Bread and Butter Pudding with Bourbon Sauce
Bread Pudding:
2 cups half and half
3 large eggs, at room temperature
5 Tablespoons plus 1½ teaspoons sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Brioche loaf, sliced and buttered on each side, crusts removed, torn into pieces
1/3 cup currants or raisins (optional)
Bourbon Sauce:
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter
½ cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 Tablespoons bourbon
Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Butter a 2-quart baking dish. Scald half and half in a saucepan. Set aside. Whisk eggs, 5 tablespoons sugar and vanilla in a large. Whisk in scalded half and half. Gently stir in bread and currants (if using), submerging bread in liquid. Transfer mixture to prepared baking dish. Sprinkle remaining 1½ teaspoons sugar over mixture.
Set baking dish into a hot-water bath ½ inch up sides of baking dish. Bake in water bath 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until center is set and top is lightly browned.
While bread pudding is baking, melt butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add sugar and cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla and bourbon. Serve over bread pudding. Yield: serves 6