Bread Winner

The owner of Chef Dan’s Southern Comfort whips up a bestseller.
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Bread pudding
Chef Dan's Bread Pudding

Tony Valainis

Mississippi native Daniel Carter serves an authentic taste of the bayou at his little yellow food truck and vibrant Irvington restaurant with a menu full of made-from-scratch family recipes. We got the spirited chef to teach us one of his childhood favorites—his grandma’s legendary bread pudding showered with rich caramel sauce.

Ingredients

  • 8 cups cubed French bread
  • 2 cups milk
  • 3 cups heavy cream
  • 6 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 3 tablespoons cinnamon
  • 3 tablespoons vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup melted butter
  • 2 cups sugar

Caramel Sauce

  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
  2. Placed cubed bread in an 8-inch-square baking pan.
  3. Combine all other ingredients in a large mixing bowl; stir.
  4. Pour the mixture over the cubed bread.
  5. When the bread has absorbed as much liquid as possible, bake for 45 minutes.
  6. Allow the dessert to cool while making the caramel sauce.
  7. For the caramel sauce, heat brown sugar and butter together in a saucepan. As they begin to melt, add the heavy cream; the sauce will thicken.
  8. Continue to stir the sauce until smooth.
  9. Drizzle the bread pudding with caramel sauce and serve warm.