16ouncesbrioche breadin 1- inch cubes, about 10 cups
6large eggs
1cupgranulated sugar
1tablespoonvanilla extract
5cupsmilk
1/2teaspoonground cinnamon
1/4teaspoonground nutmeg
Sauce
3/4cupgranulated sugar
1/4cup water
¾cupheavy cream
1/4cupsalted butter
2-3tablespoonsJameson Irish whiskey
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease a 13x9-inch baking dish. Set aside.
Add the raisins and whiskey to a small bowl. Set aside.
Place the bread cubes in an even layer on a rimmed baking sheet. I use a jelly roll pan.
Lightly toast the bread cubes for 10 minutes.
Set aside.
Add the milk, eggs, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg to a large bowl.
Whisk until well combined.
Add the toasted bread cubes to the prepared baking dish.
Pour the egg mixture over the bread cubes.
Add the raisins and whiskey to the bread cube mixture.
Lightly toss to coat and combine.
Let it stand 15 minutes, pushing the bread cubes into the egg mixture if needed.
Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until set and baked through. The bread pudding will be puffed and lightly browned.
To make the sauce, heat the sugar in water over low heat in a medium saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved and mixture is well-combined.
Bring to a boil and cook, without stirring, until caramelized, about 15 to 20 minutes.
In a separate small saucepan, warm the heavy cream over low. This will help to prevent the sugar from recrystallizing.
Add butter and warmed heavy cream to sugar mixture, and cook until well-combined, 1 to 2 minutes.
Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes.
Stir in the whiskey, and add additional cream if necessary.
Serve over the warm bread pudding.
Notes
Raisins: I use dark raisins, but golden raisins would also work.
Irish whiskey: American whiskey could be used in place of the Irish whiskey. If you'd prefer to make a non-alcoholic bread pudding, you can use orange juice or boiling water. If you use boiling water, drain the water before stirring the raisins in.
Brioche bread: Or a similar bread like challah. I don't take the crust off of the bread.
Sugar: Feel free to adjust the amount of sugar to suit your tastes.
Milk: Any milk from skim milk to whole milk will work. Whole milk will give you richer bread pudding. Heavy cream could also be used for ultra-rich bread pudding.