Recipe: The Beaumont Inn’s Bread Pudding with Bourbon Sauce

I found this recipe for Bread Pudding while doing some research for foods that would be good for a Kentucky Derby party menu. The Beaumont Inn’s Executive Chef, Nick Sundberg, shared this recipe with About.com. I have an excellent bread pudding recipe I got from my Aunt Sadie… but this recipe was less custard-like than mine so I thought I would give it a try.

The bread pudding had excellent flavor and was really very good. They listed the raisins as optional… I added them… however, I decided the raisins will stay in next time, but the pecans will be left out. I love pecans… but I felt that the flavor of the pecans just wasn’t that evident.. at least not enough to keep them in the recipe.

This pudding recipe uses French bread… and was typical of what you would expect from a good bread pudding but it was a lot lighter than I expected, which was a pleasant surprise… in my opinion though, it really needs a sauce or at least whipped cream (Chantilly Cream) to top it off… I will include the Beaumont Inn’s recipe for Bourbon Sauce that they serve with the bread pudding.

About The Beaumont Inn


Before I get into the recipe… a bit about the historic Beaumont Inn. The Beaumont Inn is Kentucky’s oldest family-run country inn, located in Harrodsburg, Kentucky… near Lexington, in the heart of the Bluegrass region of Kentucky. The inn, built in 1845, inn has a long and rich history… it started out as, Greenville Institute, a school for young ladies owned by Dr. Samuel Mullins.


The beautiful inn at night



After changing ownership a couple of times, it was purchased by Mr. and Mrs. Glave Goddard in 1917 and was turned into an Inn two years later. It is run today by the fourth and fifth generations of the family…

The parlor room



With all its historic charm, The Beaumont Inn is a “must see” on a trip to Bluegrass country. The inn boasts modern day amenities such as delicious dining in their dining room, a tavern and a spa.

The Old Owl Tavern


Take a look at their website for more information and photos of this fabulous inn.

Tips for the Bread Pudding

The recipe directions say to tear the bread into pieces… my French bread was tough to tear … I just cut it into cubes.

When mixing the cinnamon and sugar, use a small bowl, then using a wire whisk, gently whisk it until the cinnamon is evenly distributed in the sugar.

You are directed to pour the wet ingredients over the bread… I tossed it a few times and then let it sit for about 10 minutes, tossing again after 5 minutes… I wanted the milk mixture to be absorbed as evenly as possible … I had a little milk mixture left in the bottom of the bowl after transferring the ingredients to the baking dish… I poured it over the bread… I recommend you do this so your bread pudding is moist and not dry in spots.

This recipe is very easy… I hope you give it a try.






Recipe: The Beaumont Inn’s Bread Pudding with Bourbon Sauce

All you need:

1 pound French bread
3 ¼ cups whole milk
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
¾ cup granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ cup pecans *see post for notes
¼ cup raisins (optional) *see post for notes
Bourbon sauce (optional)
Chantilly cream (optional)

All you need to do:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Cut the French bread into cubes and dump them in a large bowl.

In a small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon. *See post for tips

Pour the cinnamon and sugar over the bread cubes and toss until evenly distributed (you will have some on the bottom of the bowl).

In a medium bowl, lightly beat the eggs. Then add the milk and vanilla. Whisk them until well blended.

Add the egg-milk mixture to the bread cubes tossing until well absorbed. *see post for tips

Lightly spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking oil spray (butter flavor preferred).
Spread half the bread mixture in the baking dish.

Sprinkle with pecans and raisins.

Top with the rest of the bread cubes.

Pour any of the egg-milk mixture remaining in the bowl, over the top of the bread cubes.

Bake at 350 degrees F. for 30 minutes or until lightly brown. (I wouldn’t recommend baking longer than 30 minutes, otherwise your pudding will dry out).

Serve warm with Bourbon sauce or Chantilly Cream.