Irish Bread & Butter Pudding with Salted Caramel-Whiskey Sauce!

 Help yourself to Irish Bread & Butter Pudding with Salted Caramel-Whiskey Sauce, a sweet ending to your St. Patrick’s Day celebration!

Bread pudding is a dessert that magically transforms leftover or stale bread when it’s baked in a sweet and creamy custard. This one is made a little Irish with the addition of whiskey soaked raisins and served with a delectable salted caramel-Irish whiskey sauce!

I discovered this recipe among the drool-worthy desserts in Clodagh’s Irish Kitchen: A Fresh Take on Traditional Flavors. It can be made in advance, refrigerated and reheated before serving. The salted caramel whiskey sauce can also be made ahead and leftovers (if you have any :) served over ice cream.

This recipe is a definitely indulgent and splurge calorie-wise with the buttered slices of bread and rich custard! I substituted evaporated milk for the heavy cream in the egg custard to cut down on some of the saturated fat, and feel a little less guilty about drizzling on more salted caramel-Irish whiskey sauce ♣ :)

Irish Bread & Butter Pudding with Salted Caramel-Whiskey Sauce, Serves 6 – 8

Bread Pudding Ingredients

2/3 cup golden raisins

1/2 cup Irish whiskey

5 eggs

2 cups whipping cream (substitute evaporated milk if desired to reduce fat)

1 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon vanilla

8-10 slices firm white bread, crusts left on

3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature (I used Kerrygold Irish butter, salted)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Butter an 8 inch square baking dish. (I used 9 x 11)

Combine raisins and whiskey and let soak for 1 hour. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla to make custard. Spread one side of each slice of bread with butter. Cut the slices in half diagonally and arrange half of bread in bottom of the greased baking dish, overlapping the slices.

Drain the raisins (reserving the whiskey for the sauce) and sprinkle half over the bread. Repeat with remaining bread and raisins. Pour custard over the bread and let it soak for 30 minutes.

Place the baking dish in a large baking pan. Add enough hot water to the pan to come halfway up the sides of dish. Bake for 50 – 60 minutes, or until the pudding is set and the top is golden.

Watch during last 15 minutes of baking time and cover the top of bread with foil to prevent overbrowning if necessary. Remove the baking dish from the water bath and let to cool slightly on a wire rack.

Salted Caramel Whiskey Sauce Ingredients

1 stick unsalted butter, cubed

1 cup sugar (I used brown sugar)

2 teaspoons sea salt

2 1/2 cups heavy cream

1/4 cup Irish whiskey

In medium saucepan, melt butter over a medium heat. Whisk in sugar, sea salt, cream and whiskey. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for until the sauce thickens *10 minutes (*mine took closer to 30 minutes). Serve  pudding warm with the salted caramel whiskey sauce spooned over each serving.

You can find a printable recipe, here.

For more recipes to whet your appetite for St. Patrick’s Day, you can find a round-up of recipes and table inspiration and enter to win a copy of Clodagh’s Irish Kitchen, HERE. The winner will be chosen March 2nd!

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