Decadent Chocolate Cherry 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-DRIED CHERRY BREAD PUDDING

Steps:

• Put the dark chocolate chips in a large heatproof bowl. In another large bowl, whisk together the eggs and brown sugar until well combined.
• In a medium saucepan, bring the cream, milk, brandy, orange zest, vanilla seeds, salt, and granulated sugar to a boil; stir until the sugar is dissolved. Pour the hot liquid over the dark chocolate chips and whisk until melted and smooth. While whisking constantly, pour the dark chocolate mixture into the eggs, mixing until combined. Add the bread and toss gently to coat. Transfer the bread mixture to the refrigerator and cool to room temperature. Stir in the chocolate chips and dried cherries. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
• Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Put eight 4-ounce ramekins on a baking sheet and lightly coat them with cooking spray.
• Stir the bread pudding mixture to evenly distribute the chocolate chips and cherries. Divide the mixture among the prepared ramekins. Sprinkle a little Turbinado sugar over the top of each pudding and bake until puffed and set, about 30 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

DARK CHOCOLATE PUDDING

Steps:

• Melt the chocolate in a double boiler over low heat. In a medium saucepan, bring the cream and milk to a bare simmer. In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, vanilla, salt and egg yolks.
• Slowly pour the milk mixture into the egg mixture to temper it, whisking all the while. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over low heat until the mixture coats the back of a spoon, about 4 minutes. Pour in the melted chocolate and whisk until smooth.
• Pour into glasses or custard cups. Refrigerate until chilled and set, about 3 hours. Serve with whipped sour cream, if desired.

CHOCOLATE-CHERRY BREAD PUDDING

Steps:

• Drain the jar of cherries but reserve 1 TB of the cherry juice. Chop the cherries coarsely. The first time I made this I used a food processor and got them too fine. More chunky is definately better.
• In a large bowl, combine 1 TB of cherry juice, eggs and next 4 ingredients and stir will.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Add the bread cubes and let stand for 15 minutes on the counter, stirring occasionally. After 15 minutes, stir in the chocolate chips and cherries.
• Spoon this mixture into a greased 9 inch square pan (I used a bread pan with good results) and bake, uncovered for 50-60 minutes or until set.
• Garnish, if you want to, with whipped cream and maraschino cherries.
• Cook time includes 15 minutes soaking time for french bread cubes.

CHOCOLATE CHERRY BREAD PUDDING

Steps:

• For the pudding: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a medium pot add the cream, milk, liquid from the cherries, maple syrup and salt and bring to a boil.
• In a separate bowl crack and whisk the eggs. In a larger bowl add the dark chocolate.
• Pour the warm liquid into the dark chocolate and whisk until the chocolate has melted. Slowly whisk in the eggs. Mix in the diced baguette and let it sit for 30 minutes.
• Place a cherry into each of eight 4-ounce ramekins, then fill the ramekins with the bread pudding mixture.
• Place ramekins on a baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes.
• For the brandy whipped cream: Whip the cream, brandy and granulated sugar until it holds stiff peaks. Serve the puddings topped with the cream.

CHERRY BREAD PUDDING

Steps:

• In 2-quart saucepan over high heat, heat dried cherries and 3/4 cup water to boiling. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 10 minutes or until cherries are tender.
• Meanwhile, grease shallow 3-quart casserole. Cut bread into 1-inch-thick slices.
• In very large bowl, with wire whisk or fork, mix milk, brown sugar, vanilla extract, cinnamon, egg whites, and eggs until well blended. Drain cherries, adding any liquid to egg mixture. Set cherries aside. Add bread slices to egg mixture; let soak 10 minutes, carefully turning slices occasionally for even soaking.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Arrange enough bread slices in bottom of casserole, in one layer, pushing slices together, to cover bottom. Sprinkle all but 1/4 cup cherries over bread in casserole. Arrange remaining bread, overlapping slices to fit, on top. Pour any egg mixture remaining in bowl over bread in casserole.
• Bake bread pudding 1 hour and 30 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean, covering loosely with foil during last 10 to 15 minutes of baking if top of pudding begins to brown too quickly. Top with remaining cherries. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar if you like. Serve warm. Or, refrigerate to serve cold later.

CHOCOLATE BREAD PUDDING

Steps:

• Combine the cherries and cognac and soak for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight.
• Melt the chocolate in a double boiler over barely simmering water. (Don't let the water touch the bottom of the bowl or the chocolate will get too hot.)
• Remove from heat and let chocolate stand over the warm water until ready to use.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream, sour cream, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla extract.
• Quickly whisk in the melted chocolate.
• If the chocolate does not completely melt, place the bowl back over the hot water and whisk gently until the chocolate is completely incorporated.
• Fold in the bread cubes, cherries, and Cognac; let sit in a warm place until the bread absorbs the custard, 1 to 2 hours.
• (To test, break a bread cube in half; there should be no white showing.).
• Spoon the mixture into the souffle dish(es) (1 8" souflle dish or 6 ramekins).
• Clean the edges well with a damp towel to remove any chocolate drips.
• Preheat oven to 350°F
• Put the dish(es) in a roasting pan.
• Slide the middle rack partially out of the oven and place the pan on the rack.
• Pour boiling water into the pan to a depth of about 1 inch, making sure none of the water comes over the sides.
• Slide rack back into the oven. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the puddings are puffed and set to the touch.
• Remove the dishes from the water and allow to cool for 15-30 minutes.
• Whisk the confectioners' sugar into the crème fraîche or sour cream.
• The puddings should be served warm, so if they have they have cooled too much, cover each pudding with a square of aluminum foil and reheat in a preheated 350°F oven for 6 to 8 minutes.
• To test, stick a small knife into a corner of the center of a pudding for 30 seconds, then remove it and feel the blade. If it's not warm keep the puddings in the oven a little longer.
• Just before serving, put a large dollop of the cream mixture on top and garnish with a sprig of mint.

DECADENT CHOCOLATE BREAD PUDDING

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Place the cream, milk, vanilla seeds and pod, and cinnamon sticks, if using, in a medium saucepan, and bring to a boil. Remove from heat, cover with plastic wrap, and let sit for 30 minutes to infuse flavors.
• Cut the brioche into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Cut slices into quarters, setting aside the rounded top pieces. Fill a 9-by-12-inch gratin dish or a deep oval roasting dish with the quartered pieces.
• Return the milk mixture to a boil, remove from heat, and discard vanilla pod and cinnamon sticks. Add chocolate, and whisk until smooth. Combine egg yolks and sugar in a large bowl, and whisk to combine. Pour chocolate mixture very slowly into egg-yolk mixture, whisking constantly, until fully combined.
• Slowly pour half the chocolate custard over bread, making sure all the bread is soaked. Arrange the reserved bread on top in a decorative pattern, and press firmly so bottom layer of bread absorbs chocolate mixture. Spoon remaining custard over bread until completely covered and all cracks are filled. Place a piece of plastic wrap over the dish; press down to soak bread thoroughly. Remove plastic, wipe edges of the dish with a damp towel, and allow to sit for 30 minutes. Place gratin dish in a larger pan; fill outer pan with hot water halfway up the sides of the gratin dish. Bake until set, about 35 minutes. Cool on a rack for 15 minutes.
• Whisk the creme fraiche until soft peaks form. Serve pudding warm, garnished with creme fraiche and chocolate shavings.

WHITE CHOCOLATE & CHERRY BREAD PUDDING

Steps:

• Generously coat a 9 x 13 baking dish with 2 T.
• butter and set aside.
• Beat eggs with a wire whip.
• Whisk in brown sugar, vanilla and cinnamon until smooth.
• Add cream and half& half, stirring to blend well.
• In another bowl, add the chips and cherries to the cubed bread.
• Pour the liquid mixture over the dry ingredients and fold together.
• Pour the whole mixture into the buttered dish and bake in a preheated, 350 degree oven for one hour.
• Let cool 10-20 minutes before serving.

DECADENT CHOCOLATE CHERRY BREAD PUDDING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350ºF.
• In large bowl, beat eggs; add sweetened condensed milk, cherries, water, butter, and vanilla.
• Stir in bread and dried cherries, moistening completely.
• Turn into buttered 9-inch square baking pan.
• Bake 50 to 55 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool.
• Serve warm with ice cream if desired. Store leftovers covered in refrigerator.