Gooey Butter Bread Pudding Recipe

How to make it

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• 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter a 2-quart baking dish, six 4-inch ring molds (see note) and a baking sheet.
• 2. In a large bowl, beat together egg, egg yolk, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla until smooth.
• 3. In a saucepan, slowly bring cream almost to a boil. A tablespoon at a time, whisk hot cream into egg-sugar mixture, whisking the entire time to avoid curdling.
• 4. Stir bread cubes into cream-egg mixture. With your hands, gently press the bread to help it absorb the liquid. Transfer to the baking dish.
• 5. In a small bowl, blend cream cheese and powdered sugar. With your fingers, break off small bits and insert throughout the soaked bread.
• 6. Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes. Increase the oven temperature to 375 degrees, remove the foil, and bake until a golden crust forms on top, 20 to 30 minutes longer. If necessary, run the bread pudding under the broiler to form the crust.
• 7. Let cool to room temperature (don't skip this step; it's important to the texture). When cool, stir gently to blend in cream cheese and distribute the crisp crust.
• 8. Place the ring molds on a baking sheet. With your hands, break off pieces of bread pudding. Working gently and using as little pressure as possible, form a ball, then press it into a ring mold to fill. Repeat with remaining ring molds and bread pudding. Refrigerate until firm (don't skip this step).
• 9. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Bake until bread pudding is golden and crispy, about 15 minutes.
• 10. To serve, immediately unmold ring molds onto individual serving plates, top each bread pudding with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and drizzle with warm caramel sauce.
• Per serving (without ice cream or sauce): 490 calories; 29g fat; 17g saturated fat; 170mg cholesterol; 9g protein; 49g carbohydrate; 24g sugar; 1g fiber; 360mg sodium; 70mg calcium.
• Notes:
• • The baguette cubes can be oven-dried instead of air-dried. Spread the cubes on a baking sheet and place in a 200-degree oven for about 20 minutes or until golden.
• • A ring mold is a metal ring that's open at both ends. They are sold at kitchenware stores. Large cookie cutters can be a good substitute. For a do-it-yourself ring mold, remove both ends from clean 3-ounce tuna cans. For more servings, use smaller ring molds. Reduce the final baking time as necessary.
• • While the ring molds make for an elegant presentation, it's also possible to cook the bread pudding thoroughly in the baking dish, then spoon onto serving plates.