Four Star Chocolate Bread Pudding
When it comes to making bread pudding, I’ve always used any leftover bread I had on hand. French. Italian. A couple of stale doughnuts. Unfortunately, that didn’t work for me with this week’s Tuesdays with Dorie pick: Four Star Chocolate Bread Pudding. The recipe is straightforward enough – soak a tray of dried bread chunks in chocolate custard, and bake it in a water bath – but I substituted leftover French bread for Dorie’s suggested challah or brioche and lived to regret it. I ended up with a very bready bread pudding that had a really weak chocolate flavor, probably because the bread I used lacked the sweet, buttery richness that would have accompanied a nice hunk of brioche.
For the recipe, visit Lauren of Upper East Side Chronicle, or pick up a copy of Dorie Greenspan’s “Baking: From My Home to Yours.”
It sure looks delicious. Do you remember eating any of it?
It sure looks tasty, though!
I'm gonna have to make a sauce for mine.
I used French bread and also regretted it. I wish I would have thought of a booze sauce to save it!
Bourbon sauce – that's what was missing! I thought it just needed cinnamon.
I used french bread and thought it was still yummy. I halved mine and might have used less bread than the recipe called for tho. Sorry it didn't work out!
I haven't made mine yet, but French bread was what I bought because it was the only white bread Panerra had left. I'll stop at the Fresh Market on my way home and find something else. I really did not want to buy that loaf last night, but I felt pushed into it. I don't buy much bread just for myself, so I rarely have anything other than a loaf of wheat bread for an occasional sandwich in the house. I wasn't about to try to make the pudding with that. Hopefully Fresh Market will come through. They didn't have Challah the other day either, but that was just before they closed. If I have to, I'll buy croissants.
i don't care if it's gross, it looks like it should be the world's most perfect food. Good Lord, make another and bring your knocked up sister some. With a peanut butter sauce, tho instead of the brandy. (Heartburn you know… and it might send me on a bender)
Oh now see … that's where I went wrong. Not enough booze! :)
Nice save with the booze. But really- there's no substitute for challah in a bread pudding. Unless of course, you use croissants.
Oh, yes. Sauce with a little (or a lot) of booze in it will cure many culinary troubles. :)
I'm not a huge bread pudding fan but I can say that the ones I have liked have always been made with a rich eggy bread base.
Rebecca, I've just found your blog and just want to say how inspiring I've found your story :) I love the name of your blog too!
Interesting – I used Challah and was wondering what it would be like using a denser bread. And challah or french bread, I think it could have benefited with a boozy sauce over the top.
Looks great!
Oh that stinks. I'm not a soggy bread person anyway. I'll take the bourbon sauce though!
Great save! Booze fixes everything : )
Ha-ha-ha! I'll keep that tip in mind! I'm sure it will also help me get the kiddos get to bed easier! :) Niiiiiiiice!
~ingrid
It looks delicious… too bad it didn't turn out to your liking. :)
YUM. Looks great. Can you believe I still haven't tried challah or brioche? Although I'm thinking it's similar to the Mennonite paska bread we have at Easter…
With all of my desserts that need saving at the end, I might find myself at the receiving end of an intervention if I take your advice too literally – but I think it is brilliant advice. Nice save! And thanks for your "something white in the picture" advice — my pictures still weren't great (simply because I am just not a great photographer) but they were way better than they would have been without the ice cream!
Looks so good, and I don't even like bread pudding. I'm glad to see your new posts.
Booze is always the answer! Wait, no, that sounds just wrong.
I ended up using crescent rolls and didn't even have stale ones. Luckily it came out anyway.
Your bread pudding looks fantastic. Booze saves the day! I think drinking it might help too…
You could have kept it a secret. That's the neat thing about blogs. No one really know how it tastes. he he but you. Anyway, yep booze will camo a multitude of sins. i loved the buttery flavor of the challah. Hope you do to the next time….. if there is one. Thanks for the great "save" info.
AmyRuth
Booze, ice cream, and chocolate sauce/whipped cream…well, I would say that would definitely take care of most "no shows" in the tasting department of a failed dessert. I am not sure which order to put them in…. It certainly looks very good in the photo.
Too funny; booze solves the dilemma! And now, I'm going to make bourbon sauce.
Yeah, we think it's totally possible to make something iffy taste better. Fresh whipped cream does an awesome job, but booze sauce is better. Much better.
Hahaha – I'm totally there. Booze + ice cream would just take it over the top :)
Excellent problem-solving on your part. :-)
It looks delicious!
Hahaha, you crack me up. Booze is a solution to so many of life's problems :) Hope that the alcohol spruced up the bread pudding for you!
well, it looks great. substitutions gone wrong are so frustrating, good thing booze can save the day.
Excellent strategy!
I am so glad I didn't use French bread. Sorry it didn't work out. But all the toppings look fantastic.
hooray for booze–the solver of many problems!