Bourbon Bread Pudding

From the kitchen of Carly

Brioche bread soaks up bourbon-spiked custard in this spiced pudding studded with pecans. Rich, warming, and deeply comforting, it's the kind of dessert that tastes like butter and brown sugar with a subtle whiskey kick.

Bourbon Bread Pudding

Brioche soaks up bourbon and cream while pecans toast in the oven, turning a custard into something puffy and golden that tastes like a grown-up dessert. The key is patience: let the bread drink for a full hour before baking so the crumb stays tender instead of turning dense or rubbery. Brown sugar and nutmeg push it deeper than vanilla alone ever could.

Prep
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Cook
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Total
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Servings
4
Difficulty
medium

Ingredients

4 servings

  • 2 tbspbutter, plus more for greasing
  • 10 cupcubed brioche bread
  • 1 cupchopped pecans
  • 4 cuphalf-and-half
  • 1 cupwhole milk
  • 5eggs, beaten
  • 1 cuppacked dark-brown sugar
  • 3 tbspbourbon
  • 2 tsppure vanilla extract
  • 1 tspground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tspkosher salt
  • 1/4 tspgrated nutmeg

Instructions

  1. Grease a 13 by 9-inch baking dish with butter, then spread the cubed brioche in an even layer. Scatter the pecans over the top.

  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the half-and-half, milk, eggs, butter, dark brown sugar, bourbon, vanilla, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg until fully combined.

  3. Pour the custard over the bread, giving everything a gentle stir so each cube gets coated. Leave the pudding to sit for 1 hour, letting the bread drink up all that liquid.

  4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Slide the dish in and bake for 50 minutes, until the pudding is puffy and set at the center. Pull it out and let it stand for 10 minutes before serving, ideally with a dollop of fresh whipped cream.

Tips from the kitchen

  • Cube the brioche while it's still slightly stale or at least a day old. Fresh bread will turn mushy no matter how careful you are.
  • Don't skip the one-hour soak. The bread needs that time to absorb the custard all the way through, or you'll end up with a mushy bottom and dry top.
  • Bake it in a water bath if you want a creamy, more custard-like interior. Sit the baking dish in a larger pan filled with hot water that comes halfway up the sides.

Variations

  • Skip the bourbon and add 2 tablespoons of dark rum instead for a Caribbean lean.
  • Swap pecans for toasted walnuts or almonds, or use a mix of dried fruit (raisins, diced apricots) stirred into the custard.
  • Make it savory by cutting the brown sugar to 1/2 cup, adding grated Gruyere and a splash of cognac instead of bourbon, then serving it as a side dish.

Make ahead and storage

Cover and refrigerate leftovers for up to 3 days. Reheat gently in a 300-degree F oven for 10 minutes, or eat it cold with fresh cream.