New Orleans Bourbon Bread Pudding (ATK)

• servings: 8-10 people
• active time: 30 minutes
• total time: 2 hours

Ingredients

1 (18- to 20-inch) baguette, torn into 1-inch pieces (10 cups)

1 cup golden raisins, divided

¾ cup bourbon, divided

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces and chilled, plus extra for baking dish

8 large egg yolks

1½ cups packed (10½ ounces) light brown sugar

3 cups heavy cream

1 cup whole milk

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon, divided

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

¼ teaspoon table salt

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

Bourbon Sauce

MAKES ABOUT 1 CUP

1½ teaspoons cornstarch

¼ cup bourbon, divided

¾ cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons sugar

Pinch table salt

2 teaspoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Directions

1. Adjust oven rack to middle positionand heat oven to 450 degrees. Arrange bread in single layer on baking sheet and bake until crisp and browned, about 12 minutes, turning pieces over and rotating sheet halfway through baking. Let bread cool. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees.

2. Meanwhile, heat raisins with ½ cup bourbon in small saucepan over medium-high heat until bourbon begins to simmer, 2 to 3 minutes. Strain mixture, reserving bourbon and raisins separately.

3. Butter 13 by 9-inch broiler-safe baking dish. Whisk egg yolks, brown sugar, cream, milk, vanilla, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt together in large bowl. Whisk in reserved bourbon plus remaining ¼ cup bourbon. Add toasted bread and toss until evenly coated. Let mixture sit until bread begins to absorb custard, about 30 minutes, tossing occasionally. If majority of bread is still hard, continue to soak for 15 to 20 minutes.

4. Pour half of bread mixture into prepared baking dish and sprinkle with half of raisins. Pour remaining bread mixture into dish and sprinkle with remaining raisins. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, mix granulated sugar and remaining ½ teaspoon cinnamon in small bowl. Using your fingers, cut 6 tablespoons butter into sugar mixture until size of small peas. Remove foil from pudding, sprinkle with butter mixture, and bake, uncovered, until custardis just set, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove pudding from oven and heat broiler.

6. Once broiler is heated, broil pudding until top forms golden crust, about 2 minutes. Transfer to wire rack and cool at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hours. Serve.

Bourbon Sauce

MAKES ABOUT 1 CUP

1½ teaspoons cornstarch

¼ cup bourbon, divided

¾ cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons sugar

Pinch table salt

2 teaspoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Whisk cornstarch and 2 tablespoons bourbon in small bowl until well combined. Heat cream and sugar in small saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Whisk in cornstarch mixture and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and cook until sauce thickens, 3 to 5 minutes. Off heat, stir in salt, butter, and remaining 2 tablespoons bourbon. Drizzle warm sauce over individual servings. (Sauce can be refrigerated for up to 5 days.)

Notes

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS The best bourbon bread pudding is a rich, “scoopable” custard that envelops the bread with a balance of sweet spiciness and robust bourbon flavor. Tearing a crusty baguette into ragged pieces, then toasting them, gave the pudding a rustic look andkept the bread from turning soggy in the custard. We used a mixture of 3 parts cream to 1 part milk and replaced the whole eggs with yolks for a rich, creamy custard that didn’t curdle. Once the custard set up in the oven, we sprinkled cinnamon, sugar, and butter on top and let it bake until the topping was caramelized.

This bread pudding is great on its own, but for a little more punch, drizzle Bourbon Sauce over individual servings (recipe follows). A bakery-quality French baguette makes this dish even better.