Instructions: Recipe is from the Garden Cafe in Omaha, Nebraska as published in _Classic Home Desserts_ by Richard Sax. Note that you can halve this recipe and bake in an 8-inch square pan.

1. Bread Pudding: Place the bread cubes in a 13 x 9-inch baking dish; set aside. Heat the milk and cream in a large saucepan until hot.

2. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, brown and white sugars, cinnamon, vanilla and salt. Slowly whisk in the hot milk mixture. Pour the mixture over the bread cubes and let stand for 10 to 20 minutes so that the bread absorbs the liquid. Press the bread cubes into the custard with a spatula once or twice.

3. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 F, with a rack in the center.

4. Bake the pudding until the custard is set but still slightly wobbly in the center, usually about 40 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

5. Caramel Topping: While the pudding is cooling, melt the caramels in a heavy saucepan over low heat, stirring until smooth. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla. While the pudding is still warm, drizzle a random pattern of thin lines of the hot caramel over the surface of the pudding.

(At the Garden Cafe, the pudding is topped with a thick, even coating of caramel; Sax likes it drizzled lightly, but you decide. To make an even coating like the cafes, use about 40 caramels.) Do not touch or disturb the surface of the pudding, or you will tear it. If the caramel in the pan gets too hard as you are working, rewarm it over low heat.

6. To serve, rewarm the pudding in a 325 F oven before serving, to soften the caramel. You can also cut squares of the pudding and warm then in individual ovenproof serving dishes. If you like, drizzle each serving with a little cream.

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