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Chocolate Bread Pudding
A truly decadent dessert. Super rich but not too sweet. Jazz it up with fresh mint leaves and cherries, and serve it with fresh whipped cream. It's
a dessert fit for a White House state dinner.
Note: This recipe will easily serve 8-10 people. If you're planning a dinner for 4, then make a half recipe.
Ingredients:
3 cups milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup Kahlua (coffee liqueur)
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoon almond extract (omit this if you or a guest is allergic to nuts)
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
6 eggs
1 8-ounce chocolate bar or 1 cup chocolate chips (bittersweet or semi-sweet)
1 one-pound loaf French bread
Preheat the oven to 325°.
In a very large bowl, combine the milk, cream, Kahlua, vanilla, and almond extract.
In a separate bowl, mix the sugars, cocoa, and cinnamon until any large clumps are broken up. Combine with the mixture.
In the same bowl you used to mix the sugars, beat the eggs and combine with the mixture.
Either grate the chocolate bar, or grind up the chocolate chips in a Cuisinart. If you don't have a grater or a Cuisinart, then chop the
chocolate with a knife into tiny pieces. Don't get too consumed about getting the chocolate into really small uniform pieces because
they're going to melt during baking. Combine the chocolate with the mixture.
Cut the bread into chunks and add to the mixture. Stir well and let sit about 20 minutes until most of the liquid is
absorbed. If you want to make this ahead, you can cover this and let it set. If you're going to make this way ahead,
be sure to refrigerate it.
Bake the bread pudding in a 9x13 glass baking dish. This is the big baking dish, not the regular 9x11 one. Spray the bottom and sides
of the baking dish before filling it. Then put the baking dish into a large pan and add about an inch of water. I use the large broiler pan
that you usually get when you buy an oven (the one you never know what to do with). Or, so that you don't spill the water carrying the pan
to the oven, put the baking dish in the pan, put the pan in the oven, and then add the water. Bake the bread pudding for
about an hour. It's done when a toothpick inserted into the into the center comes out clean.
When you're ready to serve it, lightly run a knife around the edge of the baking dish. Spoon out generous servings onto dessert plates.
Garnish with fresh mint leaves — I like to stick them in a cluster right on top but off-center. Then I add a few fresh pitted
cherries or strawberries, or if not in season, then add a few maraschino cherries. In a separate bowl, offer fresh whipped cream but
don't put it on top of the hot bread pudding as you serve it because it will melt.
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