White Chocolate Bread Pudding

I love bread pudding, it is one of my favorite desserts. I had the best bread pudding at Copeland's Cheesecake Bistro in New Orleans. It was one of the best desserts I have ever eaten. I would describe it as warm, sweet, rich, and creamy. Delicious. I ate every single bite of it and wanted more. I instantly knew I wanted to try to make my own version when I came home. New Orleans gave me so much inspiration in the kitchen. Today I finally made it. I put my own little spin on it as usual, but it was very much like the bread pudding at Copeland's. My dad ate some after dinner tonight, he loved it. He took half of it home. I will probably eat the other half by myself. My husband isnt really a fan of bread pudding. I am fairly certain this dessert will be making its way to my menu for Thanksgiving this year. It is the perfect holiday dessert. Do you like bread pudding? Do you have a favorite bread pudding recipe?

Begin by cutting up a very thick or crusty bread into 1 inch cubes and placing them in a baking dish.
 Challah, Brioche, or another sweet bread works very well. Then drizzle 1 stick of melted butter over the top. Then sprinkle 12 ounces of white chocolate chips over the top and toss.

Next bring 2 cups milk, 2 cups heavy cream, 2/3 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon of vanilla bean paste, and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon to a boil and cook until sugar is dissolved. Whisk together 8 eggs until smooth. Pour the hot milk mixture over the egg mixture very slowly stirring constantly. Do not use a whisk to stir the mixture, it will make extra unneeded foam. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Skim the foam from custard. Strain the custard over the bread and chocolate. 

Let stand for 10 minutes to allow mixture to soak through  the bread. Fill a larger pan with water and then place the  smaller dish inside the water bath, The water should reach 1 inch up side of smaller dish. Be sure not to get any water into the bread pudding. Bake the pudding for 1 hour or until custard is set and bread is golden brown.