Tanya’s Bread Pudding with Whiskey Sauce

Recipe courtesy of Tanya Arnold, Cape Coral, Florida. It’s a variation of Cindy Muensterman and Cheryl Earl’s family bread pudding recipes. I made a triple batch for a Caloosa Dive Club dinner in 2019; it was a hug hit.

Cook Time 1 5

Servings Unless you make the Big Crowd recipe

Ingredients

Bread Pudding

1 1- pound loaf of stale COSTCO Brand Country French Bread cut in cubes (about 6-8 cups)
1 ½ cups toasted pecans chopped
2 cups sugar
8 tablespoons butter melted
2 cups whole milk
2 cups heavy whipping cream
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons of Drillaud brand Vanilla Liqueur
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg

For a BIG Crowd: (makes 3 pans; 1 9x9 and 2 15x17-inch pans) Serves 25

6 1- pound loaf of stale COSTCO Brand Country French Bread cut into
46 cups of 1/2-inch cubes
8 cups toasted pecans chopped
4 cups sugar
19 tablespoons butter melted
4 cups whole milk
4 cups heavy whipping cream
6 eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla
¼ cup of Drillaud brand Vanilla Liqueur
2 heaping teaspoon cinnamon
2 heaping teaspoons nutmeg

Whiskey Sauce

½ cup 1 stick butter
1 ½ cups confectioner XX sugar
1 egg yolk
½ cup Corner Creek Brand Reserve Bourbon Whiskey to taste

Instructions

Bread Pudding

Cut the Country French bread into ½ inch squares and toast at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes. Set aside and let cool.
Next, toast whole pecans for 10 minutes at 350 degrees, careful not to let burn. Let cool, then chop.
In a large bowl, combine vanilla, Drillaud’s Vanilla Liqueur, and heavy whipping cream. Pour over toasted breadcrumbs and let sit 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to allow the breadcrumbs to absorb the mixture.
Then combine the remaining ingredients; and pour over the bread mixture. It should be very moist but not to soggy.
Spray baking pan with Pam. Pour mixture in prepared pan and place on the middle oven rack. Bake at 350 degrees F for approximately 1 hour 15 minutes until the top is golden brown. While bread mixture is baking, make whiskey sauce.
Serve warm with Whiskey sauce.

For a Big Crowd

This makes 3 pans; you will need a total of 46 cups of ½-inch cubed and toasted COSTCO Country French Bread.
Toast 8 cups of whole pecans for 10 minutes in 350-degree oven, cool and chop.
You should have 3 cups of chopped pecans per 18 cups of toasted bread cubes.
Continue mixing together and follow Tanya’s Bread Pudding with Whiskey Sauce Instructions above. Don’t forget to at least double the Whiskey sauce recipe.

Whiskey Sauce

In a saucepan, cream butter and sugar over medium heat until all butter is absorbed.
Add a little of the hot butter and sugar mixture to the egg yolk (to avoid cooking egg) prior to beating, then add in and cook 1 minute. Remove from heat.
Gradually pour in bourbon to your taste, stirring constantly. Sauce will thicken as it cools. (Hopefully the butter doesn’t separate when heated.)
Serve warm over bread pudding.