Bread Pudding Soufflé with Bourbon Cream Sauce

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

The dessert that made New Orleans fine dining famous, rebuilt for a home oven: a rich cinnamon-vanilla bread pudding is baked, mashed, then lightened with a stiff French meringue and baked again in buttered, sugared ramekins so it rises like a true soufflé. It arrives at the table towering and cracked on top — you break the crown with a spoon and pour warm bourbon cream straight into the center.

Ingredients

• 8 oz day-old French bread or brioche, cut into 1-inch cubes (about 6 cups)
• 1/3 cup golden raisins
• 3 tbsp bourbon
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 3 large eggs
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

• 2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
• 3 tbsp granulated sugar

• 5 large egg whites, at room temperature
• 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar

• 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• 1 tbsp cold water
• 3 tbsp bourbon or rye whiskey
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 pinch fine sea salt

• 2 tbsp powdered sugar, for dusting

Instructions

1. Warm the raisins and bourbon together in a small bowl in the microwave for 20 seconds (or in a small pan over low heat), then set aside to plump for at least 15 minutes.
2. Heat the oven to 350°F. Butter an 8-inch square baking dish. In a large bowl, whisk the milk, cream, 3 eggs, 3/4 cup sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, vanilla, and 2 tablespoons melted butter until completely smooth.
3. Add the bread cubes and the raisins with their soaking bourbon. Press the bread down with your hands or a spatula and let it soak 15 minutes, pressing again halfway through, until the cubes are saturated and heavy.
4. Scrape everything into the prepared dish and spread level. Bake 35 to 40 minutes, until puffed, deep golden on top, and set in the center — a knife inserted in the middle should come out with no liquid custard. Let cool 15 minutes.
5. Make the sauce while the pudding bakes: in a small saucepan, bring the cream and 1/3 cup sugar to a bare simmer over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Stir the cornstarch into the cold water and whisk it in; simmer 1 to 2 minutes until the sauce lightly coats a spoon. Off the heat, stir in the bourbon, butter, and a pinch of salt. Keep warm, or reheat gently before serving.
6. Raise the oven to 375°F. Generously butter six 6-ounce ramekins right up over the rims, then add a spoonful of sugar to each and rotate to coat the sides completely; tap out the excess. Set them on a rimmed baking sheet.
7. Transfer the warm bread pudding to a large bowl and mash it thoroughly with a sturdy fork or potato masher until it becomes a thick, coarse paste with no large chunks — you want about 3 1/2 cups. It should be warm to the touch, not hot; if it has gone cold, microwave 30 seconds.
8. In a spotlessly clean bowl, beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar on medium speed until foamy and soft peaks form, about 2 minutes. Increase to medium-high and rain in the 1/2 cup sugar a tablespoon at a time. Beat 3 to 4 minutes more, until the meringue is glossy and holds a stiff, upright peak when the beater is lifted.
9. Stir a generous third of the meringue into the mashed pudding vigorously to loosen it. Add the remaining meringue in two additions, folding with a large spatula — cut down the center, sweep along the bottom, and turn the bowl a quarter turn — just until no white streaks remain. Stop folding immediately; overworking deflates the rise.
10. Mound the mixture into the ramekins, filling them to the very top and just above. Level the tops with an offset spatula and run your thumb around the inside rim to clear a clean channel, which helps the soufflés climb straight.
11. Bake at 375°F for 18 to 22 minutes, without opening the door for the first 15 minutes, until the soufflés have risen 1 to 1 1/2 inches above the rims, are deep golden, and the tops feel set but still jiggle as one piece when nudged.
12. Dust with powdered sugar and bring straight to the table. Break the top of each soufflé open with a spoon and pour in the warm bourbon cream sauce so it floods the center. Serve at once.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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