Chef Patricio Sandoval's pumpkin bread pudding

Patricio Sandoval, executive chef at Mercadito, an upscale Mexican restaurant in River North, adapted this recipe from his grandmother's bread pudding, or budin de calabaza. It's a great way to get rid of bread that's no longer fit for sandwiches -- the older and drier, the better!

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Ingredients

8 large eggs.
3 ½ cups whole milk
2 cups granulated sugar
1 ½ cups whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup pumpkin puree
1-pound of bolillo bread, cut 1- inch cubes
1 cup black raisins

Mezcal sauce

1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream
3 ounces granulated sugar
1 ½ ounces mezcal

Directions

Butter 13x9x2 inch glass baking dish. Whisk eggs in large bowl to blend. Add milk, sugar, cream, vanilla, and pumpkin; whisk to blend well
Stir in bread and raisins.
Pour mixture into prepared baking dish. Cover and refrigerate 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake pudding uncovered until puffed and golden, about 75 minutes. Cool slightly (pudding will fall). Serve warm with mezcal sauce (directions below).
To make the mezcal sauce, simply combine all ingredients and whisk until whipped well.