Irish Creme Bread Pudding I have no idea where this recipe came from. It's been hanging out in raw ingredient and minimal-instruction form in my daytimer for ages. In the meantime, I got into an argument about whether recipes came under Copyright law. Apparently not...just the color text and commentary and directions that go with the recipe, not the ingredients or basic how-to. So I could theoretically copyright my snide comments in this cookbook. Go me! Ingredients 4 cups whole milk 1 cup Baileys Irish Creme 1 cup granulated sugar 1 vanilla bean 6 large eggs 4 large egg yolks 1 large loaf of brioche or croissants, cubed 1 cup hydrated raisins (optional) It's Bread! It's Pudding! It's Both! Heat oven to 315. Pour the milk and half the sugar into a two quart saucepan. While the milk is heating over medium high, us a sharp knife and slice the vanilla bean in half lengthwise. Separate the seeds from the pod by scraping with a knife. Add to the milk and sugar mixture. Scald the milk mixture (cook with not much stirring) until bubbles form around the edge of the pan. Remove from the heat. Place remaining sugar, whole eggs and egg yolks in a large bowl and whisk until well combined. Continue to whisk, and slowly (very slowly!) poor the hot milk into the egg mixture. Whisk until smooth. Put It All Together, And Whaddya Got? Cut the brioche into 1/2 inch cubes, and place in a baking dish. Sprinkle with raisins, pour the hot egg milk mixture over the brioche. It should go halfway up the sides of the dish. (If not, get a bigger or smaller pan.) Pour the Baileys over the cubes to coat evenly. Bake for 60 minutes. Serve warm or cold, with whipped cream, more Baileys, ice cream, or plain. Notes and Hints and Stuff Does it have to be Baileys? In this case, I will say it's fine to substitute ingredients. Baileys is in my opinion the best Irish Creme out there, but you know what they say about opinions. Carolans or O'Mara's or other brands will work just fine. Can I use skim milk? Yes, but it won't be quite as rich. It will be better for you, though. If you're making this for a special treat, stick with whole. The sugar and eggs aren't doing you any favors anyway. What is a rehydrated raisin? A raisin that has been soaked until it's plump and not wrinkly. You can soak in water, or milk. Allow me to recommend Irish Creme in this case. Does it have to be a whole vanilla bean? Well, no, probably not. Vanilla extract will probably work. Vanilla beans are extremely expensive, I know. It'll be better if you do it this way, but I doubt it's absolutely critical. You could even leave it out if you had to.