New Orleans Bread Pudding with Bourbon Sauce

Raisin-studded bread pudding and buttery, bourbon-spiked sauce combine in this time-honored dessert.

Yield: 9 servings

Ingredients

• Pudding:
• 1/4  cup  raisins
• 2  tablespoons  bourbon
• 1 1/4  cups  2% reduced-fat milk
• 1/2  cup  sugar
• 1  tablespoon  vanilla extract
• 1/2  teaspoon  ground cinnamon
• 1/4  teaspoon  ground nutmeg
• Dash of salt
• 3  large eggs, lightly beaten
• 4 1/2  cups  (1/2-inch) cubed French bread (about 8 ounces)
• Cooking spray
• 
  Sauce:
• 1/2  cup  sugar
• 1/4  cup  light-colored corn syrup
• 1/4  cup  butter
• 1/4  cup  bourbon

Preparation

To prepare pudding, combine raisins and 2 tablespoons bourbon in a bowl. Let stand 30 minutes. Drain mixture in a sieve over a bowl, reserving liquid.

Combine reserved liquid, milk, and next 6 ingredients (milk through eggs) in a large bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Add bread, tossing gently to coat. Spoon mixture into an 8-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle evenly with raisins, pressing gently into bread mixture. Cover with foil; chill 30 minutes or up to 4 hours.

Preheat oven to 350°.

Place dish in a 13 x 9-inch baking pan; add hot water to pan to a depth of 1 inch. Bake, covered, at 350° for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 10 minutes or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean.

To prepare sauce, combine 1/2 cup sugar, corn syrup, and butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in 1/4 cup bourbon. Serve each bread pudding piece warm with about 1 tablespoon sauce.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

309 (24% from fat)

Fat:

8.2g (sat 4.3g,mono 2.7g,poly 0.6g)

Protein:

5.6g

Carbohydrate:

47.6g

Fiber:

1g

Cholesterol:

87mg

Iron:

1.1mg

Sodium:

272mg

Calcium:

74mg