Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Four-Star Chocolate Bread Pudding (TWD)

This week's Tuesdays With Dorie recipe, Four Star Bread Pudding, is one of the more un-photogenic desserts that I've made (I hesitate to tell you what I think this really looks like). Still, don't judge a book by it's cover, as this dessert tastes WAY better than it looks.
This recipe takes the traditional bread pudding and elevates the richness (and deliciousness) with the addition of bittersweet chocolate to the rich custard mix.
I downsized and made 1/3 of the recipe recipe, which yielded enough for 3 individual ramekins. I used Trader Joe's Cinnamon Swirl Bread (if you haven't tried this, it is AMAZING for french toast or plain ole cinnamon toast) and tossed in a small handful of dried tart cherries. Going with the cherry theme, I added 1 tbsp of kirsch to the custard mixture. Cherries and chocolate - you can't go wrong with that combination.
With the individual ramekins, it only required 20 minutes in the oven in a hot water bath for the custard to set. Once the individual puddings are allowed to rest and cool slightly, I poured creme anglaise on top and let the creamy goodness seep into the still warm pudding. At this point, I'm at the caloric point of no return with all of the cream, eggs and sugar, so a little more fat from the creme anglaise won't hurt, would it?
If you're seriously jonesin' for chocolate, this dessert should satisfy that craving. I thought the pudding had a better consistency when eaten warm (at room temp, the pudding had a funky rubbery texture). My favorite part of the dessert was the dried cherries, as the tartness helped to balance out the richness of the dessert.
Thanks to Lauren of Upper East Side Chronicle for selecting this ultimate comfort food. For the recipe, please visit Lauren's blog or you can find it at Leite's Culinaria. To feast your eyes on more bread puddings, make sure to check out the TWD blogroll.

31 comments:

Amanda said...

I am a fan on vanilla custard bread pudding, but I really liked this one too. It was even better drizzled with chocolate sauce or cream anglaise!

grace said...

LOVE the sequence of shots here, linda!! i grew more and more voraciously hungry with each one. and come on--you used cinnamon bread? that's just not fair. :)

Isabelle Lambert said...

Wow Linda ! tes ramequins sont tellement mignons ! tes photos sont vraiment géniales :)

farah said...

Wow, that looks great! I love that you used ramekins for this. Glad you enjoyed it, i did too :)

chocolatechic said...

Your pudding looks fabulous!

Michelle said...

Love your blue dishes...so cute.

Great job!

Steph said...

Gorgeous photos!! You make bread pudding look amazing.

Ingrid_3Bs said...

I thought you did a great job on the photos!! As usual! :)

The kiddos and I are big fans of bread pudding so, I'll definitely keep this recipe in mind when I've a baguette going stale.

Btw, thanks for visiting my blog! :)
~ingrid

Sara said...

I love your cute little ramekins! I also agree that this is not the most photogenic dessert, but yours are definitely some of the better pictures I have seen.

Chris said...

I agree - this one was hard to make attractive in photos! Yours look great though!

And I also admit to really liking it straight out of the fridge.

vibi said...

Loooove that string of pictures! WOW.

And the idea of baking the pudding in big soup/chocolate mugs makes it look just as it should: rustic!

Very, very nice, Linda!

The Food Librarian said...

This is my favorite post! Did your husband help pour the creme or did you use a timer on the tripod?! :) You took a very unphotogenic dessert and turned it into a masterpiece. And those little ramekins?! How cute!!

Beryl said...

Your photos are amazing! How do your pour creme anglais and take great in focus shots at the same time?

Kimberly Johnson said...

I love the blue ramekins! Your bread pudding looks great!

Anonymous said...

Oh wow. You can never go wrong with cherries and chocolate. Looks wonderful. Creme anglais on top of that, amazing.

Anonymous said...

Great photos and I love your blue dish!

Sara said...

Wow, this looks incredible! Gorgeous photos. :)

Megan said...

Cinnamon bread was an excellent choice - and I love the action shot of the creme anglaise.

I loved this dessert and can't wait to make it again.

Anonymous said...

I think your bread pudding looks wonderful. Your additions (I mean cherries and kirsch, YUM!) sound great.

Engineer Baker said...

Chocolate, cherries, kirsch, and those adorable ramekins - so many things to love!

Carol Peterman/TableFare said...

Your bread pudding looks delicious and what cute ramekins. The thought of cinnamon swirl bread and crème anglaise just makes me swoon!

Unknown said...

You managed to make this pudding look delicious and that was not an easy task :) Great job!

Jaime and Jen DISH said...

Wowza, you made bread pudding look SEXY! And delish!



This looks wonderful!! Bravo!

Nice to meet you!

Jenifer
Fellow Food Blogger

Pamela said...

Now that looks wonderful!

betty geek said...

WOWsers. Drool. Drool.

steph- whisk/spoon said...

oh my gosh--so good! and so cute in those little blue ceramics! i must try that TJs bread...

Michele said...

Wow! Looks great, and such gorgeous photos!

Ivy said...

WOW! You did and amazing job, this pudding looks soooo great!

TeaLady said...

Your pudding is very picturesque. And with the creme anglais. Perfect.

Liz said...

Holy shmoley! I want to dive into that pool of creme anglaise in the pictures! Your version with the cinnamon bread and the cherries sounds amazing, and you make me want to try this recipe all over again. YUM.

Mermaid Sews said...

I am with you on the photogenic nature of this dessert, didn't do it justice. Your photos look great though. You are a great photographer, and love the labels on some of them, I might start trying to do that, love the way it looks.

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