Peach, Berry, & Bourbon Bread Pudding

Photo by Natalie Whearley

Peach, Berry, & Bourbon Bread Pudding, with Bourbon Caramel Sauce, & Fresh Whipped Cream
Adapted from Martha Stewart

Bread pudding is one of my favorite desserts.  When a restaurant has it on their dessert menu, it's not even up for discussion because I am definitely getting that!  I think my love for this delicious treat goes back to a very fun night when I was in high school and my family was visiting some friends in Portland.  At around midnight, my mom and her friend decided it would be a fantastic idea to make some bread pudding!  So they did, and we all enjoyed it in the early hours of the morning.

Bread pudding is kind of a what's left in the fridge dessert.  After my sister's 4th of July BBQ we had lots of brioche hamburger and hot dog buns left.  I had some blackberries and raspberries that I ended up not using for a recipe, and my parent's had some peaches from their tree in the backyard.  All of these things sounded like they would make a delicious bread pudding.  And since this dessert is even better a little tipsy, I added bourbon to the pudding and topped it with my bourbon caramel sauce.  So whenever you have leftovers from a picnic or afternoon BBQ you might want to think about whipping up this yummy dessert!  

[ INGREDIENTS ]
Peach, Berry, & Bourbon Bread Pudding
1 ½ pounds day old brioche bread*, cut into 1 inch cubes
4 ¼ cups half & half
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, plus more for the baking dish
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
4 tablespoons (2 ounces) bourbon (I used Bulleit Kentucky Straight Bourbon)
5 eggs, lightly beaten
3 medium peaches, pitted, peeled, and medium diced
6 ounces raspberries
6 ounces blackberries

Bourbon Caramel Sauce
1/8 cup water
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup heavy cream, at room temperature
4 tablespoons (2 ounces) of bourbon (I used Bulleit for this too)

Whipped Cream
1 cup heavy whipping cream


[ DIRECTIONS ]
Peach, Berry, & Bourbon Bread Pudding

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Lightly butter a 9 x 13 baking dish, set aside.
3. In a large bowl, combine the cubed bread and half & half, tossing to coat.  Set aside to allow the bread to soak.
4.  In a medium saucepan, melt the butter.
5. Remove the butter from heat and add the brown and granulated sugars and bourbon and whisk until smooth.
6. In a medium bowl, with the beaten eggs, pour in the butter mixture and whisk until smooth.
7. Pour the butter mixture over the bread and toss to combine.
8. Add the diced peaches, raspberries, and blackberries, and gently work them into the pudding.
9. Spoon the pudding into the baking dish and top with parchment lined foil.
10. Bake for 55 minutes.  Then, remove the foil and bake until golden brown, about another 10-15 minutes.

Bourbon Caramel Sauce

1. While, the pudding is baking, in a small saucepan, mix together the water and granulated sugar over high heat, bringing it to a boil.
2. Reduce heat to medium and continue boiling until the mixture turns a light caramel color, stirring every one to two minutes.  Note: this make take up to 15 minutes depending on your stove.
3. As soon as the syrup turns amber, remove the pot from heat and immediately stir in heavy cream, butter, and brown sugar until incorporated.  The sugar will clump up when you add it, but continue stirring as best as you can for about 30 seconds.
4. Place the pot back over medium heat and bring to a boil.  
5. Stir the mixture until the sugar chunk dissolves and it begins to smooth out.
6. Simmer for an additional 3-5 minutes until slightly thickened.
7. Remove from heat and stir in the Bourbon.
8. Cool to room temperature.

Whipped Cream

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat heavy cream until stiff peaks form.

Put it all together

1. Bread pudding is best served warm, so let it cool for about 15 minutes before cutting.
2. Drizzle each piece with some caramel sauce and a dollop of whipped cream. 
3. Enjoy! :)

Photo by Natalie Whearley