HOUSTON – It’s the holiday season, and bread is often a staple on the dinner table.
When the feast is over - don’t let the leftover buns or rolls go to waste.
Chef Carl Walker, the general manager at Brennan’s of Houston, shares their popular recipe for Creole bread pudding. Perfect for your next holiday gathering!
Watch the video above to see Chef Walker make the dish on Houston Life.
Creole Bread Pudding
Ingredients:
3 cups packed light brown sugar
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. ground nutmeg
5 eggs, slightly beaten
1 quart milk
2 cups whipping cream
5 tsp. vanilla extract
14 1-inch-thick slices day-old French bread (or any leftover stale bread)
1 cup raisins
1 ½ cups pecan pieces
Directions:
Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
In a large bowl, blend sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Whisk in eggs, milk, cream and vanilla.
Tear bread slices into big, bite-size pieces and place in a lightly buttered 9x13x2-inch pan.
Pour milk mixture over bread and allow to soak until soft, about 1 hour.
Stir raisins into pudding; top with nuts.
Bake uncovered 1 ½ hours.
Prepare rye whiskey sauce (recipe below), keeping warm until needed.
At serving time, scoop bread pudding into individual bowls and top with reserved whiskey sauce.
Serves 8 to 12.
Rye Whiskey Sauce
Ingredients:
2 cups whipping cream
9 Tbsp. sugar
1 ½ Tbsp. cornstarch
2 Tbsp. cold water
2 egg yolks
¼ cup whiskey
Directions:
Stirring occasionally, heat cream and sugar in a heavy-bottom medium saucepan over medium-high heat until mixture begins to boil.
Mix cornstarch and cold water in a small bowl until smooth; slowly whisk into simmering cream.
Simmer two to three minutes.
Put yolks into a stainless-steel bowl and whisk well.
Temper yolks by slowly whisking 1 cup hot, thickened cream mixture into yolks.
Return yolk mixture to hot cream mixture, whisking in slowly.
After mixture is whisked together, cook over medium-low heat until mixture reaches 140 degrees. Remove from heat and pour through a fine mesh strainer.
Add whiskey, adjusting to taste, and keep warm until ready to use.
Store sauce in a covered container in refrigerator up to three days.
Yields 2 ½ cups.
Both the bread pudding and whiskey sauce can be made up to two days in advance.
When reheating the sauce, take care to use a very low flame so as not to curdle the egg yolks.
Note: Walker, included this recipe in his cookbook, Brennan’s of Houston in Your Kitchen (2001).