Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Chocolate Bread Pudding -- Tuesdays with Dorie


A huge thank you to Lauren of Upper East Side Chronicle, she selected Four Star Chocolate Bread Pudding for this week's TWD treat. I have to admit that this was a recipe that caught my eye on my first flip through of Dorie's book, before I had any idea who or what Tuesdays with Dorie was, and had no idea about the gorgeous food blogs and fun bake along events that live on the internet. Why did this catch my eye? Am I a huge chocolate fan? Nah, I like chocolate but it's not my favorite. Am I a huge bread pudding fan? Nope. Don't really like anything custardy or eggy. I don't know. I think it was the photo in the book, or maybe that when I read through the ingredients Dorie suggest Challah -- which is probably my favorite bread, or maybe that my mom has always loved bread pudding and it reminded me of her in a warm homey sort of way. And even though it really caught my eye, I doubt I would have ever actually made it, just because it's not really my style, and that would have been a shame, because this is one amazing dessert!

Challah is "my bread," I've always loved it, and love making it. It's kind of like my signature dish, people are always excited to have "my bread" when I am hosting a dinner or party. And as soon as dinner starts, people start claiming any of the loaf that might be left over. It's fun, I love when people enjoy what I make. Here are a couple challah making photos...


So I was happy to make a giant Challah loaf to turn into this bread pudding, this was my second challah this week!


I read on the TWD site that maybe there was a lot of custard, so after halving custard part of the recipe, I upped the bread a little (6 ounces would be called for in a half recipe, I used 9 ounces of bread).


For the custard I used skim milk instead of whole (since that's what we keep in the fridge), but kept the cream, and as for the eggs, the I used 1 whole egg and 2 yolks, one half of the recipe as written except for an extra half egg (which I didn't even bother with, I thought I would appreciate a touch less egg in the finished product). I used golden raisins and semisweet chocolate, baked in an 8 by 8 glass dish for 40 minutes. Yum!

The photo above is before baking.

Even if this wasn't the prettiest dessert and was hard for me to photograph, as delicious as it was, it was totally worth it :)

23 comments:

Cristine said...

Beautiful challah!!! Your pudding looks great, too!

NKP said...

I love that you are known for your challah! What a great thing to be known for.
Looks great Andrea!

Megan said...

Wow - do you offer lessons on challah braiding? Because seriously, that's amazing.

Mary Ann said...

I think it looks so good. I am so glad that you loved it. This was one of the first photos I noticed in the book too.

Michele said...

Wow! You made your own challah! Looks delicious, as does your bread pudding.

Amanda said...

Tht challah is gorgeous! 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!

Lauren said...

awesome challah! will you teach me?

Jessica said...

Your challah is gorgeous, I can see why it's "your" bread. I agree that the pudding isn't the prettiest dessert but it's so yummy that it makes up for its lack of beauty.

Michelle said...

I love making Challah and yours is perfectly wonderful!

Great job on the Bread Pudding!

chocolatechic said...

Your challah looks wonderful!

I have never made it before.

Anonymous said...

oh... I so want to try my hand at challah. I'm just so scared!

~Cat

Peggy said...

I'm in awe of anyone who can make their own challah bread for the bread pudding! Great job.

Anonymous said...

I think your bread pudding looks wonderful. Homemade challah is the best!

Flourchild said...

Yum theres that good looking yummy bread again. What a great idea to use that pretty bread for your pudding. Nice work! I think your pudding looks very good.
Im sorry I had to miss this week. I hate being this busy but I know the next two months will be this way. As soon as May is over it's time to relax some! CASA is going well and it is a big blessing in my life. It's the perfect season of my life to do it. Your right to wait until the kids get older!

Anonymous said...

Your challah looks lovely, and how nice to be able to use it in a great dessert!

Nancy/n.o.e said...

I can totally see why you are famous for challah - so gorgeous! It's heartwarming to read how much you loved this dessert; it's comforting and warm and, well, when you start with the world's best challah, how can it be bad, right?
Nancy

margot said...

Wow, what a beautiful loaf of challah; I'm with the others who want a challah-making lesson! I'm glad you liked the bread pudding, too.

Maria said...

Wow, you did a fantastic job!!

Unknown said...

Your challah and your bread pudding look terrific! You're right - this wasn't a pretty dessert but it was so delicious!

Elyse said...

I'm so glad you loved this dessert! I think it totally looks amazing. I'm a huge challah fan, too!! Great job!

AmyRuth said...

OMG I would so eat you CBP or your challah. I can see why its so coveted. Beautiful! I think this baking group definitely has a large group of "custard phobes" and so I think they freak a little. I actually enjoyed having the custard/bread mix in my bites of CBP. Its part of "the pudding." duh? he he
Beautiful!
AmyRuth
PS Isn't it so comforting and loving to be known for something your make i.e. your challah?

TeaLady said...

Your challah is beautiful. I love making it, but it never comes out look like THAT!!! And your bread pudding looks great....

alex said...

wow.. i love those breads.. it looks like a golden breads.. nice bake..

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