Desserts / Cobblers, crisps & puddings
Bread Pudding with Bourbon Sauce
Not rated yet. Be the first.
Day-old bread soaks in a cinnamon-vanilla custard until it's soft all the way through, with a crisp top for contrast. Spoon the warm bourbon sauce over it and the table goes quiet.
The short version
Cube stale bread, soak it in a cinnamon-vanilla custard for 30 minutes, and bake in a water bath at 350°F for about an hour. Spoon over a quick butter-bourbon sauce while the pudding is still warm.
What makes ours better
the tricks Nonna pretends she never taught me
-
Soak the raisins in bourbon. Plump raisins taste like something instead of chewy dots. A few minutes in warm bourbon (or hot water) does it.
-
Soak the bread in the custard for 30 minutes. Bread that drinks the custard before baking bakes up creamy all the way through, with no dry cubes on top.
-
Bake in a water bath. Gentle, even heat keeps the custard silky and prevents the edges from turning rubbery before the center sets.
-
Make a sauce with butter, sugar and a splash of bourbon. It tastes like caramel, melts into every crack, and takes five minutes.
What you need
the cast, in order of appearance
- Sturdy white bread14 ounces
- Bourbon2 tablespoons
- Eggs4 large
- Whole milk3 cups
- Granulated sugar¾ cup
- Vanilla extract1 teaspoon
- Ground cinnamon¾ teaspoon
- Freshly grated nutmeg¼ teaspoon
Pudding
Bourbon sauce
tap each one as it goes in. no double-salting.
Steps
deep breath. you’ve got this.
-
Dry the bread
Heat the oven to 300°F. Spread the bread cubes on a baking sheet and dry them 10 to 15 minutes, just until they feel dry but aren't browned. Fresh bread turns to mush; stale or oven-dried bread soaks up custard.
About 12 min. Cook mode has a timer for this step.
-
Plump the raisins
Warm the bourbon in a small bowl in the microwave for 20 seconds, add the raisins and let them soak while you make the custard. Skip this step if you're not using raisins.
-
Make the custard
Butter a 2-quart baking dish. Whisk the eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a large bowl until the sugar dissolves and no streaks of yolk remain.
-
Soak the bread
Put the bread in the buttered dish and scatter the raisins and any leftover bourbon over it. Pour the custard over and press the bread down with a spatula. Let it sit 30 minutes, pressing the cubes down every 10 minutes so the top ones get wet.
If the top cubes still look dry after 30 minutes, spoon some custard over them.
About 30 min. Cook mode has a timer for this step.
-
Set up the water bath
Heat the oven to 350°F. Set the baking dish in a large roasting pan. Pull the oven rack halfway out, set the pan on it and pour hot tap water into the roasting pan until it reaches halfway up the sides of the dish.
-
Bake
Bake 55 to 65 minutes, until the top is golden, the pudding is puffed and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Lift the dish out of the water and cool 15 minutes.
Watch your arms when you lift the pan out. The water stays hot.
About 55 min. Cook mode has a timer for this step.
-
Make the bourbon sauce
While the pudding bakes or cools, melt the butter with the sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves, 2 to 3 minutes. Whisk the egg in a bowl, then slowly whisk in about a third of the hot butter mixture. Pour it all back into the pan, whisk constantly for 1 minute, then remove from the heat and let cool a few minutes. Stir in the bourbon.
Add the hot mixture to the egg gradually, or the egg scrambles.
-
Serve warm
Spoon the pudding into bowls and pour the sauce over each serving.
Good to know
read this before somebody asks for seconds
- Day-old French bread works best. Soft sandwich bread gets gummy and thin ciabatta may not soak up enough custard. Brioche and challah make it richer.
- For a bourbon-free sauce, stir in 2 teaspoons of vanilla instead of the bourbon.
- The sauce thickens as it cools. Rewarm it gently over low heat, whisking, and loosen with a splash of milk if needed.
- To serve with ice cream instead, skip the sauce. Vanilla ice cream melts nicely into the warm pudding.
- Storage. Refrigerate the pudding and sauce separately in covered containers, 4 days. Reheat portions in the microwave or in a 325°F oven until warm. Freeze the baked pudding, wrapped, up to 2 months.
Questions, answered
the questions my cousins text me
Can I make bread pudding ahead of time?
Yes. Assemble and refrigerate unbaked pudding overnight (it will soak further), or bake it a day ahead and reheat at 325°F for 20 minutes. Make the sauce fresh or rewarm it.
What is the best bread for bread pudding?
Sturdy, slightly stale white bread like French bread, brioche or challah. Thin sandwich bread turns gummy, and very dense whole-grain bread stays chewy.
Why is my bread pudding soggy or runny?
It didn't bake long enough or the bread wasn't dry. Bake until a knife in the center comes out clean and the top is firm and golden.
Why is my bread pudding dry?
Usually the bread didn't soak long enough, or the bake ran too long without a water bath. Press the cubes under the custard during the soak and pull the pan as soon as the center is set.
Do I need the water bath?
It's what keeps the custard creamy. Without it, bake at 325°F for 55 to 60 minutes and watch the edges, which will be firmer.
Is the egg in the sauce safe?
It's cooked by whisking it for a minute in the hot butter and sugar, which thickens the sauce, though it's gently cooked. If you'd rather avoid it, melt the butter with the sugar and a splash of cream, simmer 2 minutes, and add the bourbon or vanilla.
From the table
Made it? Tell me everything. Especially if somebody said it was better than their mother’s. I’ll keep your secret.
Made it?
be honest. I can take it. probably.
Tap a star
- No reviews yet. Yours would be the first, and I’d read it twice.
Find it in
Published October 29, 2026.