Raisin Bread Pudding

Halloween. Angela sat on her couch directing the candy distribution while James handed out treats with his usual engineering precision. Angela is eight months pregnant and has entered the phase where standing for more than five minutes requires a committee meeting. I stood on the porch with a bowl of candy and watched the trick-or-treaters in their parka-over-costume uniforms and thought about next Halloween — Angela with a baby, a baby in a costume, the first of what will be many Halloweens where the Santos family includes a new generation of tiny humans dressed as superheroes over snowsuits.

I made champorado for the evening — the chocolate rice porridge, the warm-sweet October comfort. Angela ate three bowls. "The baby likes chocolate," she said. The baby likes everything — the baby has been subjected to nine months of Santos cooking in utero and will emerge with a palate pre-seasoned by garlic, vinegar, and the particular flavor profile of a household where Lourdes's dietary instructions are followed with the reverence of scripture.

Champorado is the kind of thing you make because someone needs warmth and the night calls for it — and this Halloween, with Angela on her third bowl and James engineering the candy handoff and a baby already being seasoned by Santos kitchen fumes, warmth was the whole point. When the rice porridge runs out and the October chill is still sitting in your bones, raisin bread pudding steps into that same role: humble, sweet, made from things already in the house, the kind of dessert that feels less like a recipe and more like a reflex. I started making it on nights like this one, when family fills a room and someone always wants seconds.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 45 min | Total Time: 1 hr | Servings: 8

Ingredients

8 cups day-old white bread, cut into 1-inch cubes (about 10–12 slices)
3/4 cup raisins
3 cups whole milk
3 large eggs
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions

Preheat and prep. Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Lightly butter a 9x13-inch baking dish and spread the bread cubes evenly across the bottom. Scatter the raisins over the bread.
Make the custard. In a large bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, sugar, melted butter, vanilla extract, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt until fully combined and the sugar is mostly dissolved.
Soak the bread. Pour the custard mixture evenly over the bread and raisins. Gently press the bread cubes down with a spatula so every piece absorbs the liquid. Let the mixture rest for 10 minutes so the bread soaks through.
Bake. Place the baking dish in the preheated oven and bake for 40–45 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the custard is set in the center (a knife inserted in the middle should come out mostly clean).
Rest and serve. Remove from the oven and let cool for at least 10 minutes before serving. Serve warm, as-is or with a drizzle of cream, a scoop of vanilla ice cream, or a dusting of powdered sugar.

Nutrition (per serving)

Raisin Bread Pudding — The Warmth You Make When the Baby Likes Chocolate