Rum Raisin Bread Pudding with a Vanilla Sauce

Did you know that raisins ger their own National Day? Do you really care? Nobody cares about raisins. I mean when you want a snack do you eat raisins....no.  I remember my mother putting them in my school packed lunch...I wouldn’t eat them unless I was really hungry. I mean, I didn’t hate them, but I didn’t love them either. Mom, what are you trying to do force me to eat something healthy!

I hate to say this but I was a big dipper....my girlfriend, Diana Harple and I would dip my Fritos in her Ding Dong’s marshmallow center. Now that was unhealthy heaven.

Ok, back to raisins...are they actually good for you? I would say they are better as a snack than chips or cookies. They are packed full of fiber, minerals and nutrients, BUT they are also naturally sweet and high in sugar and calories. So..there Mom! A small box of raisins has 129 calories.

With all that being said this Rum Raisin Bread Pudding with a Vanilla Sauce has 362 calories per serving. 8 servings total and 1 hour and 30 minutes to prepare and cook.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon butter
1 apple, peeled and sliced thin
1/4 cup raisins
1 tablespoon rum
Pinch of cinnamon
8 slices of cinnamon raisin bread, take crust off and cut into 3/4” pieces
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup nonfat milk
1 cup evaporated milk
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup butter
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Vanilla Sauce Ingredients:
3 tablespoons of nonfat milk
5 teaspoons of cornstarch
1 tablespoon rum
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup nonfat milk
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F and grease a 9” cake pan. In a medium size skillet on med/high heat melt the butter. Add in the apple slices, raisins, rum and pinch of cinnamon cook until apples are soft. In a bowl combine the apple mixture with the cubed bread pieces then transfer to the prepared cake pan.

In a small saucepan add the sugar, brown sugar, both milks, ground cinnamon and the butter, stir until the butter melts. In a bowl whisk together the eggs and vanilla extract.  Whisking constantly pour the milk mixture into the eggs. Pour mixture over the bread. Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Take foil off and bake until bread is puffy and golden brown, approximately another 10 minutes.

While the bread is cooking make the vanilla sauce. In a bowl whisk together until smooth the 3 tablespoons of milk with the 5 teaspoons of cornstarch. In a saucepan add the rum, butter, milk and sugar, bring to boil. Gradually add in the cornstarch mixture and stir until the sauce thickens. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract.

Pour the vanilla sauce over the warm bread pudding and let sit for 5 minutes. As it cools it will form a nice glaze. Yum Yum!