Bread Pudding with Vanilla Sauce

I think every adult needs a couple of back pocket dessert recipes that can be made at a momentโ€™s notice, should the day take such a turn where you find yourself thinking: only a generous bowl of dessert in front of a 70 minute episode of Bridgerton is going to redeem this day. One of these recipes is Nigellaโ€™s aptly named Emergency Brownies, and the second is this bread pudding that has the added advantage of needing to tear a loaf of bread, and if thatโ€™s not a stress buster, I donโ€™t know what is. The recipe does ask you to wait for it to soak for 30 minutes, but this is strictly optional.

RECIPE: BREAD PUDDING

Slightly adapted from Olives + Thyme

Ingredients
2 cups bread, torn into 1-inch pieced
1 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg 
1 tsp cinnamon powder*
1/2 tsp nutmeg powder*
25 g melted butter
A handful of golden raisins

For the sauce: 
1/2 cup cream
1/4 cup sugar
25 g butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract 

If you can, ground fresh, is best*

Method
For the pudding:

To a large mixing bowl add all the ingredients except the bread and raisins. Mix  to combine. 

Next, add in the bread and give it a good mix. Allow to soak for 30 minutes. Sprinkle the top with raisins.

Pour this into greased baking dish, and bake in a preheated oven at 180 C for 20 minutes, covered with foil. Remove the foil and allow to bake for another 10 minutes. 

Meanwhile, make the sauce by adding the cream, sugar, and butter to a small saucepan. Turn on the heat, and as soon as it comes to a boil, remove from the flame. Stir in the vanilla extract. 

Serve the bread pudding warm, drizzled with the sauce. Enjoy!