Guava and Cheese Bread Pudding

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Butter a 3-quart metal or ceramic baking dish. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar together until smooth. Whisk in the melted butter until combined, then add the vanilla, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg and whisk again, making sure there are no clumps of spices. Whisk in the condensed milk and then the evaporated milk until the custard is smooth.

Add bread cubes to the custard and press with hands to submerge and to ensure every cube is coated in custard. Set aside.

While the bread absorbs the custard, prepare the caramel: In a small saucepan, stir together sugar and water until the mixture resembles wet sand. Heat over medium until the caramel is golden amber, 8 to 10 minutes. (Do not move the pan until the caramel is a very light amber color.) If the sides on the pan are starting to dry out, use a pastry brush dipped in some water to dissolve the crystals. Immediately pour the caramel into the prepared dish, tilting the pan to spread the caramel evenly across the bottom.

Add enough of the soaked bread cubes to cover the bottom of the dish; top evenly with half of the guava paste and cream cheese chunks. Top with half of the remaining soaked bread, the remaining guava paste, and cream cheese chunks, and a final layer of custard-soaked bread. Ladle over additional custard to fully soak bread; discard any remaining liquid in bowl.

Wrap bread pudding in baking dish with foil; set dish into a large rimmed baking sheet or roasting pan. Place in the oven and carefully fill the roasting pan halfway with hot water. Bake until the middle of the bread pudding is set, 1 hour 35 to 1 hour 45 minutes. Remove the dish from the water bath and let cool, covered, on a wire rack to room temperature; refrigerate at least 3 hours (and up to overnight).

To serve, run a warm offset spatula or paring knife along the edge of the dish. Invert the bread pudding onto a serving plate and top with fresh fruit. Cut into slices and serve.