For Luis: Pudin de Pan - Bread Pudding

My mother no longer cooks. Thank Goodness! The poor dear was never a culinary wizard! Do you remember that song by "Rapper's Delight" that said

have you ever went over a friends house to eat
and the food just aint no good
i mean the macaroni's soggy the peas are mushed
and the chicken tastes like wood

That describes my mom's cooking perfectly. But we must give credit where credit is due and she was fantastic at making desserts. My cousin in California is particularly fond of her bread pudding and when possible will devour it with Delight! 

In my house I freeze old bread, you know the heels that no one wants, that lonely hot dog bun or dinner roll or the leftovers of whole loaves that come wrapped in paper and the next day have hardened. Now and then I need to make room in the freezer; that's when it's time to make pudin de pan. (The recipe/instructions for this is very similar to the recipe for Cheese Flan that I posted a few weeks earlier.)

You will need about 6 cups worth of bread cut into 1/2" cubes. (you can use fresh bread, just don't use any bread containing seeds or nuts)

1 can evaporated milk

1 can sweetened condensed milk

4 eggs

1/2 cup raisins

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. cinnamon powder

1 cup sugar for caramelizing (check Cheese Flan post for more pictures on caramelizing)

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F
2. In an aluminum bread pan over medium-low heat, melt sugar until liquefied and golden in color. Carefully tilt the pan to evenly coat the bottom and sides. Set aside to cool.
3. Cut your leftover bread into cubes and place into a large mixing bowl.
4. In a blender beat the evaporated milk, condensed milk, 4 eggs, vanilla extract and cinnamon powder.
5. Pour this mixture into bowl with cut up bread, add the raisins and stir. Let sit for a few minutes for the bread to absorb some of the liquid. If it appears too dry you may add milk, if it's too wet, add bread.
6. Place this mixture into the bread pan.
7. Place this pan into a larger rectangular pan that is at least 2 inches deep.
8. Place both of these into the oven and pour hot water into the larger pan to about half way full.
9. Bake for approximately 1 1/2 hours, until a knife comes out clean when inserted into the center of the pudding
10. Let cool and refrigerate for a couple of hours or overnight.
11. Use a knife to separate the sides of the pudding from the pan. Invert onto a serving plate. The caramel syrup will cover the pudding.

Variation: My mother would sometimes substitute the raisins and cinnamon with canned fruit cocktail or canned pineapple.