Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Tis' the season for Chocolate Bread Puddin'

So far, this hasn't failed me yet. It's been a hit but not sure if it's the bread pudding or the Rum Toffee Sauce that comes with it! People have had it without extra sauce and have loved it so I would have to say both are equally good. It's definitely RICH if you know what I mean. Of course, it's because it's a PAULA DEEN recipe. When people hear "Paula Deen" I either hear, "oh yum!" or "uh oh". Since Paula's middle name is BUTTER you can see why that's the responses I get. If you want to spice up your Holidays with a little Rum or a little BUTTAH, just try this recipe out. I'm sure it won't dissappoint.

*some notes:
-I'd heat the cream to warm it up a bit so that when it comes time to add the melted butter to the milk&cream mixture, your butter doesn't sieze up. There's a point in the recipe where you add the milk&cream mixture to the bread cubes and let sit for 15 minutes. If your butter is solidified in the mixture when you add it to the bread cubes, the bread won't absorb the butter. Of course, the butter will melt during the baking process but it may make for a greasier looking bread pudding in the end since some of the butter may just pool around the bread instead of getting absorbed during baking.
If you warm your cream, make sure to add only a little of the warm cream mixture to your beaten eggs&sugar at first to slowly warm the egg mixture else you'll scramble/curdle your eggs. (look up tempering)
-I also have substituted bittersweet chocolate for semisweet chocolate in the recipe for a crowd that liked dark chocolate and it went over well.
-If you like bread pudding with a more dense texture, make it the night before. When you make it the night before, make slits in the bread pudding right when it come out of the oven and pour about a cup of the Rum Toffee sauce over the pudding. Let it cool and then refrigerate. Heat before serving the next day.