Tres Leches Bread Pudding with Chocolate Rum Raisin Sauce
My grandmother always found the most delicious ways to stretch a dollar. Eating at her house you’d never know she struggled financially, living paycheck to paycheck. Everything was always so divine and full of flavor that nothing else compared to. One of my favorite desserts has always been bread pudding. The way Granny made it was like heaven in a dish.
I was craving bread pudding tonight after a light dinner. I wanted to do a twist on hers so I added some chocolate covered raisins and a chocolate rum raisin sauce on top – yum! I love this bread pudding for so many reasons, mainly because it’s so easy and inexpensive to make. If you’re looking for a frugal dessert idea, this is it.
One thing to note, we rarely – if ever – have stale bread in the house. Neither did Granny. I used Granny’s trick for priming the bread for bread pudding. I tore the bread into small squares and placed them in the oven (at 200 degrees F) for 5 minutes. Long enough for most of the moisture to come out but not long enough to toast it. You can do this, or use stale bread/brioche if you have it.
Tres Leches Bread Pudding with Chocolate Rum Raisin Sauce
Ingredients
- Bread Pudding
- 2/3 cup whole milk
- 1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 12-ounce can evaporated milk
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon Madagascar vanilla Bean Extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 large eggs
- 2/3 loaf stale bread torn into 1 inch pieces
- 3/4 cup chocolate covered raisins
- Rum Raisin Sauce
- 1 cup chocolate covered raisins
- 1/3 cup spiced rum
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 teaspoon Madagascar Vanilla Bean Extract
- 1/3 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
Instructions
- Spray or butter the inside of a casserole dish well. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the chocolate covered raisins for the sauce into a medium sized bowl with the rum. Allow them to sit and soak for at least 45 minutes.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the milks, chocolate covered raisins, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, salt and eggs. Toss the bread into the bowl and gently mix to coat.
- Dump the mixture into the prepared casserole dish and place on the middle rack in the oven. Bake for 1 hour.
- After your raisins have sat for the desired amount of time, heat a heavy skillet over low heat. Add the heavy whipping cream to the skillet. Slowly stir in the rum soaked raisins, vanilla and cinnamon then allow to come to a simmer.
- Simmer for 25 minutes over low heat. While waiting combine the water and the cornstarch and mix until completely combined. After the sauce has simmered for 25 minutes whisk in the cornstarch mixture. Continue to whisk until the sauce begins to thicken, about 10 minutes.
- When the bread pudding is ready to come out, carefully remove it from the oven. Allow to sit for 10 minutes before serving. Top with the sauce and serve with vanilla ice cream (if desired.)
