White Chocolate and Pecan Bread and Butter Pudding Recipe with Baileys Custard Sauce

It’s November, it’s cold. In my mind, that means it’s time for comfort food and this white chocolate and pecan bread and butter pudding recipe lavishly smothered in a boozy Baileys custard sauce is definitely comfort on a plate.

What if I don’t have leftover pastries?

The standard bread and butter pudding recipe typically contains buttered sliced white bread. However, I’ve put a little boujie twist on the classic and used leftover pastries instead. I used croissants in this recipe but other pastries like brioche, pain au chocolat, danishes would work well too. If you don’t just happen to have leftover pastries lying around, a good shout is to check out supermarket bakery sections at the end of a day, they often have pastries from the day bulked off into larger bags and discounted. You can also buy frozen raw pastries in bulk and defrost and cook off what you need and have fresh pastries whenever you want! Or maybe you have leftover brioche from making my Boozy French Toast Recipe.

So how do I make this bread and butter pudding?

Bread and butter pudding is surprisingly simple. Cut up the leftover pastries into small chunks, add nuts and chocolate chips and throw them into a large bowl. Whisk together the liquids and add to the larger bowl. Give it a good mix and pour into a greased baking dish. Bake for 40 minutes at 150°c(300°f). For the last 10 minutes, to give the top a nice brown colour I raise the heat to 160°c(320°f).

What about the Baileys custard sauce?

The Baileys custard sauce requires just a touch more attention but is totally worth it. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container and kept for 3 days refrigerated. In a saucepan, add cream, sugar and vanilla. Bring this mix to a very gentle boil. Temper your egg yolk by adding a little hot cream into the egg yolk, whisking briefly and returning it to the saucepan. Tempering the egg yolks brings them up in temperature slightly so when you add them to the hot cream mix, they don’t immediately cook and scramble. Continue heating the custard slowly, constantly whisking. The custard is ready when a spoon dipped in still has a coating on the back when lifted. Whisk in the Baileys and immediately pour through a sieve. Cover the surface of the custard with cling film or parchment paper to help prevent a skin forming on top.