Bread Pudding with Whiskey Sauce

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Sweet comfort, from the humblest of ingredients.

Adapted from La Bouche Creole, Leon E. Soniat, Jr.

Serves 8 or more

Ingredients: Bread Pudding

1 loaf stale French bread
4 ½ cups whole milk
3 medium cooking apples
29 oz can sliced peaches
10 prunes
6 eggs
1 cup sugar

8-9 oz raisins
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
½ tsp nutmeg
¾ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp salt
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter

Ingredients: Whiskey Sauce

1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter
Pinch of salt
1 egg
1 cup sugar
¼ cup milk
2-4 tablespoons whiskey, bourbon or rum, to taste

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. Tear the bread into bite-sized chunks, and place in a large mixing bowl.
  3. Scald the milk in a saucepan – i.e., heat until it starts to steam and little bubbles form around the edge, but not to boiling.
  4. Pour the milk over the bread, and mix well until all bread pieces are soaked in milk.  Set aside.
  5. Peel, core, quarter and thinly slice the apples. Drain the peaches, and cut into bite-sized chunks.  Pit the prunes, and chop to raisin size.
  6. Thoroughly butter the inside of a large oven-proof bowl.
  7. Break the eggs into the bowl, and add the peaches.  Beat until eggs are well blended.
  8. Add sugar, and stir well to combine.
  9. Add apples, prunes, raisins, vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt and stir well to combine.
  10. Slice the butter into 10-16 slices, and stir into the mixture.
  11. Add the milk-soaked bread and mix very well.
  12. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes.  Let pudding cool and firm up before serving.
  13. Meanwhile, make the whiskey sauce.  Melt the butter with a pinch of salt in the top of a double boiler over – not in – boiling water.
  14. Crack the egg into a small bowl, and beat it.
  15. Whisk the sugar into the butter. Add the milk slowly, continuing to whisk until the sugar is completely dissolved.
  16. Add the egg and continue whisking rapidly, so the egg doesn’t curdle.  Whisk until the mixture thickens slightly (coats a spoon when dipped in), then remove from heat.
  17. Allow to cool until just warm, then whisk in the liquor, combining thoroughly. Serve over the bread pudding.

My husband says: Don’t use bread with a very crunchy crust, or a high crust- to-inside ratio.  I actually use challah – first I tear it into bite-sized chunks and let it sit out for a couple of days, or dry it in a 200°F oven on a baking sheet.