The Proof is in This Cherry Bread Pudding

Winter is the ideal time of year for enjoying decadent desserts and whiskey. After all, the frigid air practically calls for that classic combination. To help bring warmth to the season, we enlisted the help of the team at Silas Creative Kitchen + Cocktails in the Hotel Versailles in Versailles, Ohio.

Great food and whiskey are baked into the DNA of the property, which hosts the annual Bourbon & Bubbles cocktail party to jumpstart the holiday season. The fantastic dessert below was conceived by pastry chef Kimberly Davis, and the cocktail pairing, from the Silas bartending team, frames it in particularly delicious ways. If you’re more in the mood for a dram, they’ve got you covered there, too. Director of hospitality Jack Olshan has come up with a perfect pairing partner.

“When you take that first sip of a good whiskey,” Olshan says, “it warms you from your head to your toes. When talking about bourbon, we call that the Kentucky hug. That’s a warmth that only whiskey and Mamaw can accomplish.”

Cherry Bread Pudding

Serves 6-8

• 12 day-old doughnuts (glazed or plain) or bread of your choice (brioche or croissants are ideal)
• 1 cup dried cherries
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup plus 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon Ice cream of your choice, optional

• Preheat oven to 325° F.
• Cut doughnuts or bread into small pieces (1/2" x 1/2"), add to a large mixing bowl, and set aside.
• Simmer dried cherries in water for 5 minutes, drain, and toss in a bowl with 1 Tbsp. sugar and 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, or to taste. Set aside.
• Blend heavy cream, milk, 1/2 cup sugar, eggs, vanilla, and salt in a blender for 45-60 seconds. Pour over the doughnut pieces and mix together.
• Place half of the mixture into a greased 9"x13" pan. Add cherries, followed by the remaining bread pudding mixture. Cover with aluminum foil and place into a larger pan that has approximately 1-2" of water in it. It should reach halfway up the sides of the 9"x13" pan.
• Bake for 40-50 minutes, covered. Check for doneness by pulling back the foil and inserting a toothpick into the center to make sure there is no longer any liquid when it’s removed.
• Serve warm, along with a scoop of your favorite ice cream.

AARON CONWAY

COCKTAIL PAIRING

Man of the Woods

Serves 1

• 2 oz. Buffalo Trace (or other 90-proof bourbon)
• 3/4 oz. lemon juice
• 1/2 oz. maple syrup
• 1/4 oz. simple syrup
• 3 dashes Bittercube Cherry Bark Vanilla bitters
• 1 dash spruce or birch extract
• 1 drop spruce or birch extract and lemon wheel for garnish

Combine all ingredients with ice in a mixing glass and stir until chilled. Double strain into a coupe and garnish with a single drop of birch or spruce extract and lemon wheel.

NEAT PAIRING

“Our straight pour recommendation would be our Hotel Versailles Single Barrel New Riff rye,” explains Olshan. “With a nose of cinnamon, clove, and black pepper, and a palate of spice and warmth, this rye plays well with the cherries in our bread pudding.” Olshan notes that, though you won’t be able to find the Hotel Versailles Single Barrel, “Any New Riff Single Barrel will do. The proof will be different, but tasting notes are still similar.”