Chocolate Meringue Bread Pudding Food

ULTIMATE CHOCOLATE BREAD PUDDING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a 9-in. springform pan with 1 tablespoon butter. Cube remaining butter; place in a small saucepan. Add chocolate chips and brown sugar. Cook and stir over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat., In a large bowl, whisk eggs, milk, vanilla, espresso powder and salt. Gently stir in bread; let stand until bread is softened, about 15 minutes. Fold in chocolate mixture. Transfer to prepared pan. Bake, uncovered, until a knife inserted in center comes out clean, 45-55 minutes. Cool on a wire rack 15 minutes., Meanwhile, for sauce, heat cream in a small heavy saucepan until bubbles form around sides. In a small bowl, whisk together egg yolk, brown sugar and salt. Whisk a small amount of hot cream into egg mixture; return all to pan, stirring constantly. Cook and stir until mixture is thickened and coats the back of a spoon. Stir in butter. Fold in pecans and coconut. If desired, stir in brandy. Cool., For whipped cream, beat cream until it begins to thicken. Add confectioners' sugar and, if desired, brandy; beat until soft peaks form., Loosen sides of pan with a knife. Carefully run a knife around edge of springform pan to loosen; remove rim from pan. Serve pudding warm with sauce and whipped cream.

CHOCOLATE PUDDING WITH MERINGUE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Butter a 1 quart baking dish or pudding basin.
• Melt chocolate over low heat in small saucepan. Stir in milk and heat through. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
• In a medium bowl, beat eggs. Beat in 3 tablespoons sugar and salt. Beat in chocolate mixture. Pour into prepared dish. Line a roasting pan with a damp kitchen towel. Place baking dish on towel, inside roasting pan, and place roasting pan on oven rack. Fill roasting pan with boiling water to reach halfway up the sides of the baking dish.
• Bake in preheated oven 30 minutes, until set.
• In a clean, dry bowl, beat egg whites until stiff. Beat in 3 tablespoons sugar and cocoa. Spoon meringue over baked pudding and return pudding to oven to brown meringue, 2 to 8 minutes.

CHOCOLATE CROISSANT BREAD PUDDING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Put chocolate croissant chunks in an 8-inch baking dish. In a medium bowl, whisk together milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and eggs. Pour mixture over croissants. Let sit for at least 10 minutes.
• Bake for 40 minutes.

CHOCOLATE AND BUTTERSCOTCH BREAD PUDDING

Steps:

• For the bread pudding: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease the bottom and sides of a deep 13-by-9-inch baking dish with the butter. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the heavy cream, sour cream, maple syrup, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt until smooth. Whisk in the eggs, one by one, until the custard is smooth. Stir in the bread cubes and let soak for at least 10 minutes.
• Pour the custard-bread mixture into the prepared baking dish and bake until golden brown on top and the custard is set, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool completely. Leave the oven on.
• For the meringue: Whisk the egg whites and salt until light and frothy in a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Add the cream of tartar. Slowly add the granulated sugar, a little at a time, whisking until the egg whites have quadrupled in size and are stiff and shiny.
• Finish the bread pudding: When the bread pudding is cool to the touch, stir to break it apart and then stir in the butterscotch and chocolate chips to evenly distribute them. Transfer one-third of the meringue to the bread pudding and fold it in until incorporated. Using the back of a spoon, spread the pudding into an even layer in the baking dish. Pipe the rest of the meringue on top in decorative peaks.
• Bake until golden brown and cooked through, another 30 to 35 minutes.
• For the bourbon sauce: Melt the ice cream in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the bourbon and nutmeg. Pour into a sauce dish and ladle over each serving of bread pudding.

CLASSIC BREAD PUDDING

Steps:

• Put the bread into a baking dish. Combine the milk and salt and pour over the bread. Soak for 15 minutes. Separate the eggs. Combine the yolks, sugar, cinnamon and cloves, vanilla, lemon zest, and juice. Add the optional ingredients of your choice. Mix well. Pour over the soaked bread and use a fork to mix lightly. If you don't want to bother with a meringue topping, whip the egg whites until stiff and fold them into the mix. Set the pan in a larger pan of hot water (this is a kind of custard) and bake in a 350°F oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour. (How big is this thing? How deep is your baking pan? It should be set but not dried out when done.) Take it out to cool. If you want to make a meringue topping, turn the oven to 300°F.
• Whip the egg whites until foamy and add 2 tablespoons of the confectioners' sugar per egg white, continuing to beat. Add a good pinch of cream of tartar, if you have it, and the vanilla and beat until the whites hold stiff peaks. Pile it onto the pudding about 15 minutes before you want to serve it and bake (no need to put it in the water bath this time) until lightly browned.

CHOCOLATE CROISSANT BREAD PUDDING

Steps:

• Spray an 8-inch square baking dish with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.
• In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, half-and-half, sugar, salt, cinnamon and vanilla. Add the croissant pieces and chocolate chunks and toss to coat. Transfer to the prepared baking dish. Press the mixture down into the pan. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour to overnight to allow the liquid to be absorbed.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Bake until golden brown, 40 to 45 minutes. Serve hot with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, if desired.