Cream and sugar laced with vanilla and cinnamon wrap around nuts and tangy fruit in the heart of this delicious Bread Pudding. Drizzle Bourbon Sauce over the top for a note of sweet punctuation.

A side view of a square-cut slice of Bread Pudding drizzled with Bourbon Sauce.

Something New

Last month, while I was in Paducah, Kentucky, I tried something new. Until I had lunch that beautiful spring day, at the Stranded Cow in Paducah’s Lowertown Arts District, I had never actually eaten Bread Pudding. I guess it was the raisins that always put me off.

That day, though, out and about in the warm Kentucky sunshine, seemed tailor-made for second chances. I wanted to try something new and so I ordered the Bread Pudding for dessert and dug in. Mmmmm! The flavors were luscious. Right away I could see that this was a good move. The taste was cream and sugar soft, with vanilla and cinnamon wrapped around the texture and tang of nuts and fruit. A smooth hint of whiskey added warm punctuation.

The creaminess of that Bread Pudding lingered in my mind. It was exquisite and gracefully balanced by the firm but even texture of the bread. Walnuts added interest and earthy flavor and the dried fruit was plump and, well, chewy(?)…. but never mind about that. I really enjoyed it, raisins and all, and have been eager to try making it at home ever since we left our table.

The Bread Pudding Basics

I asked Grace, owner of the Stranded Cow, if she would share her recipe. She offered what help she could. It seems she cooks like Mammaw often did, with more of a list of basic ingredients than a recipe. She told me that her Bread Pudding was a composition of:

Bread
Raisins
Dried Cranberries
Walnuts
Brown sugar
Cinnamon
Vanilla

To that, she told me, she adds enough milk and eggs to make it really moist. Then she bakes it until firm.

Bread Pudding baked in a 9 x 9-inch baking pan.

Adding Some Details

I appreciated Grace’s bread crumbs but I felt like I needed a little more information. When I got home I turned to Epicurious.com for some direction. There I found a recipe for Bread Pudding with Warm Bourbon Sauce and used it as my guide. Still, I made a few adaptations:

The recipe called for day old cinnamon raisin bread. You are not likely to find cinnamon-raisin anything at my house. There is, however, a wonderful cinnamon bread available at my local market which contains no raisins. I used it instead.
To follow Grace’s lead I did actually look around my kitchen for some raisins. I couldn’t find any. (I guess I should have saved that package from the airplane back from Kentucky, the one that came in my purchased snack box the airline offers, instead of discreetly tucking the little package into the magazine pocket in front of me.) I did find dried cranberries though. In hopes of making my raisin substitute even a little less “raisiny,” I plumped them up before assembling the Bread Pudding by soaking them in a mixture of whiskey and orange juice in the refrigerator overnight. That actually made them tasty enough that I was tempted to just eat them on the spot instead of putting them in the recipe, but I did have this post to write…
I also added nuts. I toasted walnuts, but any type of nuts could be used.
I chose to use milk instead of a mixture of milk and cream. To make this dessert richer you could use half whipping cream in the recipe. Generally, I prefer this lower fat version.
I used brown sugar instead of white sugar to enhance the casual southern flavor of the luscious milk and sugar base.

The Final Outline

So here is the recipe I ended up with. It turned out great! I will definitely be making Bread Pudding with Bourbon Sauce again.

What’s more, this is really the kind of recipe that can be adapted to whatever is on hand. It could be made with other dried fruit or nuts or none at all. It could also be made with leftover Challah or French Bread, just add a bit more sugar and cinnamon. Or you could omit the sugar and topping all together and add cheese, fresh herbs and/or other bits and pieces to create a savory bread pudding. You could change the spices and ingredients seasonally. The possibilities are endless. Just sitting here I am thinking how great it would be to make:

Bread Pudd ing made with biscuits (topped with chocolate and meringue)
Pumpkin Pecan Bread Pudding
Coconut Banana Bread Pudding
Peanut Butter Bread Pudding
Cheese Bread Pudding………….

I’ll let you know if I come up with anything wonderful!