Whiskey Bread Pudding

Ingredients

For the pudding:

• 5 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
• 8 tablespoons butter, cut up
• 2 cups cream
• 1 (12-inch) loaf French bread, crusts cut off and sliced 1-inch cubes
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup pecans, chopped

Whiskey sauce:

• 1 cup cream
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
• 5 tablespoons whiskey

Garnish:

• Powdered sugar, for dusting
• Whipped cream, optional

Directions

In a bowl, whisk the eggs until well blended. Add the sugar and mix in then add the vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon, butter, and cream. Lay the bread cubes in a 8 by 8 inch square baking dish, sprinkle the nuts and raisins around, and then pour the custard over the bread. Cover the dish and let it soak overnight in the refrigerator.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cover the dish with foil and poke holes in it. Bake until bread pudding souffled up, about 40 minutes then remove the foil, and bake another 10 minutes to brown in lightly.

For the sauce, in a saucepan heat the cream, sugar, cinnamon, and butter together until almost boiling. Meanwhile, mix the cornstarch with the whiskey and stir it into the hot liquid. Bring just to a boil to thicken it.

To serve, pour a few spoonful of the whiskey sauce on a dessert plate. Scoop out the desired portion size of the pudding, placing it on the sauced plate. Dust the pudding with powdered sugar and finish it off with a dollop of whipped cream.

Notes about the recipe: This is a restaurant recipe so uses leftover bread. Save the crusts and dry them in a low oven, then grind them in a food processor to make bread crumbs.