It’s a fact of life: when the wind howls, children everywhere refuse to wear their coats. They arch their little backs, squeal-whine and assert “I don’t need a coat, mama.” In this situation, we have two choices. We can hunker down and try (struggle) to put their coat on, until one or both of us are crying.
Or.
(Or is that beautiful word that keeps life bearable and tantrums at a minimum.)
Or… we can stand outside with them, coatless in the wind, just for a moment. We can feel that autumn chill tickle our souls, laugh at how the air nips our noses, and then – only then – rush inside to put on that silly coat after all.
Or… we can forget about the coat altogether and cozy up to a piping hot bowl of coconut bread pudding, drizzled all over with a giddy amount of buttered brown sugar & rum glaze, then smile with rosy cheeks by the window.
It’s a no brainer, really. We chose the last option, while enjoying ourselves immensely at my dear friend Marina’s home in Brooklyn.
Coconut Bread Pudding is a crazy popular Caribbean dessert … it’s like a cozy sweater for the belly. I found a version of this recipe from a lady, Jennifer, who took a cooking class in Saint Kitts & Nevis. When I saw the rum, brown sugar, butter, and coconut,… oh man, I knew I wouldn’t quit until this treat was in my tummy. It whips together in just a few minutes (Bonus party talk? All the ingredients can be waiting in your pantry for those friends that just “pop over” during the holidays). While traditional recipes use white bread, I found whole wheat gave the bread pudding a little oomph in the face of the mad, wonderful richness.
P.S. I’m sticky in my smile, even as I type this.
Ingredients:
5 slices wheat bread, cubed (about 6 loosely packed cups)
1 1/2 cups light coconut milk (almost 1, 15 oz can)
1/2 cup light brown sugar
3 eggs
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup raisins
Topping:
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup grated coconut
Rum sauce:
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup melted butter
2 tbsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup gold or dark rum
Method:
Welcome to absolute warmth, no matter hold cold your nose is (or where you left your coat).
View of the sea, Saint Kitts. Photo by Kayokayo.
Preheat the over to 375F and butter a medium/small casserole (I used a 10 1/2 inch round cast iron pan, although a 8×8 baking dish should work well, too).
Start by whisking together the light coconut milk, light brown sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, and cinnamon. This is the makings of love in a bowl!
Add in the cubed bread and raisins, sneaking a nibble or two as you go.
Let the bread soak up the coconut milk mixture for about 10 minutes. You know what to sip on while you wait…
Then, add the mixture to the buttered casserole. Smash together the butter, brown sugar, and coconut shreds.
Add bits of the buttery sugary goodness on top. It’ll look like way too much, but trust me on this one. Go. For. It.
Bake the casserole at 375F for 35-40 minutes, or until bubbling, browned, and an inserted knife comes out clean.
While you wait, make the rum sauce by heating all ingredients in a small pot and simmer gently until the sugar dissolves completely and the sauce thickens a little, about 5-10 minutes. If you have any time to spare, take a walk with the chickens.
Downtown Basseterre, St. Kitts. Photo by Clark Anderson/Aquaimages.
Come home to this…
And this…
Psst… be sure to drizzle it all over with that crazy good brown sugar – butter – rum glaze.
Want a bite?
| Servings | Prep Time |
| 6-8 people | 15 minutes |
| Cook Time |
| 45-50 minutes |
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Coconut Bread Pudding is a crazy popular Caribbean dessert … it’s like a cozy sweater for the belly. I found a version of this recipe from a lady, Jennifer, who took a cooking class in Saint Kitts & Nevis. When I saw the rum, brown sugar, butter, and coconut,… oh man, I knew I wouldn’t quit until this treat was in my tummy. It whips together in just a few minutes (Bonus party talk? All the ingredients can be waiting in your pantry for those friends that just “pop over” during the holidays). While traditional recipes use white bread, I found whole wheat gave the bread pudding a little oomph in the face of the mad, wonderful richness.
|
- 5 slices wheat bread , cubed (about 6 loosely packed cups)
- 1 1/2 cup light coconut milk (almost 1, 15 oz can)
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1/4 cup brown sugar 1/4
- 1/4 cup butter , room tempature
- 1/2 cup shredded coconut
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup butter , melted
- 2 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup rum (gold or dark)
- Preheat the over to 375F and butter a medium/small casserole (I used a 10 1/2 inch round cast iron pan, although a 8×8 baking dish should work well, too).
- Start by whisking together the light coconut milk, light brown sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, and cinnamon. This is the makings of love in a bowl!
- Add in the cubed bread and raisins, sneaking a nibble or two as you go. Let the bread soak up the coconut milk mixture for about 10 minutes.
- Then, add the mixture to the buttered casserole. Smash together the butter, brown sugar, and coconut shreds. Add bits of the buttery sugary goodness on top. It’ll look like way too much, but trust me on this one. Go. For. It.
- Bake the casserole at 375F for 35-40 minutes, or until bubbling, browned, and an inserted knife comes out clean. While you wait, make the rum sauce by heating all ingredients in a small pot and simmer gently until the sugar dissolves completely and the sauce thickens a little, about 5-10 minutes.
- Psst… be sure to drizzle it all over with that crazy good brown sugar – butter – rum sauce.
- Make the rum sauce by heating all ingredients in a small pot and simmer gently until the sugar dissolves completely and the sauce thickens a little, about 5-10 minutes.
Funny you should post this – I’m making a coconut bread pudding tomorrow. By the way, your directions include whole milk but I don’t see whole milk in the ingredients list.
Thanks Kelster – have fun with yours! The whole milk definitely took away from the coconut flavor – go with light coconut milk all the way 🙂
Amazing recipe, rum and coconut seems like a match made in heaven!
(by the way, I am now receiving the email notification of new post… YEAH!)
Yes, this is one recipe we haven’t been able to stop eating…. P.S. yay!
You had me at Rum Glazed Coconut Bread Pudding. I have everything I need to make this melt in my mouth bread pudding today. What a perfect way to warm the house up!
That’s what I like to hear! Enjoy, Tammy 🙂
Great post and photos – we loved the bread pudding too, although I was too full by that time to eat very much of it! Thanks for the mention and for linking to my original post 🙂
I was so excited you were able to help me with these recipes Jennifer. It’s so hard to find information for Saint kitts and Nevis. Cheers 🙂
OR = Options!
Great pic of Ava & Marina!
Staying flexible is the key to winning at life 😉
Oh, and I love the picture of the chickens crossing the road–nice and orderly in the crosswalk, while the mere humans run amuck! Great find! LOL
that bottle of rum is a great find! so pretty!
maybe the rum had something to do with the crosswalk situation haha
Delicious! So what do you do with the rum sauce? I’m guessing you pour it onto the pudding after it has finished baking.
Here’s some lively music straight from St. Kitts guaranteed to warm you up.
http://www.myspace.com/0/music-player?songid=36438261
Perfect – thanks Brian! Yes, drizzle all over and enjoy! I like it best straight from the oven 🙂
I like how you prezent your page .)
This looks way too yummy. I’m thinking it would be a terrific staple during the holidays! Can’t wait to try it…
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Sasha, you were recently in Brooklyn? That’s so close to my home – too bad I missed an opportunity to meet you. Your adventure is awesome as usual, and I’m still back in “D”, but still creeping forward. Enjoy your Thanksgiving holiday!
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Incredible photos and beautiful dish. I want some, like, now.
Made this tonight, amazing!! Only had coconut Bacardi, but it worked fine!! I had eaten half the sauce before I even got round to drizzling it on the pudding! Love your website and recipes, working my way through! Thanks for the time you put into the presentation, love the whole thing!!!
This so AMAZING! This is a dish that I would totally make for myself and probably keep for myself. My grandmother used to make something similar when I was a little girl.