Chocolate Bread Pudding

Recently we headed over to our friend Janna's house for dinner. Our contribution to the meal was Chocolate Bread Pudding. I found a great recipe on www.foodnetwork.com by Wolfgang Puck. 

It is delicious and I highly recommend it(Personally I ate 5 of them in 3 days. Not proud of that, but it confirms that this recipe is worth while). 

One of the first things you will need to produce this recipe are individual ramekins. You can purchase them at most stores that sell bake ware. I purchased mine at Crate and Barrel for $1.95/piece. You only need 8 containers for this recipe. 

Then you will  need to set out bread the night before you would like to make this recipe. This allows the bread to dry out so that it will absorb the maximum amount of moisture. I cheated a little bit and took bread that I just bought and sliced into the oven on a low temperature. After about 30 minutes or so the bread was dry enough for me to proceed.

There are two parts to this recipe a custard and the soaking liquid for the bread.

The custard ingredients are as follows:

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate

1 1/2 ounces bitter chocolate

3 whole eggs

3 egg yolks

1/2 cup sugar

2 cups half-and-half

The soaking liquid:

1 1/2 cups half-and half

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa

8 1//2-inch thick slices brioche (I just used a loaf of the oroweat white bread from the grocery store)

Extras for garnish:

Powdered sugar

Unsweetened whipped cream

In a double boiler (or you can use a stainless steel bowl over a pot of boiling water) melt the 2 chocolates. In a large mixing bowl (I used my kitchen aid mixer) beat the whole eggs and the egg yolks. Gradually whisk in the sugar and beat until fluffy. Meanwhile in a small saucepan, bring the half-and-half to a rolling boil. Slowly whisk into the egg mixture. Then, whisk in the melted chocolate. Chill over ice and refrigerate, covered, until needed. (This should be prepared the day before so that the custard will thicken or you can do in the morning if you are making dessert for dinner in the evening.)

Then ready to prepare the pudding, combine the soaking liquid ingredients in a saucepan and heat until the cocoa is completely dissolved. Cut each slice of bread into 2-inch circles (16 circles, I used my biscuit cutters.) Arrange the circles of bread in 1 or 2 dishes with sides large enough to hold the circles in 1 layer. Pour the soaking liquid over and soak well, turning so that the bread absorbs as much liquid as possible. I also made extra bread circles and stacked some of the puddings with 3 layers of bread instead of 2.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter 8 3/4 cup ramekins or custard  cups.

To prepare the pudding, spoon a layer of custard (about 2 ounces into the bottom of each of the 8 cups. Using a slotted spoon, remove a circle of bread and set in the custard. Spoon over a second layer of custard, a second circle of bread and top with a final layer of custard. Repeat this procedure, filling the remaining cups with custard and bread, and then arrange the cups in a large baking pan. Fill the pan with boiling water, halfway up the sides of the cups. Bake 30 minutes. Cool and refrigerate until needed.

Dust the puddings with sifted powdered sugar and pass a bowl of unsweetened whipped cream.

*Also if you like to make your own whipping cream, you can just purchase heavy cream at the grocery store and mix it up with a hand mixer or kitchen aid mixer. Do not over mix as it can easily become butter.*

Enjoy!!!