It’s always a sad
day when a favorite restaurant closes its doors, sealing forever the fate of
the vastly enjoyed dish. Such was the case when a
local restaurant called Harvest, an 18-year-old farm-to-table eatery closed its
doors in June of last year. As luck would have it, another local restaurant,
Cyrano’s, a 50-year-old icon known for award winning desserts now offers up the
luscious bread pudding originally created by Harvest chef, Steve Gontram. As
further luck would have it, St. Louis Magazine published the recipe!
I am no slouch when it
comes to bread pudding, and I know what I like. I also know that the sauce has
as much to do with the success of a good bread pudding as does the pudding
itself. If you’re like me, then you owe it to yourself to give this a try.
Steve Gontram’s Harvest Bread Pudding
(Slightly adapted
and edited for clarity.)
2 loaves brioche
2 cups milk
2 cups heavy cream
3/4 cups granulated sugar
¼ tsp. vanilla extract
½ vanilla bean, seeds scraped, both parts reserved
½ cinnamon stick
¼ tsp. nutmeg, freshly ground
3 egg yolks
3 whole eggs
Mint sprigs, for garnish
Powdered sugar, for garnish
For the sauce:
2 cups granulated sugar
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. vanilla extract
2 Tbsp. light corn syrup
1 cup buttermilk
2 sticks (8 oz.) unsalted butter
½ cup dried currants soaked in ½ cup bourbon
Whipped Cream
1 pint heavy cream
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Preheat the oven to 350ºF degrees. Pour raisins and bourbon into a small bowl and allow to hydrate while you make the bread pudding.
2 cups milk
2 cups heavy cream
3/4 cups granulated sugar
¼ tsp. vanilla extract
½ vanilla bean, seeds scraped, both parts reserved
½ cinnamon stick
¼ tsp. nutmeg, freshly ground
3 egg yolks
3 whole eggs
Mint sprigs, for garnish
Powdered sugar, for garnish
For the sauce:
2 cups granulated sugar
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. vanilla extract
2 Tbsp. light corn syrup
1 cup buttermilk
2 sticks (8 oz.) unsalted butter
½ cup dried currants soaked in ½ cup bourbon
Whipped Cream
1 pint heavy cream
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Preheat the oven to 350ºF degrees. Pour raisins and bourbon into a small bowl and allow to hydrate while you make the bread pudding.
Remove the outer
crust from the brioche. Using a serrated knife, cut the loaves into 1-inch cubes;
place the cubes into a large mixing bowl.
In a 2-quart saucepot,
combine the milk, cream, 3/4 cup sugar, ¼ teaspoon vanilla
extract, vanilla bean and previously scraped seeds, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Bring
the mixture to a boil and remove from the heat.
In a large mixing
bowl, whisk together the eggs and egg yolks. Slowly pour half the hot milk
mixture into the eggs and whisk to incorporate. Add the remaining milk mixture
and whisk together.
Let the custard cool
slightly and then pour over the cubed brioche. Toss the ingredients together lightly
and place in a greased 9-by-12-inch baking dish. Bake approximately 25 to 30
minutes or until the top is golden brown.
Make the sauce: In a
3-quart sauce pan (trust me on this one, this stuff really bubbles up), combine
all the sauce ingredients except the bourbon and currants; bring the mixture to
a boil over medium-high heat. Remove from the heat, add the bourbon and
currants, and set aside.
Make the whipped
cream: In a mixer, combine the heavy cream with the vanilla and sugar; whip
until stiff.
To serve, cut the bread pudding into desired sized pieces and place in a
dessert bowl. Top with bourbon-currant sauce and a dollop of whipped cream.
Garnish with a sprig of mint and a dusting of powdered sugar. Makes 12 servings.
For more delicious bread
pudding recipes, check out
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I was expecting your recipe to read "add the currants and drink the bourbon" :D It really looks delicious!
ReplyDeleteThe last bread pudding I had (dessert in a restaurant) was so disappointing - I'm trying to think of the best way to describe it and all I can say is that it was heavy. I like mine light, if that makes sense.
ummm, I do love Bread Pudding...must give this a try soon.
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