Last week I posted my Simple Croissant Bread Pudding and it was napped in this Best Bread Pudding Sauce. And as much as I love that bread pudding (or just about any bread pudding) I think the sauce always “makes” it. Are ya with me?
Simple Croissant Bread Pudding
This is one of those thick, rich sauces that just flow like lava over your bread pudding (or other items) and trickles down the edges. It’s like liquid pudding!
About Best Bread Pudding Sauce:
I love a good, thick rich on sauce bread pudding, and this one is fun because it’s just as good warm as it is chilled. I’m a fan of contrast – if your bread pudding is warm try the sauce chilled, and if your bread pudding is chilled, try the sauce warm. Or just eat it however you want.
If you’d like some variation in your sauce, you don’t have to go with plain vanilla. Try a little rum or bourbon or whiskey or just about any hooch or flavored extract you think might taste good. This one has a heavy vanilla dose so just be careful if you’re using a strong extract – some might overpower but you can always go by taste.
Best Bread Pudding Sauce with Simple Croissant Bread Pudding
Making Best Bread Pudding Sauce:
If you’ve ever made the classic Creme Anglaise (English cream) Sauce, you might know it requires constant attention, and a good steady stove and heavy bottomed pan are just about musts. Not so with this simple Best Bread Pudding Sauce.
Making this sauce is kind of a cheat; there’s just a bit of flour (some recipes like my Custard Sauce use cornstarch) which helps to thicken but also helps to keep this sauce from breaking (curdling) so the flour acts as a safeguard. Making the Best Bread Pudding Sauce Sauce is just as easy as making homemade pudding – actually, even easier.
All you do is whisk everything but the butter and vanilla extract together, slowly heat and bring to a simmer and cook for a few minutes, stirring. When you can dip a spoon in it and run a finger down the back of the spoon and the line just stays, distinct, you’ll know you’ve cooked it long enough.
Remove from the heat, add the butter, but keep stirring because the pan will be hot, hot, hot and you don’t want it to scorch at this stage. Once it slightly cools, stir in the extract.
The biggest piece of advice I have? While you’re cooking the vanilla sauce, be sure to get into the “corners” of the pan where the sides reach the bottom, especially if using a whisk. I usually have a large spoon ready and every now and then, run it around the bottom edges.
Saving Money on Best Bread Pudding Sauce:
This sauce is not only easy, but it’s also economical. The only pricey item is the cream; it’s one thing that I use pretty often in desserts (and some main dishes) but I pick it up at Aldi (last time I checked it was the same price at Costco only it was sold by the quart, not the pint.) If you don’t have either store near you, watch for sales around holidays. Cream, with its high-fat content, keeps for weeks unopened.
The same shopping strategy goes for butter, except it needs to be frozen. Sometimes, a great grocery store sale might beat out the price at Aldi or your Buyer’s club, but not often. If it’s on deep sale, buy a lot of it…basically enough to last to the next deep sale.
While you might not think of vanilla as being “seasonal” and I don’t track when it’s in season, buying vanilla at the lowest price is. McCormacks has sales every spring on their spices and extracts and Catalina sales (check those coupons that are spit out with your receipt or your coupon site.) The savings on spices and extracts are worth the effort of coupons in this case.
I hope you’ll enjoy this very easy bread pudding sauce, either over my Simple Croissant Bread Pudding or any dessert! It would be fabulous dolloped over berries for a very easy, elegant dessert.
I’ll see ya next time!
Mollie
Best Bread Pudding Sauce
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Yield: 1 1/2 cups
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1/4 cup cream
- 2 egg yolks
- 2 tablespoons butter in several pieces
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Instructions
In a saucepan, whisk together the sugar, flour, and salt. While whisking, add in the milk, cream, and then the egg yolks.
Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat, whisking almost constantly, paying attention that no build-up happens along the bottom edges of the pan. Continue to simmer gently for several minutes until a finger leaves a clear distinct line when run across the back of a spoon that has been dipped in the mixture.
Remove from heat, and while continuing to whisk, add the butter and the vanilla. For the smoothest sauce, push through a strainer.
Serve warm or chilled.
Keywords: bread pudding, Cream, custard, Dessert Sauces, Desserts, egg yolks, milk
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