Coconut Bread Pudding

I have a serious weakness for coconut in any form. I modified a very basic bread pudding recipe to satisfy my coconut craving. I must say, this is awesome. Beware, bread pudding is not an exact science and you must use some judgment.

1 loaf sliced white bread (not as airy as Wonder bread, but nothing too dense either -- I use sliced bread from the in-house bakery at my local Safeway)
1/2 cup golden raisins (optional)
1 cup sugar
3 eggs, beaten
1 can (14 oz) coconut milk (generally found in the Asian cooking section of the supermarket -- don't confuse this with coconut cream, which is sweetened and much too thick for this recipe)
1/4 cup regular milk
2 TBSP vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
pinch salt
1/2 cup shredded coconut (I use the unsweetened type found in the health food section, but you could use the sweetened kind instead)

Place raisins in a bowl of hot water. let soak for 20 minutes. Drain
Combine sugar, eggs, milks, vanilla, cinnamon, salt, coconut and raisins.
Cut bread into cubes. Stir the bread gently into the sugar/egg/milk mixture. Here's where the judgment comes in. If it looks too dry, you can beat another egg with 1/2 cup milk and stir it in. It's really hard to describe how moist this should be. Last time I made it, it was just a bit too dry and I think it was because the loaf of bread I used was larger than normal.

Bake at 350 for about 40 minutes. You can add some more shredded coconut on top for the last few minutes -- just long enough for it to brown a bit. It will look very pretty :)

I usually serve this at room temperature with whipped cream. But my friend Patty/Pricilla (she has 2 personalities) has recently shared a recipe for caramel sauce that I think would be awesome on this bread pudding.