Once all your bites are beautifully golden and crispy on the outside (they should feel firm to the touch), transfer them to a serving plate. The final, glorious step is the drizzle. Take your cream cheese glaze and drizzle it lavishly over the warm bites. I like to use a spoon or put the glaze in a zip-top bag and snip off a tiny corner for control. The warmth of the bites will slightly melt the glaze, creating a sweet, tangy river of deliciousness in every nook and cranny. Serve them immediately while they’re hot and crispy.
Pro Tips for Best Results
The temperature of your skillet is everything. I tested this on medium-low, medium, and medium-high. Medium is the sweet spot. Too low, and the bites soak up the butter and become greasy. Too high, and the outside burns before the custard inside sets. Look for a steady sizzle when the bread hits the butter.
For maximum cinnamon-sugar flavor and crunch, I use a two-step coating method. After soaking, I roll each cube in a shallow dish with a mix of two tablespoons of sugar and one teaspoon of cinnamon right before they go in the pan. It creates an extra-crispy, caramelized shell that’s absolutely divine. It’s a game-changer.
Don’t waste the leftover custard in the bottom of the bowl! After my last batch of bread cubes goes into the skillet, I pour any remaining custard mixture right over the top of them in the pan. It sets like a little custardy omelet around the bites, creating delicious, crispy-edged custard bits that are my favorite part to sneak.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
My biggest first-time mistake was using fresh, fluffy bread. It absorbed the custard too quickly and completely fell apart when I tried to flip it, creating a cinnamon-flavored scramble in my pan. A day-old, sturdy loaf is your best friend here. If your bread is fresh, cube it and toast it lightly in a 300°F oven for 10 minutes to dry it out first.(See the next page below to continue…)