- November 25, 2024
-
-
Loading
Loading
It’s not hard to figure out that dessert is my favorite part of a meal. With St. Patrick’s Day approaching, I wanted to attempt to make one of my favorite Irish desserts: Irish bread pudding.
I usually bake things I know, such as cupcakes, so this was an adventure. I executed each step with confidence, until it was time to take the pudding out of the oven. It didn’t look right at all.
I called my mom in a panic, asking her what I did wrong. Of course, she couldn’t tell me because she wasn’t there. How can she know if it looks wrong if she can’t see what it looks like? she said. I offered to take a picture with my phone and send it to her, but she refused and just told me to put it back in the oven a little longer. The top needed to look golden; 40 minutes is an estimate, she said.
So I followed my mother’s directions because, after all, moms know best.
I calmed down a bit. But then my caramel sauce wasn’t turning caramel.
This is turning into a bad baking experience, I thought.
But slowly the caramel sauce started to thicken, and the pudding turned golden.
Maybe I didn’t mess this up after all, I thought.
I scooped out the pudding and topped it with sauce, added a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and went in for the kill. To my surprise, it tasted good.
I dished some out for my friends and my confidence had been restored.
IRISH BREAD PUDDING
What you need:
3 eggs
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 loaf of bread (I use wheat)
2 tablespoons of raisins
What to do:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine eggs, milk, vanilla and sugar.
Break bread into chunks or cut into cubes. Add bread to the egg mixture, along with raisins.
Pour mixture into a buttered 1 1/2 -quart baking dish. Bake until top is golden brown and puffy. This should be approximately 40 minutes.
For sauce, you can use ready-made caramel sauce or make your own caramel Irish Whiskey sauce.
CARAMEL IRISH WHISKEY SAUCE
What you need:
1 stick butter
1 cup sugar
6 tablespoons heavy cream
1/4 cup Irish whiskey
What to do:
Melt butter in saucepan. Whisk in sugar, cream and whiskey.
Simmer until the sauce thickens. You may need to turn down the heat for this to happen. Pour sauce over individual pudding portions.
Serve warm plain or with vanilla ice cream.
