Get Your Haute Bread Pudding

Bread pudding was once plain bread soaked in milk and baked with a few raisins thrown in for color. It was Depression-era food: basic, cheap and filling.

Today’s bread pudding is haute cuisine. Infused with fruit, liqueurs and aromatic seasonings, the bread puddings that America’s chefs are dreaming up bear little resemblance to the desserts that emerged from mom’s kitchen.

“They’re more solid, less goopy,” says Marcel Desaulniers, co-owner and executive chef at the Trellis Restaurant, Cafe & Grill in Williamsburg, Va., and author of “Death by Chocolate: The Last Word on a Consuming Passion” (Rizzoli, 1992). “It’s nothing like that stuff mom--or in my case, boarding school--used to serve. I’ve seen two styles, a dense pudding and a souffle pudding.”

The whiskey-soaked raisin bread pudding served at the Trellis is an example of the former. Served in slices, it appears to be bread rather than pudding. Topped with Jack’s (as in Daniel’s) honey-raisin sauce, this is not boarding school cooking.

By contrast, the each bread pudding with southern comfort cream served at the Buckhead Diner in Atlanta is a souffle pudding. This light, tender creation is baked with less cream than traditional bread puddings. And although it requires a bit of intense whisking, Dan O’Leary, the executive chef, says the recipe is nothing to be afraid of.

“Housewives were making bread puddings well before professionals were,” he says. “It’s comfort food. It may not be on the cutting edge of cuisine, but it sure is good.”

Just as the whiskey-soaked raisin bread pudding reflects a rebellion against boarding school goop and the peach bread pudding highlights Georgia’s most famous perishable fruit, the Ritz-Carlton Buckhead, also in Atlanta, has its signature bread pudding, which screams “haute.” chocolate-walnut bread pudding is as luxurious as the hotel where it is served to conference attendees for breakfast. Executive chef Mauro Canaglia knows a day filled with meetings will be tolerable if it begins with a hefty helping of chocolate.

The Ritz’s offering is closer to mom’s pudding in that it’s downright gooey. But with all this chocolate and cream, mom would wring her hands (and your neck) if she knew you were eating it for breakfast. But Canaglia defends his bread pudding by comparing it to grits.

“It’s so versatile because the bread itself is plain and it goes with any flavor. We even make a ginger-raspberry pudding,” he says. “It’s like grits. We put everything in grits--bacon, cheese, Parmesan. Who would have thought grits and bread pudding would be endless?”

Certainly not mom.

And she wouldn’t have thought bread pudding could be expensive either.

“It’s not really cost-effective, because we bake brioche just for the bread pudding,” O’Leary says.

Brioche, a buttery French loaf traditionally served as dessert or at teatime, can be purchased from bread shops and bakeries.

Desaulniers makes his own bread as well. In fact, in his book, “Desserts to Die For” (Simon & Schuster), he cautions against using store-bought bread for whiskey-soaked raisin bread pudding. The pudding’s “extraordinary lightness comes from the buttery bun dough, which is very similar to brioche,” he writes. Start this recipe at least a day before you plan to serve it.

Time-consuming, expensive and in some cases loaded with liquor, these bread puddings are certainly not what mom used to make. They’re exquisite.

Sorry, mom.

WHISKEY-SOAKED RAISIN BREAD PUDDING WITH JACK’S HONEY-RAISIN SAUCE

This recipe from “Desserts to Die for,” by Marcel Desaulniers, can be baked a day or two ahead and refrigerated. The flavors meld and the pudding becomes more mellow after 48 hours. Rewarm the pudding before serving.

Note: To toast walnuts, place on baking sheet and toast in oven at 325 degrees 12 to 14 minutes.

WHISKEY-SOAKED RAISINS

1 1/2 cups raisins

1/2 cup sour mash whiskey

Place raisins and whiskey in plastic container with tight-fitting lid. Allow to stand at room temperature 6 hours or overnight.

BUTTERY BUN DOUGH

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 cup warm water

2 tablespoons active dry yeast

5 large eggs

4 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

2 teaspoons unsalted butter, melted

1 tablespoon whole milk

Dissolve sugar in warm water in bowl of electric mixer. Add yeast and stir gently to dissolve. Allow mixture to stand 3 minutes.

Attach mixing bowl to mixer fitted with paddle. Add 4 eggs on top of mixture, then add 4 cups flour and salt. Mix on low speed 1 minute. Remove paddle and replace with dough hook. Mix on medium-low until smooth ball of dough forms, about 3 minutes.

On medium speed, mix in softened butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, being certain each tablespoon is incorporated before adding next. If dough creeps up dough hook, stop mixer and pull dough off hook and place back into bowl. Remove bowl and dough hook. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 hour.

Remove bowl from refrigerator and replace plastic wrap with clean, cotton towel. Place dough in warm place to rise until doubled in volume, about 1 hour. Punch down dough and transfer to pie plate. Tightly cover with plastic wrap and freeze 15 minutes.

Lightly coat 9x5x3-inch loaf pan with 1 teaspoon melted butter. Set aside.

Remove dough from freezer. Using hands, flatten dough to 8x10-inch rectangle on lightly floured surface, using remaining flour as necessary. Starting from 1 end, roll dough into tight spiral to form 8-inch-long loaf. Place in buttered pan. Whisk remaining egg with milk and lightly brush top with egg wash.

Bake at 325 degrees on center rack 40 minutes. Remove from oven. Allow to cool 15 minutes before removing from pan. Cool to room temperature. Using serrated knife, cut loaf into 1-inch-thick slices. Cut slices into 1-inch cubes (leave crusts on). Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

Lightly coat 9x5x3-inch loaf pan with remaining melted butter. Line bottom and long sides of pan with 8x12-inch parchment paper. Set aside.

CUSTARD

1 cup sugar

4 large eggs

2 cups half and half

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 cups toasted walnuts, chopped into 1/4-inch pieces

Lightly whisk sugar and eggs in 5-quart bowl. Whisk in half and half, vanilla and cinnamon. Stir in Whiskey-Soaked Raisins. Add bread cubes and walnuts. Use hands to gently but thoroughly toss ingredients.

Transfer mixture to loaf pan, handful at a time, gently pressing bread into corners of pan. Pour any remaining custard on top. Bake on center rack at 325 degrees until internal temperature of pudding reaches 140 degrees, about 1 1/2 hours. Remove from oven and keep in pan 1 hour before slicing and serving.

JACK’S HONEY-RAISIN SAUCE

2 cups raisins

1 cup sour mash whiskey

1/2 cup honey

As pudding bakes, prepare sauce by heating raisins and whiskey in 1 1/2-quart saucepan over medium heat. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in honey. Keep sauce warm in double boiler until ready to serve or cool in ice water bath to 40 degrees and refrigerate until needed.

To serve, remove pudding from pan. Using serrated slicer, cut into 10 (3/4-inch-thick) slices. Top each with 2 tablespoons sauce.

Makes 8 10 10 servings.

PEACH BREAD PUDDING WITH SOUTHERN COMFORT CREAM

Toasting the bread cubes with butter and cinnamon-sugar is an extra step, but it adds a texture not found in other bread puddings. The recipe is from Dan O’Leary, executive chef at the Buckhead Diner in Atlanta.

Note: Cinnamon-sugar mix can be made by mixing 6 tablespoons sugar with 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon.

BREAD PUDDING

1/2 loaf brioche, cut into 1-inch cubes with crusts removed (8 cups)

1/2 cup butter, melted

1/2 cup cinnamon-sugar mix

8 medium peaches, peeled and pitted

2 tablespoons peach schnapps

2/3 cup whipping cream

2/3 cup milk

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 eggs, beaten

Toss brioche cubes with melted butter and 2 tablespoons cinnamon-sugar mix. Place on baking sheet and toast at 350 degrees until light golden brown, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, chop 2 peaches and combine with schnapps in bowl. Add cream. Cover and refrigerate.

Remove bread cubes from oven and reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees.

Bring milk, sugar and cinnamon to boil in small saucepan. Place eggs in stainless steel bowl and slowly drizzle milk mixture over eggs while whisking rapidly. Strain into cream mixture. Chop remaining 6 peaches and add to cream mixture. Stir together bread cubes and peach mixture until liquid is absorbed.

Butter 4 individual souffle dishes. Coat with remaining cinnamon-sugar mixture. Divide bread pudding mixture equally among dishes. Bake at 325 degrees until firm to the touch, about 25 minutes.

SOUTHERN COMFORT CREAM

1 cup whipping cream

1 cup half and half

1/2 vanilla bean

5 egg yolks

1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons Southern Comfort

Whipped cream, white chocolate shavings, cocoa powder, optional

Place cream and half and half in stainless steel saucepan. Split vanilla bean and scrape seeds into cream mixture. Add vanilla pod. Bring to boil.

Whisk egg yolks and sugar in stainless steel bowl 2 minutes. Slowly add hot cream mixture, whisking, 1 minute. Return mixture to saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until cream coats back of spoon, about 5 minutes. Do not allow to boil or it will curdle.

Strain mixture through fine sieve and cool completely. Add Southern Comfort. (Sauce may be prepared up to 1 day in advance and refrigerated until serving time.)

To serve, transfer pudding to serving plate. Spoon Southern Comfort Cream around pudding and top with whipped cream, white chocolate shavings and sprinkle of cocoa powder.

Makes 8 to 10 servings.

CHOCOLATE-WALNUT BREAD PUDDING

1 quart milk

2 cups sugar

7 eggs, slightly beaten

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

4 cups 1-inch-cubed stale brioche or croissants (2 to 3 long croissants)

1 tablespoon light corn syrup

1/2 cup cold water

1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

3/4 cup chopped walnuts

A generous spoonful of nutmeg gives this bread pudding, from the Ritz-Carlton Buckhead in Atlanta, a dense, almost savory flavor.

Warm milk in 2-quart saucepan. Add 1 cup sugar, stirring until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat. Whisk in eggs, cinnamon and nutmeg until smooth. Pour milk mixture over bread in bowl and allow to stand 1 hour.

Combine remaining 1 cup sugar and corn syrup in separate 2-quart saucepan. Add about 1/4 cup water and stir until sugar is moistened and resembles slush. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until liquid clears. Stop stirring and brush down sides of pan with clean pastry brush dipped in cold water. Be sure that all sugar crystals are washed from sides.

Raise heat to high and cook, without stirring, until sugar is light amber in color. Pour immediately into 8-inch square pan and swirl to cover bottom of pan. Cool 15 minutes.

Combine soaked bread, chocolate chips and walnuts and spoon into prepared pan. Place pan in roaster and pour boiling water into roaster until water comes halfway up sides of cake pan. Bake at 325 degrees until firm but not dry, about 55 minutes, stirring lightly after 20 minutes to keep custard from separating from bread.

Makes 8 to 10 servings.