Hated the Biscuits; Loved the Bread Pudding

Hated the Biscuits; Loved the Bread Pudding

 

I made biscuits the other day. It sounded like a good idea but I ended up hating them.

B-o-r-i-n-g.  Even a generous pat of Kerrygold butter couldn’t bring them to life.

OK. I’ll admit that it may have been me. I am in my third week of recovery from back surgery. I’m cranky.

So, when I couldn’t bring myself to love the biscuits, I decided to repurpose them.  When life gives you lemons…

I decided those boring biscuits just might become a tasty bread pudding.

My history with bread pudding is kind of spotty. Bread pudding was never in my family’s cooking repertoire, so it came as a wonderful surprise to me when I first enjoyed it at a safari lodge buffet in Kenya’s Masai Mara years ago. (Actually, I made two food discoveries at that lodge–bread pudding and the British breakfast cereal Weetabix. If you are unfamiliar with Weetabix, give it a try. It’s wonderful and you can buy it at Trader Joe’s. Weetabix and cold cold milk is my midnight go-to on nights when I can’t sleep. )

After that bread pudding epiphany in Kenya, a world of other variations on the bread pudding theme opened up for me. There was the wonderful Om Ali served at the Mena House Hotel in the shadow of the Giza pyramids. In New Orleans, there is bread pudding served in a generous puddle of whisky sauce at Brennan’s. In India, there was Shahi Turka, a bread pudding made with bread, ghee, sugar, saffron, rosewater and almonds. Properly made, Shahi Turka can be extraordinary– as it was at the Taj Hotel in New Delhi lo those many years ago. I’ve been chasing that recipe for a very long time.

Clearly, creative chefs and stale bread can soar anywhere in the world. Who knew?

Indian Shahi Turka

 

 

Here is a recipe for New Orleans-Style Bread Pudding With Whiskey Sauce.

New Orleans-Style Bread Pudding With Whiskey Sauce
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Ingredients

    For The Bread Pudding
  • 1/2 C. raisins
  • 2 T. whiskey (more for the cook)
  • Day-old biscuits or bread (about 6 cups)
  • 2 C. half and half
  • 1 C. whole milk
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 C. brown sugar (light or dark)
  • 2 1/2 t. pure vanilla extract
  • 1 t. ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 t. ground nutmeg
  • Dash of salt
  • For the Whiskey Sauce
  • 1 C. heavy cream
  • 1/2 C. whole milk
  • 1/4 C. granulated white sugar
  • 1 T. cornstarch
  • 2 T. whiskey
  • 2 egg yolks
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 T. unsalted butter
  • 1 t. vanilla extract
  • For Garnish
  • Extra whiskey to sprinkle over baked bread pudding (optional)
  • Whipped cream
  • Dash of salt
  • Sliced almonds toasted in a bit of butter

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
  2. To Prepare Bread Pudding
  3. Simmer the raisins and whiskey in a small saucepan. As soon as the whiskey comes to a simmer, remove the pan from the heat and let the raisins macerate in the warm whiskey for 20-30 minutes.
  4. Prepare your stale bread by cutting it into 1/2-inch cubes. You will need approximately six cups of bread cubes.
  5. Put the half-and-half, whole milk, brown sugar, and eggs in a large bowl and whisk until blended. Add the vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and a dash of salt to the bowl. Whisk to combine.
  6. Add the bread cubes and soaked raisins (with their liquid) to the bowl with the milk and stir gently to coat the bread cubes completely. Let this mixture stand for 30 minutes to 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
  7. Spoon the soaked bread mixture into a well-buttered 2 1/2 quart baking dish and bake your bread pudding for about an hour at 325 degrees F. or until the pudding is firm and golden brown.
  8. When the pudding is fully baked, take it out of the oven and set it on a rack to cool. Sprinkle the top of the pudding generously with whiskey if you like. Serve the pudding warm (my preference) or at room temperature topped with some of the whiskey sauce and a dollop of whipped cream. Sprinkle toasted almonds on top of the bread pudding. Refrigerate any leftovers. (Alternatively, you can spoon some of the whiskey sauce into shallow bowls, put a piece of the warm bread pudding on top of the sauce, top with almonds and whipped cream.)
  9. To Make the Whiskey Sauce
  10. Using a medium saucepan, combine the heavy cream, whole milk and grandulated sugar. Stir and set aside.
  11. Whisk the cornstarch and the whiskey together in a small bowl. Set aside.
  12. Whisk the egg yolks in a small bowl. Set aside.
  13. Put the saucepan containing the milk/cream mixture on your stove over medium heat and stir in the cornstarch mixture. Bring this mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat and continue to cook this mixture for about 3 minutes while stirring it frequently.
  14. Temper the eggs by slowly adding about 1/2 cup of the hot milk/cream mixture to the whisked egg yolks, whisking constantly while you do this. Be sure to do this carefully. You don't want to end up with scrambled eggs. Once this is done, pour the whole egg yolk mixture into the saucepan with the milk and other ingredients and cook and stir for 1 more minute.
  15. Whisk in a pinch of salt, the butter and the vanilla.
  16. Transfer the sauce to a glass bowl and cover it with a sheet of plastic wrap. The plastic wrap should be pressed down to actually touch the top of the pudding. You want to prevent a skin from forming on top of the pudding. The sauce will thicken as it stands.

Nutrition

Calories

8901 cal

Fat

299 g

Carbs

772 g

Protein

146 g
Click Here For Full Nutrition, Exchanges, and My Plate Info
7.8.1.2
172
https://bluecayenne.com/hated-the-biscuits-loved-the-bread-pudding

 

This recipe was adapted from one that appears on The Spruce Eats site. Here is a link: Bread Pudding.

 

 


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