Bread Pudding with Bourbon Sauce

Bread pudding is one of those comfort desserts that’s both delicious and decadent, like a treat from a favorite restaurant, even though it’s really made from leftover bread. Our bread pudding with bourbon sauce recipe is designed for a slow cooker, so there’s no need to heat up the house to make it. A tasty bourbon sauce tops off the treat, infusing the bread pudding with heavenly sweet notes of butterscotch, honey or even chocolate, depending upon the booze.

Ingredients for Bread Pudding with Bourbon Sauce

• Eggs: Eggs act as a binding agent that helps all the ingredients stick to the bread.
• Two-percent milk: The milk softens the bread so it can be transformed into a pudding.
• Sugar: Sugar makes the bread pudding taste sweeter.
• Vanilla extract: This pantry staple provides just the right amount of vanilla flavor.
• Ground cinnamon: Cinnamon adds a light spicy note to the bread pudding’s flavor.
• Ground nutmeg: Nutmeg’s earthy notes pair well with the cinnamon in this bread pudding recipe with bourbon sauce.
• Day-old brioche or egg bread: Day-old bread such as brioche is ideal for a bread pudding, due to the bread’s inherent sweetness and its fine texture.
• Raisins: Raisins add flavor and textural variation to the pudding—a little pop of sweetness in each bite.
• Butter: Butter makes the bourbon sauce taste lighter and gives it just a hint of buttery flavor.
• Light corn syrup: Corn syrup provides the sweetness and smoothness of the bourbon sauce.
• Bourbon: Bourbon, as the key flavor component to the bourbon sauce, supplies complex notes of caramel and vanilla.

Directions 

Step 1: Make the bread pudding

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In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, 1/2 cup of the sugar, vanilla extract, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Stir in the bread and the raisins, then transfer the mixture to a greased 4-quart slow cooker and cook, covered, for three hours on low. (To avoid scorching, rotate the slow cooker’s insert half a turn after 90 minutes, using oven mitts to lift the insert.)

Step 2: Make the bourbon sauce

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Place the butter, the rest of the sugar and the corn syrup in a small saucepan and bring the ingredients to a boil, stirring occasionally. Cook and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Remove the pan from the heat, stir in the bourbon, and then spoon the warm sauce over warm servings of bread pudding.

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Recipe Variations 

• Soak the raisins in bourbon: Soak the raisins in the bourbon for at least five minutes, then incorporate them into the bread pudding mixture. The raisins bring the flavorful notes of bourbon into the bread pudding, even without the bourbon sauce on top.
• Add walnuts: Add crushed walnuts to the bread pudding mixture for a lovely texture variation in an otherwise soft bread pudding.
• Add chocolate: Semi-sweet chocolate chips make this bread pudding even more amazing. Raisins, chocolate and bourbon sauce unite for a delicious team of flavors!
• Serve sauce atop ice cream: This bourbon sauce tastes equally good atop vanilla ice cream or warm apple pie.

How to Store Bread Pudding with Bourbon Sauce

Store the bread pudding and the bourbon sauce separately in airtight food-storage containers in the refrigerator for best results; otherwise the bread pudding may become soggy. A canning jar is a great vessel for storing the bourbon sauce.

How long does bread pudding with bourbon sauce last?

The bread pudding lasts for three to five days in an airtight container in the refrigerator; the sauce keeps for 7 to 10 days in the refrigerator.

Bread Pudding with Bourbon Sauce Tips

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Can I use a different alcohol instead of bourbon?

Yes, several other alcohols would be just as delicious in the boozy sauce portion of this recipe. Dark rum, whisky or cognac are all excellent selections; simply swap the bourbon for your chosen alcohol.

Can I make this in an oven instead?

Yes, this bread pudding with bourbon sauce recipe can be made in an oven if you don’t have a slow cooker or if you prefer baking. Preheat the oven to 375°F and transfer the bread-pudding mixture to a large greased baking pan. Bake the bread pudding for at least 35 minutes or until it puffs up a bit and turns golden, and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. (Or simply follow this bourbon brioche bread pudding recipe, designed for baking.)

What other breads can I use besides brioche?

Though technically just about any day-old bread can be turned into a bread pudding, a subtly sweet and sturdy bread such as challah is great for this recipe. French bread or baguettes are also great choices, although they’ll taste a bit different. Even Hawaiian sweet rolls or a bakery-made raisin or cinnamon bread would taste great in this bread pudding recipe, though the texture will be a little different. Experimentation is the key to delicious food discoveries!