Raisin Currant Rum Bread Pudding With Caramel Sauce

Hands On Time: 1.5 hours. Total Time: 13 to 25.

Ingredients:

8 cups toasted cubes of french bread, all dry, enough to fit nicely into an 11 by 7 baking dish 1/3 C golden raisins
1/4 C dried currants 5 eggs
Zest from one lemon 2 C milk
1 C heavy cream 1 t salt
1/2 plus 3 T white sugar 1 1.5 t dark rum
1/4 t nutmeg (grate your own if you’d like!) 1/2 t cinnamon
1 1.5 T good vanilla extract

Instruction:

• Cut the french bread loaf into 3/4 to 1 inch cubes (It usually takes 1 large loaf) and toast on a cookie sheet under broiler until most of the edges are a golden
• brown. Put in large bowl and let sit the rest of the day                                                                                                                        or
• a few hours so the BREAD IS DRY. Butter a 11 by 7
• baking dish. Place bread in dish. Sprinkle the raisins and currants over the top to distribute the fruit evenly. Whisk the eggs together first, so that they’re all completely incorporated. Add all other ingredients and again, whisk everything together for at least a couple of minutes until nothing separates and the mixture is smooth. Gently pour the egg mixture over the bread. It should come almost to the top as you gently push down the bread into the egg mixture so that everything is touching egg. You don’t have to keep doing it, just make sure the top level of bread is at least immersed by half when they bob back up. Cover and put in fridge 12 to 24 hours.
• When ready to cook, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Let the pudding sit on the counter for 30 minutes before you put it into the oven. Bake uncovered for 42 to 43 minutes, until the whole thing rises up and the edges are a little browned. IT won’t sizzle or bubble, that means its overdone. Just take out when it appears high (like a popover!)
• Remove and let cook for 30 minutes. In the meantime, make the caramel rum sauce.