A Favorite Recipe

Since I claim to be a gourmet chef in this blog, I thought it was time to share some food ideas with my readers.  This is an elegant dessert similar to that served in some of the better historic restaurants in Kentucky.

Bread Pudding With Bourbon Cream Sauce

Makes 12 generous portions.

7 fresh eggs
1 lb. granulated sugar
1/2 qt. heavy whipping cream
1/2 qt. whole milk
6 day-old croissants

6 day-old Danish

1 loaf day-old cinnamon swirl bread

1 package day-old lady fingers

Whisk together eggs, milk and cream. Add and whisk in sugar. Crumble pastries into a buttered 13 x 9 baking dish and pour above mixture over them.  Stir together thoroughly until all pastry pieces are soaked, and press into pan lightly to even the mixture. 

Bake at 350º for 35-45 minutes, until moist in the middle and golden brown on top. Push down lightly in center of pudding to make sure that liquid mixture has solidified.

Bourbon Cream Sauce

3/4 C. Bourbon
1 qt. heavy whipping cream
3-4 C.  granulated sugar

Heat above mixture to a boil.  Thicken with a slurry (pasty mixture) of 2 Tbs. corn starch and 2 Tbs. water. Simmer and stir until whisk leaves marks in the sauce.

Pour over bread pudding and sprinkle with cinnamon. Serve warm

TIPS

1.         If you cannot get the specific pastries mentioned, you can use any comparable items – muffins, apple fritters, bear claws, dinner rolls, etc.

2.         If you cannot get “day-old” pastries, just open the packages overnight before you prepare this recipe and let them dry.

3.         Pressing down with a spatula once the mixture is placed into the pan, to assure that the bread pieces are soaked and that the pudding does not have air pockets, works very well.

4.         You may sometimes need a little more slurry to get the sauce to thicken as you want it – another tbsp of cornstarch and water each will not hurt the sauce.

5.         This is good for breakfast, too, warmed with a little butter.