Caramelized Bread Pudding With Chocolate & Cinnamon

Total Time: 1 hr 40 mins Preparation Time: 25 mins Cook Time: 1 hr 15 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 8
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 4 -5 slices brioche bread (pepperidge farm works well) or 4 -5 slices good quality bread, 1/4-inch thick, crusts removed (pepperidge farm works well)
• 3 extra-large eggs
• 2 extra-large egg yolks
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 1 1/4 cups whole milk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3/4 cup chopped bittersweet chocolate
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, for caramelizing the top

Recipe

• 1 preheat the oven to 350 degrees f. spread the softened butter on one side of the brioche. cut each slice in half on the diagonal and then again into quarters.
• 2 whisk together the eggs, egg yolks, and brown sugar in a large bowl. add the cream, milk, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt, whisking to combine well.
• 3 sprinkle the chocolate over the bottom of a 9-by-9-inch (or equivalent) baking dish. arrange the brioche, buttered side up, with slices overlapping just slightly, on the chocolate (there should be just a single layer of bread). pour the custard over the bread, pressing down with your fingers to make sure the bread soaks it up. place the bread pudding in a roasting pan, and pour warm water into the pan to come halfway up the sides of the pudding dish. bake about 1 hour and 15 minutes, until the custard is set and the bread puffs up slightly. the pudding will be springy to the touch.
• 4 let the bread pudding cool at least 10 minutes.
• 5 if you have a kitchen blowtorch, sprinkle the sugar over the top, and torch to brown and caramelize. if you don't have a torch, you run the pudding under the broiler to caramelize, but be careful not to curdle the custard underneath. serve the bread pudding from the baking dish at the table, using a big spoon.