This recipe for white wine bread pudding comes from Giselle Courteau’s lovely new cookbook Duchess At Home. The recipe is called White Wine Pain Perdu in Courteau’s book, and we made the recipe as written, with a dry white wine, and our basic brioche bread; We substituted fresh cranberries for dried. The result was a festive dish with bursts of bright flavour, perfect for feeding a crowd at brunch.
We received a copy of Duchess At Home as a gift from Appetite by Random House. Recipe shared with permission; All thoughts and opinions are our own.
Duchess At Home Cookbook
Duchess At Home is the latest cookbook from Duchess Bake Shop co-owner, and Canadian author, Giselle Courteau. A French-Canadian based in Edmonton, Courteau has filled her latest book with old family recipes, and new creations; The recipes are both sweet and savoury in nature.
The book is loaded with step-by-step process photos, with lots of practical information and tips for both beginner and more experienced home bakers. Overall it’s a very nice balance between:
- The demonstration of professional skills. For example, Courteau shows us how to make a croquembouche, how to make a tourtiere in a turkey roaster for 20 people, and detailed step-by-step pie crust basics.
- The feeling you know the author. Stories of Courteau’s life, photos of her children, and a full page photo of the family cat make you feel like you know her.
A Chapter Of Christmas Recipes
Though we are a collective of year-round bakers, we get especially excited for the holiday season. November and December give us free reign to share recipes like a biscotti Christmas tree, chocolate shortbread sandwich cookies, and vegan ginger chews. Each chapter in Duchess At Home is said to represent an important part of Courteau’s life, with an entire chapter dedicated to Christmas recipes. With our love of holiday baking we are feeling inspired by the eggnog choquette wreath, and turkey dinner choux recipes in the book!
White Wine Bread Pudding With Fresh Cranberries
We love baking with cranberries! We’ve featured them in recipes throughout BAKED including orange cranberry scones, vegan apple cranberry crisp, and this cranberry clementine loaf. We loved the way the wine in this white wine bread pudding offset the tart punch of the berries.
Bread Pudding Using Brioche Bread
Courteau’s recipe for Pain Perdu calls for French bread, however, of all the French recipes out there, brioche bread is one of our favourites. The downsides of brioche bread are that it is time-consuming to make, and isn’t much good after just one day. The upside? Stale brioche makes excellent bread pudding!
Alcohol As An Ingredient In Bread Pudding
Adding alcohol to bread pudding isn’t a new thing; You’ve probably seen or heard of serving it with rum sauce. A splash of brandy or irish cream liqueur can take stale bread cubes to another level. We loved the floral softness of the white wine alongside cranberries, almonds, orange zest, and crystallized ginger. In the book Courteau suggests using:
“…Sauvignon Blanc for its acidity, but feel free to use any leftover white wine you might have. For a nicer flavour, steer clear of ‘cooking wine’ and stick with something you would normally drink”.
Making White Wine Bread Pudding Vegan
If you want to make a vegan version of this white wine bread pudding you will need to:
- Substitute vegan butter for butter.
- Use a vegan loaf such as French bread, or sourdough, since brioche is enriched with eggs, milk, and butter.
- Omit the eggs.*
*Though making these suggested changes will result in vegan bread pudding, the flavour and texture will vary from the original recipe as written.
Looking For More French-Inspired Recipes? How About:
Spicy Apple Galette With Coffee Glaze
Tomato Sage Yogurt Quiche With Buckwheat Cheddar Crust
Lemon Vanilla French Toast With Strawberries
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PinDescription
Pain perdu, literally ‘lost bread,’ usually refers to French toast, bread pudding, or any dish where stale bread is used to soak up liquid and cooked, thus giving it new life (the bread is no longer lost!). In this recipe, the combination of almonds, citrus, and white wine really elevates it and makes it more sophisticated than your standard bread pudding. Don’t worry—the alcohol evaporates during baking, which makes this a suitable dish for adults and children alike.
Ingredients
200 g (1 cup) sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 large eggs
Zest of one orange
240 g (1 cup) white wine*
75 g (1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
5 cups (about half a loaf) of stale French bread, cut into 1- to 2-inch cubes**
50 g (1/2 cup) sliced almonds
50 g (1/3 cup dried currants, raisins, or cranberries***
35 g (¼ cup) crystallized ginger
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C). Butter a 9-inch baking dish.
In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, eggs, and orange zest.
Add the wine and slowly whisk in the butter until well combined.
Add the bread cubes, sliced almonds, currants, and crystallized ginger and, using your hands, toss to make sure that all the pieces of bread are well coated. Let soak for 10 minutes.
Pour the mixture into the baking dish and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until the top is golden brown and crispy.
This bread pudding is best eaten the day it’s made. It will keep at room temperature for up to three days and should be reheated prior to serving.
Notes
*From recipe author Giselle Courteau – “For the wine, I like to use a sauvignon blanc for its acidity, but feel free to use any left- over white wine you might have. For a nicer flavour, steer clear of ‘cooking wine’ and stick with something that you would normally drink.”
**We substituted brioche bread for this recipe.
***We used fresh cranberries
Keywords: bread pudding, bread pudding recipe, christmas bread pudding
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