Strawberry Bread Pudding Souffle Recipe

by

This Strawberry Bread Pudding Souffle is a flashback from my first time stepping into a professional kitchen, Commander�s Palace. I remember being so excited and buying my first knife roll�which I still have by the way! I was so nervous going into this establishment that has been around forever and holds so many accolades. For my stage, which is an internship in a kitchen where you work for a few hours for free, I was placed on the pantry station.

Commander�s Palace bread pudding souffle is the dessert that they are well known for. It is basically bread pudding that is broken up and folded into a meringue. Baked and then topped with a delicious whiskey sauce. It is strawberry season, so I wanted to incorporate strawberries into my bread pudding, because, why not!? How can you go wrong!?

I went to my local grocery store and found brioche bread. I love how brioche is popping up all over the place! It is so buttery rich and delicious! Bread pudding typically is made with day-old bread. You do not want the bread breaking apart and turning to mush! I decided to toast my brioche in the oven for around 15 minutes.

I really wanted �in yo face!� strawberry flavor. For this recipe, I used fresh strawberries pureed with heavy cream and diced strawberries to fold in.

I was following the bread pudding recipe from Epicurious for Commander�s recipe and altered it for the strawberries. My bread pudding was a little on the wet side, but keeping it in the oven for a few more minutes did the trick, without making it completely dry.

This.Was.Delicious! I could not stop eating it. Especially with the whiskey sauce drizzled on top! Yes, please! Now, you can stop here and just cut some bread pudding pieces and serve with ice cream and the whiskey sauce, or you can go to the next step and make the meringue. Either way, you have a winner! Oh, and this strawberry bread pudding recipe is easy to whip up.

Strawberry Bread Pudding Souffle Recipe

Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Ingredients:

For the Bread Pudding:

  • 3/4 cups heavy cream
  • 1 1/2 cups strawberries, whole
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • A pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
  • 2 medium eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • A pinch of kosher salt
  • 2 1/2 cups brioche bread, cubed and lightly toasted
  • 1/4 cup raisins or currants
  • 1/2 cup toasted walnuts, chopped
  • 1 1/2 cups strawberries, diced

For the Whiskey Sauce:

  • 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
  • 2 teaspoons cornstarch
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1/3 cup bourbon or rum
  • A pinch of kosher salt

For the Meringue:

  • 9 medium egg whites, at room temperature
  • 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 3/4 cups sugar

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and butter six 6-once ramekins.
  2. Grease an 8-inch baking pan. In a blender combine the heavy cream and 1 1/2 cups of the whole strawberries. Blend on low until strawberries are pureed. Add the sugar, cinnamon nutmeg, eggs, vanilla, and kosher salt and blend until combined.
  3. In a bowl, place toasted brioche bread cubes, heavy cream mixture, diced strawberries, walnuts, and currants and toss together. Fold the bread mixture in the custard base until combined, and let sit for a few minutes for the bread to soak up the mixture.
  4. Place the bread mixture into the greased 8-inch pan and bake for approximately 25 to 30 minutes. You want your pudding to be golden. If a toothpick inserted in the pudding comes out clean, it is done. Make sure it is moist, not runny. Cool to room temperature.
  5. To make the whiskey sauce, bring the cream to a boil, combine the cornstarch and water, and add the mixture to the boiling cream, stirring constantly for about 30 seconds. Add the sugar, bourbon, and salt, and stir. Let cool to room temperature.
  6. For the meringue, in a clean bowl of a stand mixture with the whisk attachment attached, add the egg whites and cream of tarter. Whip the egg whites until foamy. Gradually add the sugar, and continue whipping until shiny and thick. With a clean spoon, test to see if the whites stand up stiff like shaving cream. Make sure to not overwhip the whites or they will break.
  7. In a large bowl, break half of the bread pudding into pieces. Gently fold in a quarter of the meringue, being careful not to lose the air in the whites. Place a portion of this mixture in each of the ramekins.
  8. Place the remaining bread pudding in the bowl break into pieces and carefully fold in the rest of the meringue. Top off the souffle to about 1 1/2 inches over the top of the ramekin.  Smooth with a spoon and shape the tops. Bake immediately for about 20 minutes until golden brown.  Serve with the whiskey sauce and enjoy!

The meringue can be skipped and just the bread pudding and whiskey sauce made instead! Still every decadent and delicious.