Chocolate Bread Pudding

My latest creation from the cookbook Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, I decided to tackle her Four Star Chocolate Bread Pudding.  I am a huge fan of bread pudding, and with chocolate added to the mix...I can't resist!  This was the perfect recipe to try next as I was invited up to my sister's lake house in New Hampshire this past Saturday for a night with the girls and needed to bring a portable dessert item to share.  Enter Dorie and her Four Star Chocolate Bread Pudding.

It is important to use stale bread rather than fresh.  It keeps the pudding from getting too mushy.  In making this is is also important to make sure to soak the bread in the custard mixture for at least 30 minutes.  If you soak it for less than that you run the risk of the custard not soaking into the bread entirely.  You really need a good soaking to get the best texture for your pudding.

12 ounces bread (brioche, challah, or white), preferably stale
1/2 cup moist, plump raisins (dark or golden) or dried cherries (optional)
3 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
3 large eggs
4 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

1. Have a 9-by-13-inch baking pan at hand (a Pyrex pan is perfect here), as well as a roasting pan big enough to hold the baking pan in hot water. Line the roasting pan with a double thickness of paper towels.

2. Cut the bread into 1-inch cubes. If the bread is stale, put it and the raisins or cherries, if you are using them, into the baking pan. If it is not stale, spread it out on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat and bake in a 350°F (175°C) oven to “stale” it for 10 minutes, then toss into the pan (with the fruit).

3. Bring the milk and cream just to a boil.

4. Fill a teakettle with water and put it on to boil; when the water boils, turn off the heat. Meanwhile, whisk the eggs, yolks, and sugar together in a bowl. Still whisking, slowly drizzle in about one quarter of the hot milk mixture — this will temper, or warm, the eggs so they don’t curdle. Whisking all the while, slowly pour in the rest of the hot milk. Add the chocolate and whisk it in gently until it is melted and the custard is smooth. Rap the bowl against the counter to pop any bubbles that might have formed, then pour the custard over the bread and press the bread gently with the back of a spoon to help cover it with liquid. Leave the pan on the counter, giving the bread the back-of-the-spoon treatment now and then, for 30 minutes.

5. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).

6. Put the baking dish holding the unbaked pudding into the roasting pan, and then slide the pan setup into the oven and very carefully pour enough hot water into the roasting pan to come halfway up the sides of the pudding pan. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until the pudding is uniformly puffed, the top is dull and dry and a thin knife inserted deep into the center comes out clean. Transfer the baking pan to a rack and cool to room temperature.

7. You could serve this pudding warm, but it is better at cool room temperature or even chilled — it also cuts better when it is cold. Serve the pudding simply with a dusting of confectioners’ sugar or less simply with vanilla (or rum or Grand Marnier or brandy) crème anglaise, chocolate sauce, or whipped cream, or crème fraîche.