Bread Machine (187 page)

With an electric mixer, beat the sugar and eggs until thick and light. Add the extracts. Pour into the milk-bread mixture and stir briefly. Scrape into the baking dish. Dot the top with butter and sprinkle with the almonds, if you are using them.

Cover the pudding with foil that has been sprayed with butter-flavored cooking spray. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the custard is set, but still moist, and the sides are firm. It will look underbaked. Serve warm or at room temperature, plain or with fresh sliced strawberries, a scoop of rum raisin ice cream, whipped cream, or this white chocolate sauce on the side.

White Chocolate Sauce

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cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon Kahlua coffee liqueur

7 ounces white chocolate, roughly chopped

In a small saucepan, scald the cream. Remove from the heat. Add the Kahluaand chocolate and stir until melted. Keep warm in a hot water bath until serving.

VARIATIONS

Prune Bread Pudding

Toss 1 cup halved, pitted prunes with 3 tablespoons ruby port in a small bowl and macerate for 1 hour at room temperature. Gently stir the prunes into the pudding mixture before placing in the baking dish.

Eggnog Bread Pudding Substitute

1 cup heavy cream for 1 cup of the milk. Add
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₂
teaspoon brandy extract
and
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teaspoon rum extract in place of the almond extract. Sprinkle the top of the pudding with freshly grated nutmeg before baking.

Butterscotch Bread Pudding

Substitute light brown sugar for the white sugar. Eliminate the almond extract. Stir 1 cup butterscotch chips into the pudding mixture before placing in the baking dish.

Fresh Fruit Bread Pudding

Place
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to 1 cup of fresh blueberries, chopped fresh pears, chopped fresh apricots, or chopped fresh peaches in the bottom of the greased baking dish. Pour the pudding mixture over the fruit.

Chocolate Bread Pudding

Serves 20

The recipe for this ultra-rich bread pudding is from Greg Topham, executive chef of East Meets West, an upscale catering company in Boston. This is a recipe Greg first learned when he was ten years old, from a Polish woman who came to live in his home. East Meets West makes this chocolate bread pudding, which is gooey rather than eggy, for clients during the winter holidays. Using high-quality chocolate is very important to the integrity of this pudding; Greg uses Valhrona bittersweet and Bensdorp cocoa. This recipe makes a large quantity; it is nice to have a special knockout dessert large enough to serve company or take to a potluck. Serve this pudding warm with vanilla ice cream on the side, although it needs no garnish. You will be able to eat the large, cold squares out of hand when this is day-old.

Three 1
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- to 2-pound loaves day-old brioche, crusts removed and cut into 1-inch cubes (if the loaves are medium-sized, I use 3 loaves, if they are large, 2)

3 pounds bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped

2 cups whole milk

2 cups sugar 10 large eggs

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cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

4 cups cold heavy cream

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cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, diced

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cup granulated or raw sugar, for sprinkling

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

Place the bread cubes on a large baking sheet. Toast until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Combine half of the chocolate and the milk in the top of a double boiler and melt the chocolate over simmering water that does not touch the bottom of the pan. Stir with a whisk. Set the remaining 1
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pounds of chopped chocolate aside.

Butter a 2-gallon ceramic baking dish (Greg uses large ceramic roasting pans available from Crate and Barrel) or two deep 4-quart casseroles. Place the toasted bread cubes in a single layer in the casserole(s).

In the bowl of a heavy duty electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip together the sugar, eggs, cocoa, and vanilla on medium speed until smooth, creamy, and thick. The mixture will coat your finger in a thick layer and form very slowly dissolving ribbons that fall back into the bowl when the whisk is lifted out of the mixture. With a large balloon whisk, stir together the egg mixture, the cream, and the warm chocolate mixture. Pour over the bread cubes, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes to soak. (At this point the pudding can be refrigerated for up to 8 hours before continuing.)

Preheat the oven to 325ºF. Stir the remaining chopped chocolate into the pudding and press down to make sure all the ingredients are soaked with the liquid. Sprinkle the top with the butter. Sprinkle lightly with the sugar.

Cover the pudding with foil that has been sprayed with butter-flavored cooking spray. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, or until the custard is set like a quiche and it wiggles slighly (a knife inserted into the center may not come out clean because of the pools of melted chocolate). Serve warm or at room temperature, or refrigerate and reheat the next day in a 200ºF oven for 20 minutes.