Whiskey-Orange Bread Pudding

By Florence Fabricant

Whiskey-Orange Bread Pudding
Meredith Heuer for The New York Times
Total Time
1¾ hours
Rating
4(186)
Comments
Read comments

A bottle of workmanlike Scotch or other whiskey can be as useful in the kitchen as it is on the bar, contributing alcohol and flavor to a range of recipes. A splash of it can sharpen a pan sauce for steak or pork, it’s excellent flambé material, and it’s especially compatible with dried fruit. I have soaked dried currants in whiskey to add to a simple chocolate cake. For this recipe, which takes its cue from the Blood and Sand cocktail made with orange juice and Scotch, I used the spirit to bolster a warm bread pudding laced with orange, both grated zest and candied peel, and finished with a marmalade and whiskey glaze. Supermarkets and fancy food shops, as well as online sources, sell candied orange peel. But absent that ingredient you can substitute slivered dried Turkish apricots.

Featured in: Does Blended Scotch Still Have a Place in the Modern Bar?

  • or to save this recipe.

  • Subscriber benefit: give recipes to anyone
    As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.
    Subscribe

  • Print Options

Advertisement

Ingredients

Yield:6 to 8 servings
  • Unsalted butter for baking dish
  • 2cups/480 milliliters whole milk
  • ½cup/100 grams sugar
  • Grated zest of 1 large navel orange
  • ¼teaspoon salt
  • 6tablespoons/90 milliliters Scotch whisky
  • 3large eggs, beaten
  • 5cups baguette (about 235 grams) torn in small pieces
  • 1cup/about 6 ounces/160 grams chopped candied orange peel (or slivered dried Turkish apricots)
  • ½cup/165 grams orange marmalade
  • 18- or 9-ounce container/280 grams mascarpone 
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)

476 calories; 19 grams fat; 11 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 5 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 63 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 45 grams sugars; 10 grams protein; 437 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Powered by
Cooking Newsletter illustration

Opt out or contact us anytime. See our Privacy Policy.

Opt out or contact us anytime. See our Privacy Policy.

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heavily butter a 6-cup square or round baking dish. Place milk and sugar in a saucepan, heat until it is about to simmer and remove from heat. Add orange zest and salt. Set aside until just warm, about 10 minutes. Stir in 4 tablespoons of the whisky. When the milk mixture is no longer hot, beat in the eggs.

  2. Step 2

    Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place the bread pieces in a large bowl. Pour milk mixture over them, add candied peel and let soak 15 minutes. Place marmalade in a small saucepan, add remaining whisky and heat to dissolve whisky in the marmalade.

  3. Step 3

    Spoon half the bread mixture into a baking dish and smooth the surface. Cover with dabs of half the mascarpone. Spoon in remaining bread mixture. Place in the oven and bake 15 minutes. Brush with marmalade and whiskey glaze and continue baking until top is lightly brown and starts to become crusty, another 30 to 40 minutes.

  4. Step 4

    Remove from oven and let cool at least 30 minutes before serving. Beat remaining mascarpone with a whisk or fork for several minutes to smooth and loosen it. Serve alongside.

Ratings

4 out of 5
186 user ratings
Your rating

or to rate this recipe.

Have you cooked this?

or to mark this recipe as cooked.

Private Notes

Leave a Private Comment on this recipe and see it here.

Comments

Laura

I used two cups of orange juice to soften my stale bread and replace the whisky with brandy.

Jillian

The boozy orange marmalade glaze overpowered the lighter, more floral orange flavors in the pudding. Next time, I'd heat then sieve apricot jam instead of marmalade and omit the whiskey for a lighter, thinner glaze. The whisky in the milk and bread mixture was perfect. Here's what it looked like for me: https://confetto.org/2018/07/02/recipe-log-july-2018/

Suzanne

This was delicious. I didn't have time to find candied orange which is a shame because I think this would have been a great inclusion. I did find a chunky marmalade so there was some orange rind! I used a Ciabbta loaf, though I got rid of the crust on the bottom of the loaf as this was quite thick. I will definitely cook this again it was very tasty both hot and cold.

Rayo6260

Hey, does anyone have thoughts about maybe using Grand Marnier in place of whiskey?

MM

I heeded the comments and didn't use the glaze. Instead, I sprinkled sugar on top after the first 15 mins. This made it brown and crisp. An excellent bread and butter pudding recipe!

Platypian

My family are big bread pudding aficionados and this was not a hit. The baguette doesn’t get the creamy soft texture that a brioche or challah would, and the orange and whiskey flavors didn’t meld as well as I would have hoped. Check out David Lebovitz’s orange white bread pudding for a much better alternative.

Private comments are only visible to you.

Recipe Tags

Advertisement

or to save this recipe.