Put the cued bread in a large mixing bowl and pour the milk over it. Lightly cover the bowl and let the bowl stand for at least 1 hour until the milk is mostly absorbed into the bread.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Whisk together the eggs, sugar and vanilla. Fold the mixture into the bread, then add the mashed bananas, spices and raisins and stir until just incorporated.

Pour the mixture into a 9x13 baking dish and bake for around an hour until the top of the bread pudding is golden brown.

While the banana bread pudding is baking, make the caramel sauce. Put a medium-sized saucepan over medium-high heat and add the water. Pour the sugar in and bring the mixture to a boil until the sugar starts to turn golden brown.

Once the sugar is fully dissolved, remove the pan from heat and let stand for a few minutes. Stir in the vanilla and heavy whipping cream, then whisk in the butter or salt. Pour the sauce into sterilized jars if keeping for awhile (up to 1 month) or into a Tupperware container once completely cool.

To serve, pour the caramel sauce over the banana bread pudding just before serving.