Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and prepare a baking sheet. Cut French bread into cubes and place on the sheet. Bake for 5-10 minutes to dry out.

In a large skillet, melt 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. Add diced pears and sauté for 3-4 minutes until softened. Sprinkle with brown sugar, brandy, and ground cardamom. Cook until syrupy.

In a mixing bowl, whisk eggs until smooth. Add milk, heavy whipping cream, sugar, ground cardamom, and kosher salt, mixing well. Incorporate reserved pear syrup.

Layer half of the dried bread cubes in a baking dish, followed by half of the sautéed pears. Repeat the layers with remaining bread and pears.

Pour the custard mixture over the layers, pressing down gently to ensure all bread is submerged.

Sprinkle turbinado sugar evenly on top. Bake for 40-45 minutes until golden brown and a knife inserted comes out clean.

For the caramel sauce, heat heavy whipping cream with cardamom pods. In another saucepan, combine sugar and water, boiling until amber in color.

Stir in butter, infused cream, orange juice, zest, salt, and cardamom to the caramel. Allow cooling before drizzling over the pudding.

Serve warm with orange caramel sauce drizzled on top, optionally paired with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.