Bread Pudding with Sweet Whiskey Glaze

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This week I was looking for a dessert that wasn't of the typical cookie, cake, or chocolate

variety. I tried thinking about the different desserts I have eaten over the span of my life (HA! Way too many to remember), and remembered the first time I had ever tried bread pudding.

I was working my first job as a busgirl in a local cafe, and one of the desserts on the menu was bread pudding. Being the dessert-naïve teenager that I was, I asked my boss, the chef, about this contradiction of a dessert. Shocked to have hired someone with so little food experience, my boss quickly prepared me a plate of this decadent dessert: layered cubes of bread that appeared to be soaked and baked in spiced liquid, topped with a buttery glaze that pooled around the bread at the bottom of the bowl. I didn't even need to taste it (though I did...every bite of it). I was sold.

So, here we are! I have come up with a vegan-friendly bread pudding recipe that, in addition to the sweet ingredients, has a sweet nostalgic component to it for me.

A few changes I've made from an more typical bread pudding recipe:

• Plant-based Substitutions: plant-based milk, flax egg, vegan butter, coconut milk

• Other Substitutions:

  • dates - bread pudding can include a decent amount of sugar, and dates are a wonderful way to use a more natural sweetener, and use a little less processed sugar!

  • orange juice/zest - I love all things cranberry orange flavored. Muffins, breads, cookies, all of it. After deciding to use cranberries instead of raisins, I thought a dash of orange juice would be a nice touch!

  • cranberries - most bread puddings are baked with raisins. I am a bigger fan of cranberries than raisins, so I made the switch!

The kind of bread you use for this recipe is also entirely up to you! I picked a slightly fancier version of whole wheat bread than I usually buy and I really loved how it turned out! That said, thicker or more dense breads will create a thicker bread pudding, so that is a good thing to keep in mind!

The whiskey glaze on this dessert really ties everything together in the most mouthwatering way. The thickness adds extra moisture to the bread, and whiskey adds a sweet kick to each bite. I added the whiskey after the sauce had simmered, however it can be added along with the other ingredients in order to cook away the alcohol, but leave the whiskey taste. You can use any whiskey for this recipe! I used a hometown local favorite of mine from Deerhammer Whiskey. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

I hope you all enjoy adding a more unique dessert to your menu! As always, I love seeing how your recipes turned out, and what kind of changes you made to make it the perfect dish for you. Tag @joyfulvegann in your Instagram stories and posts to be featured on the Joyful Vegan page, and stay tuned for all of the recipes to come!

Stay happily healthy, friends!

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Bread Pudding with Sweet Whiskey Glaze

Prep Time: 30-45 min

Cook Time: 45-60 min

Total Time: 1 hr 15 min - 1 hr 45 min

Serves: 4-6 servings

Ingredients

Bread Pudding

1 large loaf of bread

2 1/2 cups oat milk

2 tsp vanilla

3 pitted dates

2 tbsp maple syrup

2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 flax egg (1 tbsp flaxseed + 3 tbsp water, let sit ~5 min)

1 tbsp fresh orange juice

1 tsp orange zest

1/4 cup crushed almonds

1/4 cup dried cranberries

Sweet Whiskey Glaze

1/2 cup vegan butter

1 tbsp maple syrup

3 tbsp sugar

1/2 cup full fat coconut milk

1 tbsp flour

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 tbsp whiskey

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees (F). Cut crust from bread and cut into cubes. Spread cubed bread on a baking sheet and toast in oven for ~15 minutes until bread is very dry, but not yet browning.

2. While bread toasts, combine 1 1/2 cups oat milk (set remaining 1 cup aside for now), vanilla, dates, maple syrup, cinnamon, and nutmeg to blender. Blend until smooth.

3. When bread is finished, preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Add toasted bread cubes to a large mixing bowl. Pour blended mixture over top along with remaining 1 cup of milk, flax egg, orange juice & zest, almonds, and cranberries. Gently stir to coat all of the bread. Allow mixture to sit for 5-10 minutes.

4. Transfer bread pudding mixture to a greased 8x8 baking pan. Bake at 350 for 45 min - 1 hour.

5. When bread pudding has ~10-15 minutes remaining, begin preparing the whiskey glaze. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add maple syrup, sugar, coconut milk, and flour to saucepan. Whisk to combine and bring mixture a boil.

6. Reduce heat to low and allow sauce to simmer until thickened. Remove from heat and add vanilla and whiskey. Whisk to combine.

7. Pour Sweet Whiskey Glaze over individual servings of bread pudding. Enjoy your tasty treat!