Commanders Palace Bread Pudding Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8-inch square baking pan; set aside. Combine 3/4 cup sugar, the cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large bowl. Beat in whole eggs until smooth; whisk in cream and vanilla. Add bread cubes; stir, allowing bread to soak up custard. Scatter raisins in greased pan; top with egg mixture, which will prevent raisins from burning. Bake until pudding is golden and firm to the touch and a cake tester inserted in center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. It should be moist, not runny or dry. Cool to room temperature.
• Butter six 6-ounce ceramic ramekins; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk egg whites and cream of tartar until foamy. Gradually add remaining 3/4 cup sugar; continue whisking until shiny and thick. Test with a clean spoon. If whites stand up stiff, like shaving cream, when you pull out the spoon, meringue is ready. Do not overwhip, or whites will break down and souffle will not work.
• In a large bowl, break half the bread pudding into pieces using your hands or a spoon. Gently fold in a quarter of the meringue, being careful not to lose the air in the whites. Divide a portion of this mixture among the ramekins. Place remaining bread pudding in bowl, break into pieces, and carefully fold in rest of meringue. Top off souffles with this lighter mixture, piling it high, about 1 1/2 inches over top edge of ramekins. With a spoon, smooth and shape tops into a dome over ramekin rims. Bake immediately until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Serve immediately. Using a spoon at the table, poke a hole in the top of each souffle, and spoon the room-temperature whiskey sauce into the souffles.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl, with a hand mixer, beat butter and sugar until creamy. Add eggs, cream, vanilla and cinnamon. Beat thoroughly until combined. Stir in raisins. Pour into 9" square baking pan. Place bread slice flat in pan for 5 minutes to soak up some of the liquid. Turn bread over and let stand 10 minutes longer. Push bread down so most is submerged. Don't break up slices. Set pan in larger pan and pour in enough water to reach within 1/2 of top of inner pan. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake 35 minutes, uncover and bake 10 minutes longer until top of pudding is browned and pudding is still soft. Spoon onto plates and pass with whiskey sauce.

Steps:

• Place cream in a small saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil. Whisk together cornstarch and water; add to cream while whisking. Bring to a boil. Whisk; let simmer for a few seconds, taking care not to burn mixture on bottom. Remove from heat; stir in the sugar and bourbon. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Let cool to room temperature.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. In a large bowl, blend the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Whisk in the eggs, milk, cream and vanilla. Tear the bread slices into big, bite-sized pieces and place in a lightly buttered 9 x 13 pan. Pour the custard mixture over the bread and allow to soak until soft, about 1 hour. Stir the raisins into the pudding and top with the nuts. Bake uncovered 1 1/2 hours. Prepare the whiskey sauce and keep warm until needed. Scoop the bread pudding into individual bowls and top with the reserved whiskey sauce.
• To prepare the whiskey sauce: Heat the cream and sugar in a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan over medium-high heat until mixture begins to boil. Mix the cornstarch and cold water in a small bowl until smooth; slowly whisk into simmering cream. Simmer 2-3 minutes. Put the yolks into a stainless steel bowl; whisk. Temper the yolks by slowly whisking 1 cup hot, thickened cream mixture into yolks. Return the yolk mixture to hot cream mixture, whisking in slowly. After the mixture is whisked together, cook over medium-low heat until mixture reaches 140 degrees F. Remove from heat and pour through a fine mesh strainer. Add the whiskey, adjusting to taste, and keep warm until ready to use. Sauce may be stored in a covered container in the refrigerator up to 3 days.