Bread Pudding with Whiskey Sauce (Louisiana)
“Stale French bread soaked in a vanilla-cinnamon custard, baked until the top crisps and the inside turns lush and creamy, then drowned in a warm butter-and-bourbon whiskey sauce. The defining homestyle dessert of New Orleans.”
Where it comes from
Bread pudding came to Louisiana with thrifty French and Creole cooks who refused to waste the city's beloved but quickly-staling French bread. Soaked in custard and baked, it transformed yesterday's loaf into dessert; the boozy whiskey or bourbon sauce that crowns it is a New Orleans flourish, and grand restaurants like Commander's Palace turned the humble dish into a signature finale.
On the plate
The crisp, almost caramelized top gives way to a warm, spoonable interior — somewhere between custard and cake — laced with vanilla, cinnamon, and plump raisins. Then the whiskey sauce arrives: buttery, sweet, with a boozy bourbon warmth that lingers. Served hot, it's pure comfort; the contrast of crunchy edges and soft middle is the whole point.
How it works
Stale bread is essential — dried-out crumb acts like a sponge, drinking up custard without turning to mush the way fresh bread would. The eggs set the custard into a sliceable pudding in the oven, while the sauce is finished off-heat so the bourbon's aroma isn't cooked away, keeping its boozy perfume intact.
Variations
White-chocolate bread pudding (Palace Cafe), rum sauce instead of whiskey, croissant-based versions, and a praline-pecan topping.
On the Palate
Ingredients
Serves 8
How it's made
7 steps · Show ↓20 min active · 60 min waiting
How it's made
7 steps · Show ↓- 18 min
Tear day-old French bread into chunks and pile into a buttered baking dish.
- 25 min
Whisk eggs, milk, cream, sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon into a custard.
- 330 min
Pour the custard over the bread and press down; let soak 30 minutes.
- 450 min
Scatter raisins over the top and bake at 350F/175C for 45-50 minutes until set and golden.
- 55 min
For the sauce, melt butter with sugar and a splash of cream until smooth.
- 61 min
Off the heat, stir in bourbon whiskey to taste.
- 710 min
Let the pudding rest 10 minutes, then spoon the warm whiskey sauce generously over each serving.
