assignmentPREPARATION
Set oven to 300°. Cut up French bread loaf. Butter a 9"X12" casserole dish with ½ stick of butter, then melt the rest of it and set it aside.
Bake the bread cubes on a baking sheet for 30 minutes in the preheated oven to evaporate all of the moisture. Place the bread cubes into a large mixing bowl. Mix in raisins if using.
Add the whipping cream, sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk, mixing about half of the evaporated milk into the emptied sweetened condensed milk can and mixed around to help get the thick milk out of the can.
Turn the mixer on low speed.
Mix the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg together and slowly sprinkle into the egg mixture. Mix well.
Pour the egg mixture over the bread cubes in the large bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and press down to submerge the bread into the milky liquid. Place a heavy bowl on top of the plastic wrap and add water to the bowl to help keep the bread submerged.
Let this configuration sit for 30 minutes, stirring the bread after 15 minutes to bring the bottom bread to the top and pushing the top bread down deep into the milky mixture.
Recover the mixture with the plastic wrap and continue soaking for the additional 15 minutes.
After soaking, pour the bread mixture into the prepared casserole dish.
Spread the mixture evenly in the dish with a rubber spatula, pressing down where necessary to make it level.
Cover the dish with foil and bake in the preheated oven for 1 ½ hours at 300°. Remove the foil and continue baking another 30 minutes. Remove dish from the oven and let it cool for 30 minutes.
Heat a large bowl or saucepan on the stove top. Once heated, add ½ stick of butter.
Lower the heat to medium low and add light brown sugar and ½ T vanilla while stirring quickly. Stir in rum.
Add and stir whole milk, powdered sugar, stirring constantly.
melted 3 eggs
In small mixing bowl combine cracker crumbs, granulated sugar and chopped pecans.
Stir in melted butter or margarine.
Press crumb mixture over the bottom and one and one-half inches up the sides of a nine-inch spring form pan.
Bake in 350° oven 50 to 55 minutes or until set.
Cool in pan 30 minutes, loosen sides and remove rim from pan.
Cool completely.
Arrange nut halves atop cheesecake.
Before serving, combine corn syrup, cornstarch and the remaining brown sugar in a small saucepan.
Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly.
Remove from heat, stir in vanilla.
Cool slightly.
To serve, spoon some of the warm sauce over nuts on the cheesecake.
Serve cake alongside remaining sauce.
Makes 12 to 16 servings.
Pour some of the extra praline sauce over each individual cheesecake serving.