Nine ingredients and an hour and a half, in a 9x13 dish.
Day-old brioche is specified for a reason. Fresh bread collapses into the custard; slightly stale bread absorbs it and holds its shape.
Why This Recipe Works
- Day-old brioche soaks up custard without turning to mush.
- Ten minutes standing lets the bread absorb rather than float.
- Spooning the cream cheese as one band keeps it visible in the cut square.
- Butter drizzled over the coconut is what toasts it rather than drying it.
- Forty to forty-five minutes sets the custard through to the middle.
Ingredient Notes
- Cubed day-old brioche
- Eight cups. Day-old specifically — fresh brioche is too soft and dissolves into the custard instead of holding its cube.
- Cream cheese with powdered sugar
- Eight ounces with a third of a cup. Beaten smooth and spooned in as one band rather than stirred through the bread.
- Sweetened shredded coconut
- One cup, scattered heavily. It toasts darker than the pudding beneath, which is what the finished squares show.
- Melted butter
- Two tablespoons, drizzled over the coconut. Without it the coconut dries and pales rather than toasting.
How to Make It
Oven to 350°F, a 9x13 dish buttered
Heat oven to 350°F and butter a 9x13-inch baking dish.
Custard whisked, tossed with the brioche, left ten minutes
Whisk eggs, milk, sugar, and vanilla; toss with brioche and let stand 10 minutes.
Cream cheese beaten smooth with powdered sugar
Beat cream cheese with powdered sugar until smooth.
Half the bread in, the cream cheese as a distinct band, then the rest
Spread half the soaked bread in the dish, spoon the cream-cheese mixture in a distinct band, then cover with remaining bread.
Coconut scattered heavily, melted butter drizzled over
Scatter shredded coconut heavily over the top and drizzle with melted butter.
Baked until the custard is set and the coconut deeply toasted
Bake 40 to 45 minutes until the custard is fully set and the coconut is deeply toasted; cool slightly before cutting into thick squares.
Layered, Not Mixed - and the Coconut Is a Separate Job
There are three components here and each one is kept apart from the others until the dish goes into the oven. The soaked bread, the sweetened cream cheese and the coconut all end up in distinct positions in the finished square, and the only way they get there is by not being stirred together.
Stage 1 of 5
The bread - DAY-OLD, and it STANDS for 10 minutes
Steps 2–2 of 6
8 cups of CUBED DAY-OLD BRIOCHE tossed with a custard of 4 EGGS, 2 cups WHOLE MILK, 1/2 cup SUGAR and 1 tsp VANILLA, then LEFT TO STAND 10 MINUTES. Day-old is not a way of using up bread - it is structural. Fresh brioche is already saturated with its own moisture and simply disintegrates when custard is added; slightly dry bread has room to absorb and keeps its cube shape through the bake. Ten minutes standing is what lets absorption happen rather than the bread floating in liquid.
- Custard whisked, tossed with the brioche, left ten minutesWhisk eggs, milk, sugar, and vanilla; toss with brioche and let stand 10 minutes.
Stage 2 of 5
The cream cheese - beaten SMOOTH, and kept separate
Steps 3–3 of 6
8 oz beaten with 1/3 cup POWDERED SUGAR UNTIL SMOOTH. Smooth matters because this is going in as a visible layer: lumps of unbeaten cream cheese show as white nodules in the cut face rather than as a clean band. It is mixed in its own bowl and does not meet the bread until the dish is assembled.
- Cream cheese beaten smooth with powdered sugarBeat cream cheese with powdered sugar until smooth.
Stage 3 of 5
The layering - HALF, then a BAND, then the rest
Steps 4–4 of 6
HALF THE SOAKED BREAD spread in the dish, the cream-cheese mixture SPOONED IN A DISTINCT BAND, then the REMAINING BREAD over it. This is the key instruction - keep the cream-cheese element as a visible band, NOT MIXED THROUGHOUT. Spoon it in dollops and join them up gently rather than spreading it hard, which would push it down into the bread below and lose the line.
- Half the bread in, the cream cheese as a distinct band, then the restSpread half the soaked bread in the dish, spoon the cream-cheese mixture in a distinct band, then cover with remaining bread.
Stage 4 of 5
The coconut - HEAVILY scattered, and BUTTERED
Steps 5–5 of 6
1 cup of SWEETENED SHREDDED COCONUT SCATTERED HEAVILY, then 2 tbsp of MELTED BUTTER DRIZZLED over it. The butter is doing the work that turns coconut from dry to toasted: fat is what carries heat into those thin shreds and browns them, where dry coconut in an oven simply dehydrates and stays pale. Heavily is the word - the photograph shows a real coconut crust rather than a dusting.
- Coconut scattered heavily, melted butter drizzled overScatter shredded coconut heavily over the top and drizzle with melted butter.
Stage 5 of 5
40 to 45 minutes, to a SET custard and DEEP toast
Steps 6–6 of 6
Two endpoints at once - one for safety, one for the look: THE CUSTARD FULLY SET - an egg-and-milk custard must be cooked through, and the centre of a 9x13 is the last part to get there - and THE COCONUT DEEPLY TOASTED, darker than the pudding beneath it. Then COOLED SLIGHTLY BEFORE CUTTING INTO THICK SQUARES, because a hot bread pudding tears rather than slices. Nothing goes on top: NO SAUCE, NO GLAZE, NO FRUIT. Leftovers carry a cream-cheese layer and belong at 40°F OR BELOW.
- Baked until the custard is set and the coconut deeply toastedBake 40 to 45 minutes until the custard is fully set and the coconut is deeply toasted; cool slightly before cutting into thick squares.
Success Tips
- Use bread that is genuinely a day old; fresh brioche turns to paste.
- Spoon the cream cheese in dollops and join them rather than spreading hard.
- Check the middle is set — the edges finish well before the centre does.
Serving Ideas
Twelve thick squares with soft custardy pale interiors and deeply browned craggy tops under heavily toasted coconut, each showing a pale cream band through its lower half.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should the cream cheese be stirred through?
No. It goes in as one distinct band between two layers of soaked bread, which is what makes it visible in the side of every cut square.
Does it have to be day-old brioche?
It should be. Fresh bread has no structure left once it absorbs custard, and the pudding collapses instead of setting into cuttable squares.
How are leftovers stored?
In the fridge at 40 degrees Fahrenheit or below. There is a cream-cheese layer running through it as well as an egg custard.
