I have had my eye on this recipe since I first got my Boozy Baker cookbook. And it’s not like I haven’t had ample opportunity to make it before. I always have whiskey on hand. Donuts are easy to go get. I’m a huge fan of anything that only involves one dish.

Maybe my hesitation came from not having made a bread pudding before. But, with Pumpkin Bread Pudding being my inaugural bread pudding recipe this year, my confidence was up.

Also, I needed a good dessert for a make your own pizza party. Initially, I thought mint chocolate chip ice cream would be a good one (and I stand by ice cream being the perfect compliment to pizza), but you can’t really decide 5 hours before your friends arrive that you’re going to whip up some ice cream. Not totally how that works.

So, as I always tend to do when I’m having a group over, I pulled out Boozy Baker. Because I was on an ice cream kick, I turned to spoon desserts, and was beyond excited when I realized this would be the perfect crowd to finally try Donut Bread Pudding. Partially because I knew they liked whiskey, and mostly because I knew they would eat just about anything I decided to bake anyways.

Bread pudding is a really low maintenance dessert – I could bake it ahead of time and whip up the sauce in a couple minutes right before serving. This was particularly helpful since pizza was the opposite of low maintenance – we made four different pizzas and two calzones (all delicious), tried to use my pizza stones for the first time (trickier than I expected), and started a minor fire in the oven (no serious damage other than my pride). Needless to say, when dessert just required spooning into bowls, I was pretty relieved.

The original recipe called for 8 plain Entenmann’s donuts, but, as tends to happen at Whole Foods, that wasn’t an option. So I used 6 of their fresh-made cinnamon sugar cake donuts. I was a little worried that the pudding would be too sweet using cinnamon sugar donuts with a cinnamon sugar custard, but it didn’t seem to slow anyone down. Your choice on how you’d like to handle that decision.

First, melt the butter and use a little to grease an 8×8 pan. Cut the donuts into 1 1/2 inch chunks and place in the pan.Next, in a large bowl, whisk together the rest of the butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add the eggs and whisk to combine. Whisk in the whole milk, whiskey, and vanilla extract. I didn’t have enough whole milk, so I supplemented with some heavy cream and it worked out just fine.Pour the custard over the donuts and press them into it to be fully submerged. Allow to sit at room temperature for an hour, or you can cover and refrigerate overnight if you’re super ahead of the game.Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake at 350°F for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake an additional 15 minutes until set and browned.

At this point I got distracted and forgot to take a picture. Happens.

To make the sauce, whisk together the cornstarch and whiskey in a small bowl.In a saucepan over high heat, continuously whisk the heavy cream and sugar for 2 to 3 minutes until bubbles form.Add the whiskey and continue whisking until blended and thick.Pour the sauce over the bread pudding.When serving, scoop into a mug and top with ice cream.If you’re not serving it immediately, keep it covered in the fridge.

Enjoy!

Donut Bread Pudding with Whiskey Sauce

Ingredients:

Bread Pudding

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 8 plain cake donuts
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 4 eggs
• 2 1/4 cups whole milk
• 1/4 cup whiskey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whiskey Sauce

• 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons whiskey
• 3/ cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons sugar

Directions:

Bread Pudding

1. Using some of the melted butter, lightly coat an 8×8 pan.
2. Cut donuts into 1 1/2 inch pieces and put in pan.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the remaining butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
4. Whisk in the eggs until combined.
5. Whisk in the whole milk, whiskey, and vanilla extract.
6. Pour over donuts and press down to submerge. Allow to sit at room temperature for an hour or in the fridge, covered, overnight.
7. Cover pan with aluminum foil and bake at 350°F for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 15 minutes until set and lightly browned.

Whiskey Sauce

1. Whisk together cornstarch and whiskey in a small bowl.
2. In a saucepan, heat the sugar and heavy cream over high heat for 2 to 3 minutes, whisking constantly, until bubbles form.
3. Pour in the whiskey and continue whisking until blended and thick.
4. Pour sauce over bread pudding. Serve with ice cream.