pecan, bourbon, butterscotch bread pudding

I love food - I like prepping and getting everything ready, I like the smells, the sounds and of course the tastes, but sometimes the textures make me gag. Bread pudding makes me gag. There is something really nasty about sweet, mushy bread that makes my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth and the bile creep up in my throat. I am NOT a fan of bread pudding - that was until I tried this one. 

My culinary instructor Tabetha told us this one was beyond good. She was right. It's sweet, crunchy and doesn't have that nasty mushy bottom. My husband, who also doesn't like bread pudding was celebrating his birthday and I thought this would be a good second dessert. I was wrong - this was a good FIRST dessert. The birthday cake was all but forgotten. I leftover cake, but the bread pudding was gone.  So here is the recipe - with comments that I've added. I'm thinking that next time I might add a few bourbon soaked raisins. 

The calories - probably a gazillion if you're worried - then just skipped this recipe - just reading will cause you to gain weight. 

Butterscotch sauce:

• 1 cup (packed) light brown sugar (no light brown sugar? I used dark and it turned out ok) 
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon bourbon (optional) (I used Kentucky Bourbon, but I suppose bourbon is bourbon) 

Pudding:

• 1 pound day-old rustic white bread, crusts removed, cut into 1/2" cubes (12 cups) (I used a thick white bread and left the crusts on)
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted (It needs to be UN salted) 
• 2 tablespoons plus 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 5 large eggs
• 4 cups heavy cream
• 1 1/2 tablespoons poppy seeds
• Pinch of kosher salt
• 3 tablespoons bourbon
• 1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise (These are expensive so I used real vanilla extract - 1/2 tsp)
• 2 cups pecan pieces

preparation

For butterscotch sauce:
Bring brown sugar, corn syrup, butter, and salt to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, whisking to dissolve sugar. Boil until mixture is syrupy and measures 1 1/3 cups, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat; add cream and bourbon, if desired, and stir until smooth. Let cool. DO AHEAD: Can be made 3 days ahead. Let cool completely, cover, and chill. Rewarm before serving.

For pudding:
Toss bread, melted butter, and 2 tablespoons sugar in a large bowl and set aside. Using an electric mixer, beat eggs and remaining 1 1/2 cups sugar in another large bowl until pale yellow and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add cream, poppy seeds, and salt; beat to blend. Place bourbon in a small bowl; scrape in seeds from vanilla bean (reserve bean for another use). Whisk to distribute seeds, then add to egg mixture, whisking to blend well. Pour egg mixture over bread mixture in bowl. Add pecans and toss to coat well. Transfer mixture to a 13x9x2" glass or ceramic baking dish, spreading out in an even layer. Cover with plastic wrap and chill overnight.

Preheat oven to 325°F. Remove plastic wrap and bake until top is browned in spots and a tester inserted into center comes out clean, 1 1/4-1 1/2 hours. Serve bread pudding with butterscotch sauce.

I think the secret is baking it long enough. Make sure it is crispy on the top. I also soaked the bread over night. I found a copy of this recipe on epicurious.com. Tabetha said she reheats this and then puts a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top and then drizzles the butterscotch on top.  I didn't reheat mine and people liked it just as well. It wasn't cold, but room temperature, but the time the last of it was eaten. I hope you enjoy this.