Bread Pudding with Irish Whiskey Sauce

I made this bread pudding last weekend, and let me warn you: it's not something you can take to a work pot luck, or anywhere where someone will be testing your blood alcohol content afterward. Not that it's overwhelmingly boozy, but it's definitely there. In a wonderful, buttery, sugar-and-whiskey sauce sort of way.

I've come to like bread puddings sort of late in life, mostly because of my aversion to anything mushy. Which includes pudding, mousse, whipped potatoes, jello, flan, ice cream and a whole bunch of other things people swear are wonderful but I just don't really have any desire to put into my mouth. It's a texture thing.

The reason I like this bread pudding (and the reason some people might not like it) is that it has texture. Yes, it's creamy and sweet but it also has the texture of raisins and pecans, and was made with a whole-grain baguette to give it some bite. It ended up with some nice crunchy edges, and when complimented with the velvety whiskey sauce was a great contrast of textures.

So here is my bread pudding pudding recipe for people with issues. Adapted from Bon Appetit magazine.


Bread Pudding with Whiskey Sauce

• 1/2 cup golden raisins
• 1/3 cup Irish Whiskey (may also use Brandy or Bourbon)

• 12 ounces fresh French bread, cut into 1-inch pieces (I used a whole grain baguette)

• 1 1/2 cups milk (2% is fine)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup whipping cream or half and half
• 3 large eggs
• 2 large egg yolks
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ cup pecans, chopped

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 6 tablespoons Irish Whiskey
• ½ cup sugar
• 2 egg yolks

Combine raisins and 1/3 cup Whiskey in small bowl. Soak for 30 minutes. 

Preheat oven to 375°F. Place bread in large bowl. Whisk milk, 3/4 cup sugar, cream or half and half, eggs, 2 egg yolks, vanilla, and cinnamon in medium bowl to blend. Pour egg mixture over bread. Add raisins and the soaking liquid and pecans; mix gently to coat bread. Let sit about 5 minutes to let the egg mixture soak into the bread. Transfer mixture to greased 9x5x3-inch glass loaf baking dish. (May cover with plastic or foil at this point, place in the refrigerator and bake later).

Cover baking dish with foil. Bake pudding 40 minutes. Remove foil and bake until top is golden and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 30 minutes longer. Cool slightly. 

(Now comes the “double boiler” part of the recipe, and don’t get excited about it in the least. If you don’t have a double boiler, all you need is a pot and a glass, ceramic or stainless steel bowl that will fit on top of the pot without falling in. Put water in your pot, bring it up to a simmer so it will fill the pot with steam. Place your bowl over the pot and the steam will gently melt your butter and you can make your sauce without breaking it. How easy is that?)

Melt butter in top of double boiler set over simmering water. Add 6 tablespoons bourbon, 1/2 cup sugar and 2 egg yolks. Whisk until mixture thickens slightly and turns a lemony-yellow color.

Cut hot or warm bread pudding into 8 slices. Transfer to plates. Spoon Whiskey sauce each portion and serve.

Mixed Berry Galette

There are still plenty of great berries out there, so I thought I would try my hand at a galette this week. I had a wonderful mix of strawberries, raspberries and blueberries available and a galette is so much easier than a pie for several reasons: you only have to make one crust, and since it is "rustic" you can get away with having things a little messy.  Which, frankly, it was on a warm afternoon in my kitchen.

It was wonderful, though. Not too sweet, and the berry flavor really came through.  I used a butter crust (I'm usually a lard girl for pastry crust) and it was silky and smooth. Perfect!


 Mixed Berry Galette

Oven: 425 degrees, rack in lower third of oven.

Prepare butter pie dough:
Stir together
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 t. salt

Add:
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut up
2 TB vegetable shortening 

I mix this all in my food processor until all is in pea-sized bits. (You can also do it old-school and cut it in with a pastry blender or use your fingers.  I love doing it in a food processor and find the results to be fantastic.)

Sprinkle with:
3 TB ice water

Blend just until it holds together.  You may need to add another 1 tsp to 1 TB of water to hold ingredients together.  Shape it into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap and chill until needed. 

Prepare the berries:

Use any mix of berries you like to equal 3 cups.  Wash and pat dry.  If using larger berries like strawberries, cut them up so they are all approximately the same size.

Mix in a bowl with:
2 TB cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar
1 TB lemon zest
1 TB lemon juice
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt

Take your dough out of the refrigerator and roll out into a 10-12 inch disc. Line a large baking sheet with foil and butter the foil. Put the disc of dough on the pan, then put the berry mix on the dough. Fold the dough up over the berries, forming a rough 1 inch border around the berries.