The Best Bread Pudding

Left over mania at our house! The sweet potato cake was plentiful (everyone gobbled up the apple crisp and Baby Cakes cheesecakes) and to be fair I tried to make the cake with Splenda instead of sugar this year so it wasn't the same moist goodness I've made in the past...just not skilled in the substitution of sugar, there really is a science to replacement therapy. However, slight mistakes can be fabricated into something with just as much ooey goodness called bread pudding. So rather than Italian bread cubed, the cake has been cubed and prepared according to the recipe instructions. I like my bread pudding served warm and this recipe has a sauce that just sweetens it even further.
A Paul Deen 2007 recipe http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/the-best-bread-pudding-recipe/index.html

Ingredients
2 cups granulated sugar
5 large beaten eggs
2 cups milk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 cups cubed Italian bread, allow to stale overnight in a bowl
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened
1 cup chopped pecans

Sauce
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1 egg beaten
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup brandy