irish bread pudding with caramel sauce

photo from Cooking Light

Here is the edited recipe for the Irish Bread Pudding. Now, it is from Cooking Light and I have made all the substitutions to take out the alcohol. You can find the original here. It is supposed to be Caramel-Whiskey Sauce, but seeing as we don't have alcohol in this house or use it ever, then, I substituted in the apple juice in the bread pudding recipe and out the whiskey. In the Caramel Whiskey Sauce, I took out the whiskey and put in imitation rum. The sauce ends up tasting like butter rum LifeSavers. So good. It also makes a lot, so be prepared for extra sauce.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup light butter, melted
• 1 (10-ounce) French bread baguette, cut into 1-inch-thick slices
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/4 cup apple juice
  
• 1 3/4 cups 1% low-fat milk
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 (12-ounce) can evaporated skim milk
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• Cooking spray
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Preheat oven to 350°

Brush melted butter on one side of French bread slices, and place bread, buttered sides up, on a baking sheet. Bake bread at 350° for 10 minutes or until lightly toasted. Cut bread into 1/2-inch cubes, and set aside.
Combine raisins and apple juice in a small bowl; cover and let stand 10 minutes or until soft (do not drain).

Combine 1% milk and next 4 ingredients (1% milk through eggs) in a large bowl; stir well with a whisk. Add bread cubes and raisin mixture, pressing gently to moisten; let stand 15 minutes. Spoon bread mixture into a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Combine 1 tablespoon sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over pudding. Bake at 350° for 35 minutes or until set. Serve warm with Caramel Sauce.

• Caramel Sauce
  

  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 2/3 cup water
  • 1/4 cup light butter
  • 2 ounces 1/3-less-fat cream cheese (Neufchâtel) (about 1/4 cup)
  • 1/4 cup imitation rum extract
    
  • 1/4 cup 1% low-fat milk

Combine sugar and water in a small heavy saucepan over medium-high heat; cook until sugar dissolves, stirring constantly. Cook an additional 15 minutes or until golden (do not stir). Remove from heat. Carefully add butter and cream cheese, stirring constantly with a whisk (mixture will be hot and bubble vigorously). Cool slightly, and stir in rum extract and milk.