Brennan's Bread Pudding With Whiskey Sauce

This is another recipe from Kitchen to Kitchen a feature in The Houston Chronicle--they recommend trying croissant, brioche or challah for the bread--it is described as "tasty with a wonderful sauce". Hope you enjoy.

• Ready In: 1 hr 40 mins
• Serves: 8

Ingredients

• For The Bread Pudding

• 10  slices  stale bread, torn into pieces (cubes)
• 4  cups milk, scalded
• 4  eggs, slightly beaten
• 1  cup sugar
• 1  cup  canned evaporated milk
• 1  teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1  teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 4  tablespoons butter, melted
• 1⁄2 cup raisins

• For The Whiskey Sauce

• 1 1⁄2 cups milk
• 1  cup sugar
• 3  egg yolks, slightly beaten
• 1  tablespoon cornstarch
• 1  teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3  tablespoons  whiskey

Directions

1. For The Bread Pudding:
2. Preheat oven to 350°F.
3. Grease a 2-quart baking dish.
4. Scatter the bread in the baking dish.
5. Pour the scalded milk over the bread; set aside.
6. Mix the eggs with the sugar.
7. Stir in the remaining ingredients and pour the egg-and-sugar mixture over the bread-and-milk mixture.
8. Although it doesn't state to do this with any bread pudding I usually press the bread down with a spatula to help the milk to be absorbed,cover and refrigerate for 30-60 minutes.
9. Set the baking dish inside a slightly larger pan.
10. Pour warm water into the larger pan about halfway up the sides of the bread pudding dish to make a "bain marie".
11. Bake the bread pudding for about an hour, or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.
12. For the Whiskey sauce:
13. In a medium-size saucepan, heat the milk and the sugar until they almost come to a boil.
14. Pour a small amount of the milk and sugar mixture into the egg yolks, whisking all the while.
15. Gradually pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan, whisking constantly to prevent the eggs from scrambling.
16. Blend the cornstarch with 1/4 cup cold water.
17. Add to the saucepan.
18. Bring the custard to a boil, whisking constantly for several minutes until it thickens.
19. Remove from the heat.
20. Stir in vanilla extract and whiskey.
21. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve.
22. Pour over bread pudding as desired.
23. *Cook time does not reflect the refrigeration time*.