Bread Pudding with Rum Sauce

Bread Pudding Ingredients:

6 cups day-old bread, cubed (French bread, brioche, or challah works best)
2 ½ cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
4 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
½ cup raisins (optional)
2 tablespoons butter, melted
Rum Sauce Ingredients:
½ cup unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
½ cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons dark rum (or more, to taste)
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions:

1. Preheat the Oven:
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish or an equivalent casserole dish.
2. Prepare the Bread Pudding:
In a large bowl, whisk together the milk, heavy cream, eggs, sugar, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and nutmeg until well combined.
Add the cubed bread to the bowl and gently fold it into the custard mixture, ensuring all pieces are coated. Let it sit for about 10 minutes to absorb the custard.
If you’re adding raisins, fold them in as well.
Pour the mixture into the greased baking dish and drizzle the melted butter over the top.
3. Bake:
Bake the bread pudding for 40-45 minutes, or until the top is golden and the center is set but still slightly soft. A knife inserted in the middle should come out mostly clean.
4. Make the Rum Sauce:
While the bread pudding is baking, prepare the rum sauce. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter.
Add the sugar and heavy cream, stirring constantly until the sugar dissolves and the sauce thickens slightly, about 5 minutes.
Remove from heat and stir in the dark rum and vanilla extract.
5. Serve:
Once the bread pudding is done, allow it to cool slightly.
Serve the bread pudding warm with a generous drizzle of rum sauce over the top