Hard Sauce for Bread Pudding and Other Desserts

By
Diana Rattray
Diana Rattray
Diana Rattray
Southern-cuisine expert and cookbook author Diana Rattray has created more than 5,000 recipes and articles in her 20 years as a food writer.
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Updated on 05/5/21
Tested by
Tracy Wilk
Photo of Tracy Wilk
Tested by Tracy Wilk
Tracy Wilk is a professional pastry chef, recipe developer and chef instructor, and, most importantly, a firm believer in sprinkles.
Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Hard Sauce for Bread Pudding and Other Desserts

The Spruce / Tara Omidvar

Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 0 mins
Total: 10 mins
Servings: 4 servings

Contrary to its name, hard sauce is not actually a sauce at all—nor is it actually hard. This traditional old-fashioned British recipe calls for creaming softened butter with sugar, creating more of a spreadable consistency than a smooth, pourable one. This delectable accompaniment is often flavored with rum or brandy but can be made with extract instead, making the dessert condiment ideal for little ones.

Hard sauce is often served with warm desserts, such as bread pudding, plum pudding, or hasty pudding, as well as other sweets like gingerbread and fruitcake. When rum or brandy are used (in which case the sauce may be referred to as "rum butter" or "brandy butter" respectively), hard sauce is commonly part of the Christmas and New Year's dessert buffet alongside Christmas pudding and mince pie.

"This is a very simple sauce or glaze you would be able to use on a variety of sweet dishes. Feel free to adjust the flavor to better fit your dish, or flavor as you need. Make sure your butter is softened for optimal results." —Tracy Wilk

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Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

  • 1 cup confectioners' sugar

  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

  • 2 tablespoons brandy, rum, or whiskey

  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

  • Ground allspice, to taste

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Hard Sauce for Bread Pudding and Other Desserts ingredients

    The Spruce / Tara Omidvar

  2. With a standing or hand-held mixer, beat the softened butter until creamy.

    beat butter with a mixer

    The Spruce / Tara Omidvar

  3. Add the powdered sugar and mix while scraping the sides of the bowl, so the sugar and butter come together evenly.

    butter and sugar mixture

    The Spruce / Tara Omidvar

  4. Add the vanilla extract, brandy, rum, or whiskey, and spices.

    butter, spices, vanilla and liquor in a bowl

    The Spruce / Tara Omidvar

  5. Mix, scraping the sides again, to combine.

    sauce in a bowl

    The Spruce / Tara Omidvar

  6. Spoon the sauce into a bowl.

    sauce in a bowl

    The Spruce / Tara Omidvar

  7. Serve immediately and enjoy.

    Hard Sauce for Bread Pudding and Other Desserts

    The Spruce / Tara Omidvar

Tips

  • For this recipe, it is very important that your butter is soft (but not mushy). If your butter is still somewhat hard, it won't blend properly and can't become creamy and spreadable; if it is too soft, it will create a consistency that is too smooth to be characteristic of hard sauce.
  • The sauce will last in the refrigerator, covered in plastic wrap, for months. However, it will harden when in the fridge, so remove it and let it come to room temperature 2 hours before serving.
  • For a special holiday dessert, press the sauce into a decorative mold before chilling. Turn it out of the mold onto a plate before serving.

Recipe Variations

  • Alcohol-free hard sauce: Instead of rum or brandy, use rum extract.
  • Lemon hard sauce: Eliminate the spices and alcohol. Replace with 4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice, plus 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon zest.
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
178 Calories
6g Fat
28g Carbs
0g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories 178
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 6g 7%
Saturated Fat 4g 18%
Cholesterol 15mg 5%
Sodium 2mg 0%
Total Carbohydrate 28g 10%
Dietary Fiber 0g 0%
Total Sugars 27g
Protein 0g
Vitamin C 0mg 0%
Calcium 3mg 0%
Iron 0mg 0%
Potassium 7mg 0%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)