This unusual bread-pudding soufflé, flavored with raisins and topped with a silky bourbon sauce, is as custardy as bread pudding and as light and fluffy as a soufflé. For 20 years, it's been the best-selling dessert at Commander's Palace in New Orleans, where customers order as many as 3,000 a week. The version here is the perfect size for two people to share—though based on its popularity, it may be barely enough for one.

Published February 2004