Bread Pudding Soufflé and Whiskey sauce

How to use bread leftovers? Bake a Bread Pudding Soufflé! This dessert is old fashioned light, and fluffy. My recipe includes raisins and pecans but you can replace the raisins with fresh fruits (diced apples and blueberries are my favorites), other dried fruits (cherries, apricots, figs..) use honey, chocolate chips, etc.

Serves 8
Praparation time: 30 minutes
Baking time: 40 minutes
Difficulty: **

Ingredients:
Soufflé
- 5 cups (about half a medium round loaf) day-old French bread (from a loaf, not a baguette), cut into 2 cm cubes
- 4 eggs, separated and at room temperature
- 1 cup (225 g) sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmated
- 4 cups (1 l) milk
- pinch of salt
- 1/2 cup raisins, soaked in dark rum (to cover)
- 1/2 cups pecans, chopped
- butter and sugar for the mold

Whiskey sauce
- 1 cup (250 ml) heavy cream
- 2 egg yolks at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/4 cup bourbon


Prepare the soufflé first.
Coat a large, deep baking dish with butter and sugar.
In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks with 3/4 cup of the sugar, the spices, the vanilla extract until creamy. Mix in the milk

Place teh cubed bread in a large bowl and pour the milk mixture over it. Set aside for 30-45 minutes.

Preaheat your oven to 350°F / 180° C.
In a bowl, beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt and the remaining 1/4 of the sugar until peaks form.

Add the raisins and chopped pecans to the soaked bread and slowly fold in the beaten egg whites with a metal spoon.

Pour the mixture into the preapared mold and bake for 35-40 minutes until puffed and golden.

For the Whiskey sauce, heat the cream over simmering water in a double boiler.

In a bowl, whisk the yolks with the sugar. Off the heat, whisk the egg yolks into the warm cream.

Return the preparation to the double boiler and cook over simmering water, stirring, until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Slowly add the bourbon. Continue to cook until the miwture is lightly thick and smooth.

Serve the soufflé with the warm Whiskey sauce.

Brioche made with bread machine - Try it!

I've had my bread machine for about a year and I only made bread with it until 3 month ago. Then I started making jam (peach, strawberry etc.) and once, I tried to make a brioche. What a nice surprise! It's not only quick and easy; it's also delicious, fluffy and flavorful, like you would expect it from a brioche bought from a bakery. Find some time on a Saturday to try this recipe and enjoy your brioche for breakfast on Sunday morning.... yummm!

Serves 8-10
Preparation time: about 1h30 (with my machine) + 45 minutes to let rise
Cooking time: 35 minutes
Difficulty: *

Ingredients:
- 1/3 cup water (at room temperature)
- 1/3 milk
- 3 eggs lightly beaten
- 1/2 cup (1 stick / 50 grams) butter, softened and cut into small pieces
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 4 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 1/2 bread machine yeast (dry active yeast)
- egg wash

To garnish/flavor your brioche:
- Orange cinnamon brioche: add the grated zest of 1 orange + replace water with orange juice + add 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
- Dried fruit brioche: add 1/2 cup of dried fruits to the flour + add the zest of 1 lemon
- Chocolate chips brioche: add 1/2 cup of chocolate chips to the flour
- Create your own!

Place the ingredients in the bread pan in the following order: water, milk, eggs, butter, zest or spices (if applicable), sugar, flour, chocolate chips or dried fruits (if applicable).

With a finger, make a small indentation on one side of the flour and add yeast. Make sure the yeast does not come in contact with the liquid ingredients.

Follow the instructions of your machine for the "Dough" program. When the cycle is complete, remove the dough from the bread pan to a clean, lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces. With your hands, roll each piece into a 20-inch rope.

Lightly grease and flour a large baking sheet. Place the dough ropes on the baking sheet, twist them loosely and form a circle. Cover the ring with a clean towel and let rise in a warm place, until doubled in size (about 30/45 minutes). Preheat your oven to 350°F / 180°C.

When the ring has doubled in size, lightly brush it with egg wash, using a pastry brush.
Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the brioche is golden brown. Let cool before slicing.