Unwind, Relax and Indulge in Coffee Liqueur Bread Pudding

Send the kids off to bed, then sit down and relax with coffee liqueur bread pudding. Windridge resident and Dacula Patch Cook of the Week Frank Romeo shares his recipe for a perfect adult dessert to indulge in on a cool fall evening.

“The thing I like best about this recipe is that when served warm with vanilla ice cream it rivals apple pie a la mode,” Romeo shares.

Unlike most dessert recipes, you do not have to worry about the dish failing if you do not follow the recipe exactly.

“The best thing about this recipe is that it is very forgiving,” Romeo said. “I have missed steps, forgotten ingredients, added them in later; it still always turns out well.”

However, Romeo did offer a few words of advice from his experience making this delicious dessert.

“Make sure the baking dish you are using for the pudding is smaller than the one being preheated with water,” Romeo advises. “Obvious I know, but first time I did it they were reversed.”

In addition, the top of the pudding is sprinkled with a cinnamon and sugar mixture which is then topped with caramel sauce. It is baked uncovered, which means there is a lot of sugar being exposed to heat.

“The top can caramelize quickly during the last 10 minutes of baking depending on how hot a particular oven runs,” Romeo warns. “It would be wise to take frequent peeks inside when it is getting close to being finished to make sure the top is not looking too dark. It can get crunchy if overdone.”

Frank’s Coffee Liqueur Bread Pudding

Ingredients:

Pudding

10 ounces of cubed day old French bread

4 tablespoons of melted butter

3 eggs

¾ cup white sugar

4 teaspoons vanilla extract

½ teaspoon almond extract

3 cups milk (whole milk, 2%, or skim they all work fine)

1 cup coffee flavored liqueur (This recipe works best with Baileys or Frangelico)

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Caramel Sauce

1 cup packed brown sugar

½ cup butter

2 tablespoons light corn syrup

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, place large baking dish ½ full of water inside.

2. In large bowl, toss bread crumbs and melted butter, set aside in baking dish.

3. In a separate bowl, mix eggs, ½ cup sugar, vanilla, almond extract set aside.

4. In a small sauce pan, heat 1 cup liqueur and 3 cups milk. Combine with egg mixture once thoroughly mixed, pour over buttered bread.

5. Let this sit for 30 minutes. You will need to revisit occasionally and press bread cubes down to ensure they are evenly moistened.

6. At the end of the 30 minutes, take the remaining ¼ cup of white sugar and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and pour over the top of bread crumbs. 

Now begin making the caramel sauce below.

 7. Bring brown sugar, ½ cup butter and corn syrup to a boil, stir until smooth for about 1 minute and pour this over moistened bread crumbs.

8. Bake for 45 -50 minutes.

Best when served slightly warm with ice cream.

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Until next week, keep living a life filled with food, friends and fun!