Eight cups of cubed gluten-free bread, slightly stale, and a custard of three eggs with two cups of milk and a cup of cream. An hour and five minutes, most of it hands-off.
The custard makes this an egg dish as much as a bread one, which is why it needs to reach at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit in the middle.
Why This Recipe Works
- Slightly stale bread has room to absorb custard; fresh bread turns to paste instead.
- Fifteen minutes of resting under the custard gets the liquid into the cubes rather than around them.
- Pressing gently rather than stirring keeps the cubes intact, so they are still visible in the finished dish.
- Chocolate chips scattered with the bread rather than on top end up throughout the pudding.
- Ten minutes of rest before saucing lets the custard finish setting, so the caramel sits on top rather than sinking in.
Ingredient Notes
- Slightly stale gluten-free bread
- Eight cups, cubed. Slightly stale is doing real work: dry bread draws the custard in, fresh bread collapses under it.
- Two sugars
- Half a cup of granulated and a quarter cup of brown, in the custard. The brown adds the darker note that sits under the caramel.
- Prepared caramel sauce
- Three quarters of a cup, warmed and spooned over at the end. Like the bread and the chips, it needs checking if gluten has to be avoided.
How to Make It
Oven on, dish buttered
Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and butter a 9-inch square baking dish.
Whisk the custard
Whisk eggs, milk, cream, both sugars, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt until smooth.
Soak for fifteen minutes
Place bread cubes and chocolate chips in the dish. Pour custard over, press gently, and rest 15 minutes so the bread absorbs it.
Bake to 165F
Bake 40 to 45 minutes until puffed, set in the center, and at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit in the middle.
Rest, then caramel
Rest 10 minutes, then spoon warm caramel sauce generously over the top.
Serve warm
Serve warm while the bread cubes and chocolate chips remain visible.
Soak, Set, Sauce
Three phases, and two of them are mostly waiting. The waiting is where this dessert is actually made - fifteen minutes before the oven and ten minutes after it.
Stage 1 of 3
The soak
Steps 1–3 of 6
3 eggs whisked with 2 cups whole milk, 1 cup heavy cream, 1/2 cup granulated and 1/4 cup brown sugar, 2 tsp vanilla, 1 tsp cinnamon and 1/4 tsp salt, poured over 8 cups of slightly stale gluten-free bread cubes and 3/4 cup of chocolate chips in a buttered 9-inch square dish. Pressed gently, then left for 15 minutes. Skipping this leaves dry cubes sitting in set custard rather than a pudding.
- Oven on, dish butteredHeat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and butter a 9-inch square baking dish.
- Whisk the custardWhisk eggs, milk, cream, both sugars, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt until smooth.
- Soak for fifteen minutesPlace bread cubes and chocolate chips in the dish. Pour custard over, press gently, and rest 15 minutes so the bread absorbs it.
Stage 2 of 3
The set
Steps 4–4 of 6
Forty to forty-five minutes at 350F until puffed, set in the centre, and at least 165F in the middle. Two of those three are things you can see; the third needs a thermometer, and it matters because a custard is an egg dish.
- Bake to 165FBake 40 to 45 minutes until puffed, set in the center, and at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit in the middle.
Stage 3 of 3
The sauce
Steps 5–6 of 6
Ten minutes of rest, then 3/4 cup of warm caramel spooned generously over. The rest matters: caramel onto a pudding straight from the oven sinks into a custard that has not finished setting, instead of staying glossy on the surface.
- Rest, then caramelRest 10 minutes, then spoon warm caramel sauce generously over the top.
- Serve warmServe warm while the bread cubes and chocolate chips remain visible.
Success Tips
- Do not skip the fifteen-minute soak — it is the difference between pudding and baked bread cubes.
- Press the cubes down gently rather than stirring them, so they stay whole and visible.
- Check the centre with a thermometer; puffed and set on top can still be loose underneath.
Serving Ideas
Eight servings spooned warm from the white baking dish, the bread cubes still distinct under the glossy caramel with chocolate chips through them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does a dessert need a temperature?
It is a bread-and-egg casserole, so it needs at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit in the middle.
Can I use fresh bread?
The recipe calls for slightly stale. Fresh bread absorbs unevenly and breaks down, and the finished dish is meant to show distinct cubes.
Is caramel sauce gluten-free?
Not necessarily. Check it, along with the bread and the chocolate chips, where gluten avoidance is medically necessary.
