Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 4 or 5 slices brioche, or good quality white bread (I like Pepperidge Farm), 1/4 inch thick, crusts removed
• 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

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Spread the softened butter on one side of the brioche. Cut each slice in half on the diagonal and then again into quarters.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. Let the bread pudding cool at least 10 minutes.
6. If you have a kitchen blowtorch, sprinkle the sugar over the top, and torch to brown and caramelize. You could run the pudding under the broiler to caramelize if you don’t have a torch, but be careful not to curdle the custard underneath.
7. Serve the bread pudding from the baking dish at the table, using a big spoon.