture into the sauce and stir with a wooden spoon. Return to heat low-medium heat. The mixture will thicken and double again.

You are almost done.  Remove the mixture from the heat and let it cool down for a few minutes.  To ensure a smooth sauce, you can now pour it through a sieve.

Tip: I poured my sauce in a heat-proof measuring cup.  This will make it easier for me to pour the sauce over the bread pudding.

Serve the sauce warm.  Pour over bread pudding.  Also, equally great over cheesecake or ice cream.