Bread Pudding with Bourbon Creme Anglaise

By kimvess

Place the bread pudding in individual ramekins so they bake faster.

The Bourbon Creme Anglaise is a delicious sauce that goes with a variety of desserts. You can vary the flavor by replacing the bourbon with the liqueur of your choice.

Ingredients

• Bread Pudding
• Unsalted butter, room temperature, for coasting baking dish/ramekins
• Sugar, for coating ramekins
• 4 cups heavy cream
• 1 vanilla bean or 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste
• 6 large egg yolks
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 6 day-old croissants
• 4 tablespoons (about 2 ounces) coarsely chopped bittersweet chocolate
• 1/2 cup pecans, roughly chopped
• Bourbon Creme Anglaise
• 1 cup (8 ounces) whole milk
• 1 cup (8 ounces) heavy whipping cream
• 1/4 cup (1-1/4 ounces) sugar
• 5 large egg yolks
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons good-quality bourbon

Preparation

Step 1

For the Bread Pudding:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place a rack in the center. Butter 4 (1 cup) oven-proof ramekins. Coat the buttered surfaces with sugar. Set aside.

Pour the heavy cream into a medium saucepan. Slice the vanilla bean in half lengthwise and use the back of a paring knife to scrape the seed from the pod into the liquid, then add the pod. Alternatively, add 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste to the liquid. Simmer over low heat for 8 to 10 minutes, remove the vanilla bean if using.

Whisk together egg yolks, sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Slowly pour in the cream mixture while whisking vigorously.

Tear the croissants into bite-size pieces and add to the bowl containing the cream, stirring to coat the croissants with the cream mixture. Allow the croissants to absorb the liquid for about 10 minutes.

Evenly divide the croissant mixture between the prepared ramekins and sprinkle the top of each with the chopped chocolate and pecan pieces. Set the filled ramekins on a baking sheet and place in preheated oven. Bake until bread puddings are set, about 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly. Serve warm with bourbon Creme Anglaise.


For Bourbon Creme Anglaise

Fill a large mixing bowl halfway with ice and water and set aside. Come the milk, cream, and sugar in a medium saucepan and warm over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar is dissolved. Heat the milk mixture to just below the boiling point. Remove pan from heat.

In a small mixing bowl, whisk the egg yolks together. Slowly pour about 1 cup of the hot milk mixture into the yolks, whisking constantly, to temper them. Slowly pour the yolk mixture back into the hot milk in the saucepan, whisking all the while. Return to medium-low heat and cook, stirring constantly with a silicone spatula, until the custard thickens and registers 178 to 180 degrees on an instant-read thermometer.

Immediately strain the custard sauce through a fine-mesh strainer set over a medium heatproof mixing bowl to removed any tiny bits of scrambled egg. Once the sauce has cooled completely, stir in vanilla and bourbon. Press a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the sauce then set the bowl into the bowl of ice water. Once the custard sauce has completely cooled, use or store in the refrigerator until needed.