Bailey's Irish Cream Bread Pudding

What better dessert for Saint Patrick's Day than a bread pudding made with Bailey's Irish Cream?  I could think of none.  So on the big day, I made another batch of whole wheat Irish soda bread muffins, and my mom made corned beef and cabbage, and I made this for dessert.  I had gotten the idea a few days before and spent some time on Pinterest looking for a recipe.  This one jumped out at me because it didn't have chocolate chips as a main ingredient (it did call for them, but as an option).  I'm just not a huge lover of chocolate chips, and I wanted the Bailey's to be the star of the bread pudding.

This was a very easy recipe to put together.  You basically just have to mix everything together and bake it.  The final result?  Well... my mother said it tasted like you were taking shots, and she was right.  The alcohol flavor was way too strong.  I thought for sure after 45 minutes in the oven that the alcohol would burn off, but that was just not the case.  Apparently 1 1/3 cup of milk is not enough to combat a cup of Bailey's.  Wow.  This was not a bread pudding to be eaten before work in the mornings!  (And yet the recipe writer says she created it for Christmas brunch....)

If I made this again - because I do think that it's worth fixing - I would increase the milk and decrease the Bailey's by at least half.  The nutmeg and the raisins help to make it really delicious, and the texture was great.  It's just that after a small bowl of it, you're hammered.  Maybe that's the kind of dessert you're looking for?  If you aren't, just fix the milk and Bailey's amounts, and you've got yourself one heck of a bread pudding!

Recipe:

Bailey's Irish Cream bread pudding
from Lemon and Lace
serves 8

Ingredients:
6 slices soft bread, cut into 1" cubes
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/3 cup milk (soy or almond)
1 cup Bailey's Irish Cream
5 eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon nutmeg
raisins or chocolate chips, optional

Instructions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Butter or spray a 2-quart casserole dish.

2) Beat together the eggs, sugar and vanilla.

3) Slowly add the milk, then the Bailey's Irish Cream.  Mix.

4) Add bread into the liquid.  Sprinkle with nutmeg.  Toss until well coated.

5) Pour into pan.  Add chocolate chips or raisins if using.  Refrigerate now, if making ahead.

6) Bake 40 - 45 minutes or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.