Bread Butter Pudding With Salted Caramel Whiskey Butter Sauce Recipe 455

Steps:

• In a medium mixing bowl, combine the raisins and whiskey; let soak for 1 hour. Butter a 2-quart rectangular baking dish; set aside. In a large bowl whisk together the eggs, cream, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla. Generously spread one side of each slice of bread with the 3/4 cup butter. Cut the slices in half diagonally and arrange the bread in the bottom of the prepared baking dish, overlapping the slices. Drain the raisins, reserving the whiskey. Sprinkle raisins over the bread, tucking some between the bread slices. Pour the custard over the bread; cover and let it soak in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Place the baking dish in a large roasting pan. Add enough hot water to come halfway up the sides of the dish. Bake for 45 minutes or until the pudding is set and the top is golden (there will be a layer of melted butter over the pudding). Carefully remove the baking dish from the water bath and let cool slightly on a wire rack (the butter will soak back into the bread as it cools). Meanwhile, for sauce, melt the butter in a 2-quart saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the sugar, salt, cream, and 3 tablespoons of the reserved whiskey. Bring to boiling; reduce the heat, and simmer, uncovered, for 10 to 15 minutes or until the sauce thickens slightly, stirring frequently. Serve pudding warm with the sauce spooned over the top. CHOCOLATE BREAD PUDDING Omit raisins, whiskey, and steps 1 and 4. Use 4 ounces semisweet and/or milk chocolate, chopped (1 cup) in place of raisins. Serve with Ganache: In a medium saucepan bring 1 cup whipping cream just to boiling over medium heat. Remove from heat. Add 12 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped (do not stir). Let stand 5 minutes. Stir until smooth. Cool for 15 minutes.

Steps:

• Combine the cream, butter, sugar and vanilla extract in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Let the butter melt, then slowly simmer the cream until it reduces slightly, about 10 minutes. Be careful that the mixture doesn¿t boil over; if it does, reduce or remove from the heat.
• Break the bread up into 1-inch pieces. Day-old bread is best but any bread will work. Place the bread in a large mixing bowl and set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8-inch-by-8-inch cake pan.
• Add the reduced heavy cream mixture to the bread pieces and mix until combined. Transfer to the prepared cake pan and sprinkle the kosher salt over the top. You want just a light sprinkle to give it that salty and sweet taste. Bake until firm in the middle, like brownies, about 20 minutes. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.