Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with Irish Bread Pudding with Whiskey Caramel Sauce! Such a decadent and easy dessert.
What are your favorite St. Patrick’s Day traditions?
We love to head to our local parade (STL is known for their family parades on St. Patrick’s Day, it is SO fun), drink some green beer, and then head home for Irish Bread Pudding with Whiskey Caramel Sauce.
Our dog Scout even joins the fun by wearing her favorite green sequined collar. That poor dog doesn’t stand a chance. It’s one of our favorite days!
Is there anything more comforting than bread pudding? Super simple while also being decadent, it’s the perfect way to indulge on date night, after a long week, or just celebrating everyday things.
This Irish Bread Pudding with Whiskey Caramel Sauce is perfect for St. Patrick’s Day! Oozing with flavors that make St. Patrick’s Day a favorite (WHISKEY!), warm, delicious, and SO EASY.
What’s not to love!
IRISH BREAD PUDDING
I just have such a thing for bread pudding. I’ve made it with chocolate (Hot Chocolate to be exact!), and even made an apple pie bread pudding.
But you can’t beat this Irish Bread Pudding with Whiskey Caramel Sauce version. It’s bursting with flavor and personality.
You can bake Irish Bread Pudding in a large casserole dish, or in individual ramekins for guests. It’s the perfect dessert to make when entertaining, because it’s thrown together in minutes.
Leave the bread pudding a bit to soak up all the goodness in the custard and then bake. Top with extra Whiskey Caramel Sauce or whipped cream for an extra special treat. Don’t you just want to dive right in??
I love to soak the raisins beforehand in the whiskey to make them little flavor bombs. If you’re not a raisin lover (hello my husband!), I have also used chocolate chips.
Now THAT is decadent! Ooey, gooey, and oh so perfect.
WHISKEY CARAMEL SAUCE
The Whiskey Caramel Sauce is what really takes this Irish Bread Pudding from delicious to amazingly decadent.
Unlike some bread pudding recipes that simply serve the sauce on top, some of the Whiskey Caramel Sauce goes into the bread pudding custard.
Then you can serve even more of the remaining sauce on top as well! Double the Whiskey Caramel Sauce for double the flavor.
When you are making the sauce, make sure you don’t stir it while it simmers. Unlike recipes like Salted Caramel Sauce that use some corn syrup as insurance against graininess, stirring this could turn it into a grainy mess.
So keep a close eye on it but don’t touch!
You might even want to make extra Whiskey Caramel Sauce to drizzle on top of ice cream or over Mini Apple Pies. After all, who said that you could only enjoy it for St. Patrick’s Day?
Irish Bread Pudding with Whiskey Caramel Sauce was contributed by Becky of The Cookie Rookie.
Irish Bread Pudding with Whiskey Caramel Sauce
Celebrate St. Patrick's Day with Irish Bread Pudding with Whiskey Caramel Sauce! Such a decadent and easy dessert.
Ingredients
- Approximately 10 cups cubed French bread, (cut into 1/2 inch cubes)
- 1/2 cup raisins (or chocolate chips if you don't like raisins)
- 3/4 cup Irish Whiskey Caramel Sauce (see below)
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup sugar
- 3/4 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- cinnamon sugar to taste
WHISKEY CARAMEL SAUCE
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 2/3 cup water
- 1/4 cup butter, cubed
- 2 ounces cream cheese, cubed
- 1/4 cup Irish Whiskey
- 1/4 cup milk
Instructions
TO MAKE THE WHISKEY CARAMEL SAUCE:
- Combine sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir until the sugar completely dissolves.
- Stop stirring and allow to simmer until mixture is golden (about 17 minutes). DO NOT STIR!
- Remove from heat.
- Carefully add butter and cream cheese, whisking constantly until all clumps are dissolved. CAUTION! Mixture will be very hot and can bubble up during this time.
- Stir in whiskey and milk. Mixture will bubble a bit at this step as well. Set aside.
TO MAKE THE BREAD PUDDING:
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- If using a casserole dish, spray with nonstick spray, or spray each ramekin with nonstick spray (approximately 6 ramekins)
- Combine milk, sugar, vanilla extract, evaporated milk, eggs, and 2/3 cup whiskey caramel sauce in a large bowl. Stir well with a whisk.
- Add bread cubes, using a spatula to push down and make sure each piece of bread is coated.
- Cover and allow to sit in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to soak up all the goodness.
- Pour bread mixture into a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated well with cooking spray, or into approximately 6 prepared ramekins.
- Sprinkle top with raisins or chocolate chips.
- Bake at 350F for 35 minutes or until set.
- Serve warm with more whiskey caramel sauce.
Jason M Malone
Monday 18th of March 2019
I made this for a St. Patrick's Day themed dinner party and it turned out great! Thanks for the tip about substituting in chocolate chips for raisins as I had a few guests who don't like raisins. I followed the recipe exactly with only two substitutions, I used a braided cardamom loaf in lieu of plain Italian bread and cinnamon and I buttered the ramekins instead of using a cooking spray. It was delicious! What I really liked (other than the taste) was the ability to make this ahead of time. A few hours before the guests arrived I made everything and individually portioned out the bread pudding into each ramekin on a baking tray and stuck it in the frig with the extra caramel sauce in a pitcher. Then, when it was time for dessert, I just pulled them out, topped them to each guest's preference (chocolate chips vs. raisins or both!), and pushed it in the oven. Then I heated up the sauce in the microwave in the serving pitcher and voila, dessert was served!
Jamie
Tuesday 19th of March 2019
So happy to hear you and your guests enjoyed the bread pudding, Jason! Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving your feedback! -Jamie
Beth
Saturday 16th of March 2019
This looks and sounds amazing. I am going to make this for a special treat tomorrow!
Jamie
Sunday 17th of March 2019
Thanks so much for stopping by, Beth! I appreciate you taking the time to comment. Happy Baking! -Jamie
Linda
Saturday 16th of March 2019
I love, love, love this recipe! I mean who wouldn't love a custardy bread pudding that's got double that delicious whisky caramel sauce? Believe me, this would get scarfed up in our house faster than you could say St. Patrick's Day! And I'm saving some of that sauce for my ice cream (see, I can take a good suggestion when I hear one). :-)
Jamie
Sunday 17th of March 2019
Thanks so much for stopping by, Linda! I appreciate you taking the time to comment. Happy Baking! -Jamie
Natalie
Wednesday 13th of March 2019
Oh my goodness I NEED this right now! Looks amazing!
Jamie
Wednesday 13th of March 2019
Thanks so much for stopping by, Natalie! I appreciate you taking the time to comment. Happy Baking! -Jamie