Bread Pudding with Rum Sauce

1 loaf stale sliced white bread
4 Tbsp. (½ stick butter) softened
½ cup golden raisins
2/3 cup sugar
5 large eggs
2 cups half and half
2 Tbsp. vanilla extract
½ tsp. almond extract
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. ground cardamom

Place raisins in bowl and cover with rum. Cover and soak for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350° degrees
Grease with butter a 3 quart casserole dish.

Butter both sides of bread slices, place on cookie sheet covered with tin foil. Toast slices on both sides. Cool.

Combine sugar, eggs, cream, vanilla, almond extract, cinnamon and cardamom. Mix well. Break up toasted bread and put into casserole dish. Add drained raisins (either drink the leftover rum or use in rum sauce). Pour egg mixture over bread and stir.

Bake 40 minutes. Serve hot or cold with vanilla ice cream and or rum sauce. (I prefer to cut the crust of my bread, try it both ways and decide which way you like it best!)

Rum Sauce

2 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
½ cup sugar
1 cup milk
3 Tbsp. white or dark rum

Melt butter in small saucepan. Mix together the sugar and cornstarch and stir into butter. Pour in milk, cook stirring frequently until the mixture begins to boil. Continue cooking until thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, stir in rum. Serve warm over ice cream or bread pudding.