Bread Pudding with Bourbon Caramel Sauce combines brioche and chocolate into a rich bread pudding with a decadent bourbon caramel sauce. Perfect for the holidays or a special occasion!
My Uncle Paul belonged to a social club that occasionally held multi-course dinners. One of these dinners was covered by a local newspaper and included his recipe for bread pudding.
My uncle was quite proud of his Polish heritage and sometimes referred to himself as Pavel, so the recipe was printed as "Pavel's Bread Pudding."
I have had a clipping of the newspaper for years and always intended to make it for my mom, my aunt, and my sister. It is a very rich and decadent dessert, so it had to be the right occasion.
Finally this summer, I decided to make it for my aunt's hot tub party, even though the occasion did not at all call for a rich and decadent dessert!
As with the Warm, Sticky Figgy Puddings, the sauce in this recipe is the real star of the show. It's a basic caramel sauce with bourbon or dark rum, served warm over the bread pudding.
I served this with vanilla ice cream and poured the sauce on top of the ice cream as well. There were discussions of making the sauce alone as an ice cream topping for a more summery option.
We really enjoyed this bread pudding, and it would be a perfect dessert for the holidays or a special occasion.
Prepare the Bread Pudding
Cut the brioche into 1-inch cubes.
In a large bowl, mix the cubes of bread, melted butter, chocolate chips, and nuts, if using.
Spoon the bread mixture into a baking dish.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the half and half, milk, sugar, eggs, yolks, vanilla, and salt. Pour the custard over the bread. Let sit at least 30 minutes while the oven preheats.
Drizzle the pudding with the remaining melted butter and sprinkle with brown sugar.
Bake until set.
Make the Sauce
Melt the butter, then add the sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Stir until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is bubbly.
Remove the sauce from heat and stir in the bourbon or rum and vanilla.
Spoon the warm sauce over servings of the bread pudding. I prefer to serve this with vanilla ice cream.
Non-Alcoholic Option
Because the bourbon is mixed into the caramel sauce at the end, the alcohol is not cooked out. If you are serving this to children or to adults who do not drink, you can substitute half-and-half or heavy cream for the bourbon. You want to make sure you add a liquid to maintain the consistency of the sauce.
Gluten Free Option
I find gluten free bread to be the most disappointing and difficult to mimic traditional bread. If you're able to find gluten free brioche at a good gluten free bakery, or even some kind of good quality gluten free bread, you could try that with this recipe. I have not tried it myself yet.
📖 Recipe
Bread Pudding with Bourbon Caramel Sauce
Ingredients
For the pudding:
- Butter (to prepare the pan)
- 1 pound brioche or Italian bread (cut into 1-inch pieces)
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter (melted, divided)
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
- 1 cup half-and-half
- ½ cup whole milk
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 6 eggs
- 4 egg yolks
- 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
For the bourbon sauce:
- 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks)
- 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup bourbon or dark rum (see note)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
For serving:
- Vanilla ice cream (optional)
Instructions
To prepare the pudding:
- Butter a 13x9-inch pan.Butter
- In a bowl, mix the bread, 8 tablespoons melted butter, chocolate chips, and nuts if using. Spoon into the pan.1 pound brioche or Italian bread, 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, 1 cup chopped walnuts
- In a bowl, whisk together half-and-half, milk, sugar, eggs, yolks, vanilla, and salt. Pour over bread. Let sit at least 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F.1 cup half-and-half, ½ cup whole milk, 1 cup granulated sugar, 6 eggs, 4 egg yolks, 2 tablespoons vanilla extract, ⅛ teaspoon salt
- Drizzle the bread pudding with the remaining 2 tablespoons of melted butter; sprinkle with the brown sugar. Bake until set, about 1 hour.2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
To prepare the sauce:
- Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Add the sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Stir until dissolved and bubbly. Remove from heat.1 cup unsalted butter, 1 cup packed dark brown sugar, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon salt
- Stir in bourbon or rum and vanilla.¼ cup bourbon or dark rum, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- Spoon warm sauce over pudding. Serve with vanilla ice cream, if desired.
Auntsuey says
I think we need this again at a party. It looks so good.
Lisa says
It was amazing. That picture reminds me of the ooey gooey goodness of it all, too! Mmm....
Tamilyogi isaimini says
Nice post tasty awesome.thanks for sharing dear
Fran says
This looks amazing...I've already added it to my list to make for this holiday!!