Caramel bread pudding

Preheat the oven to 180 ºC (350 ºF). Butter an ovenproof dish or spray with non-stick spray. Heat the brown sugar in a heavy-based saucepan until melted, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat and add small quantities of the milk while stirring continuously. (The melted sugar will harden into little lumps and stick to the pan.) Return the saucepan to the heat and stir until the lumps have dissolved – this will take a while. Add a little of the caramel sauce to the egg yolks and stir well. Add to the remaining caramel sauce and mix. Add the caramel essence. Arrange the bread triangles in the prepared oven dish and pour the caramel sauce on top. Bake for 30 minutes before reducing the heat to 160 ºC (325 ºF). Dot with apricot jam if desired. Whisk the egg whites lightly, add small quantities of castor sugar at a time and beat until soft peaks are formed. Spoon the meringue on top of the pudding and bake for about 10 minutes or until golden brown on top. Serve lukewarm with custard.
Serves 6.