Bread Pudding with Hazelnut Liquor Sauce and Spiced Whipped Cream

Ingredients

• For the bread pudding:

• 1 tsp canola oil
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar (light or dark)
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp freshly ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp pure vanilla
• ¼ c hazelnut or amaretto liquor
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 2 cups day old french bread cut into 1 inch cubes
• 2 cups day old thickly sliced cinnamon bread cut into 1 inch cubes

• For the sauce:

• 1 ½ cups heavy cream
• 1 cup half and half
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• ¼ cup sugar
• 1 tblsp cornstarch
• ¼ cup hazelnut or amaretto liquor

Instructions

1. Whisk eggs, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla and liquor in a large mixing bowl until very smooth. Add So Delicious lite culinary coconut milk and stir well. Stir in bread. Let the mixture sit, refrigerated, for a minimum of two hours. I try to let it sit overnight.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter bottom and sides of loaf pan. Pour bread mixture into prepared pan and bake until set in the center, about 1 hour. A toothpick inserted into the middle should pull out cleanly. Let cool for 15-20 minutes.
3. For the sauce: Heat the cream, half and half, vanilla, and sugar in a saucepan over high heat, whisking vigorously for 3 minutes. Dissolve cornstarch in the liquor or water (called a slurry by the way). When bubbles begin to form around the edges of the cream mixture, whisk in your slurry. Continue whisking over high heat until mixture begins to boil, remove from heat and whisk in the slurry. Continue whisking until slightly thickened. The sauce is meant to be fairly thin (think bisque NOT gravy).
4. To serve, slice into 1 inch thick slices and top with sauce and whipped cream.