Amaretto Bread Pudding

Total Time: 1 hr 15 mins Preparation Time: 25 mins Cook Time: 50 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 1 loaf french bread
• 1 quart half-and-half
• 2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 tablespoons almond extract
• 3/4 cup golden raisin (optional)
• 3/4 cup sliced almonds (optional)
• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 egg, well beaten
• 1/4 cup amaretto liqueur

Recipe

• 1 cook's note: when not using the amaretto sauce, add 4 tablespoons of amaretto liqueur to the bread mixture.
• 2 preliminaries: break the bread into small pieces and place in a medium bowl.
• 3 cover with the half-and-half.
• 4 cover the bowl and let stand for 1 hour.
• 5 grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with the butter.
• 6 preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
• 7 in a small bowl beat together the eggs, sugar, and almond extract.
• 8 stir the mixture into the bread and milk.
• 9 gently fold in the raisins and almonds, if desired.
• 10 spread the mixture evenly in the prepared dish.
• 11 bake 50 minutes, until golden.
• 12 remove and cool.
• 13 sauce: in the top of a double boiler over simmering water, combine butter and sugar.
• 14 stir constantly until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is very hot.
• 15 remove from the heat and whisk in the egg.
• 16 continue whisking untiln the sauce has come to room temperature.
• 17 add the liqueur.