You know that scene from Pirates of the Caribbean, where Jack Sparrow is complaining about the rum being gone?
Throughout the movie, there are several “why’s the rum always gone” scenes, and I always empathize with Jack in these moments because, well … I can imagine being a pirate isn’t always very fun. And sometimes you need a little rum to take the edge off when people are chasing you with swords and guns.
I personally love rum. No, I don’t drink it by itself or in large amounts, but I use it in a lot of my baking and cocktail recipes. With rum a little goes a long way. That’s why I still have a little left in the two bottles my husband and I received on our honeymoon in Jost Van Dyke back in October 2014.
Like I said, I use rum all the time in baking. So when Canyon Bakehouse asked me to make a bread pudding using their delicious cinnamon raisin bread, I knew I was going to HAVE to find a way to work rum into the recipe. At first I was just going to make a raisin rum bread pudding but then I wondered — what if I added bananas? My decision was practically made for me when I spotted three mostly brown bananas in the pantry. Score.
I love this banana rum raisin bread pudding because it’s extra moist. Whoops, did I just say moist? For those of you with an aversion to the word moist … I’m sorry. Other than delicious, there’s no other word for this dish. Moist + delicious. See there? I said moist again. Maybe if I keep saying it people won’t hate it as much.
Regardless of how you feel about the word “moist,” I promise if you like bread, bananas, raisins and the baked flavor of rum, you’re going to love this recipe. With Christmas right around the corner, there’s still time to whip this up for one of your holiday celebrations!
- 2 large eggs
- 3 ripe bananas, mashed
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons rum
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 1/2 cups almond milk
- 1 loaf Canyon Bakehouse raisin bread, cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks
- Preheat oven to 350˚ F, grease a baking dish and set aside.
- Toast breadcrumbs in preheated oven for 10 minutes, turning halfway through for even baking.
- In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, mashed bananas vanilla, cinnamon and sugar until combined; whisk in almond milk. Add toasted bread to mixture, toss and set aside so bread can absorb the liquid, about 10 minutes.
- Transfer mixture to baking dish and bake until an inserted toothpick comes out clean, about 60 minutes. Let cool slightly before serving. Can be served warm or cold with a dusting of powdered sugar, whipped cream or scoop of vanilla ice cream.