Tuesdays with Dorie #3: Lauren of Upper East Side Chronicle selected Four Star Chocolate Bread Pudding, pages 410 and 411.
This is the first TWD recipe that I’ve altered significantly. I figured I wanted to make the first two exactly as they are in the book to see how the recipes “work” for me before I started making changes. I also think it’s hard to say honestly if I like or dislike a recipe if I’m not following the directions given, so I really want to keep “tweaking” to a minimum – at least the first time around.
However, I also realized that my jeans are getting a little snug and I attribute a good deal of that to the volume of sweet stuff I’ve started eating in the last 3 weeks. Not good. So for my first TWD change, I cut this recipe in half. It still made 4 large ramekins of bread pudding – more than enough for 2 people to enjoy for several days.
The 2nd change I made was to soak the raisins in kirsch for about an hour – since the recipe called for plump, moist raisins. Besides, I thought the kirsch would be a nice touch with the chocolate.
I made this with challah bread I bought at our local Publix. They had some on sale last week, which was perfect timing. I cut 6 oz of bread into 1″ cubes and let it sit in a bowl on the counter for about 4 days to get nice and stale. I added the raisins to the chunks of bread …
… and soaked the bread and custard in my pie plate for the 30 mins, since I was going to move the mixture to ramekins to bake.
Into the ramekins and then into the oven.
And out to cool.
Finally, plated and served with a drizzle of cream anglaise.
I have to admit honestly that I was not terribly fond of the final product. I’m shocked to say so – after all bread pudding and chocolate? What’s not to like? But it turns out that I’m a purist and I don’t want chocolate in my bread pudding. I also definitely don’t like my bread pudding served cold. It should be warm, chock-a-block with raisins, and dripping with a rich bourbon vanilla cream. I guess years of having really good bread pudding in New Orleans has spoiled me.
That said, I think this recipe is a nice one and would work well for me with some tweaks. What I’ll do differently next time: First thing is to eliminate the chocolate and add more raisins (soaked in the same kirsch or even in whiskey or bourbon). I’ll cut the bread in smaller chunks so that it can be made in smaller (4-oz) ramekins (8 of them). And finally, I’ll top it with a whiskey or bourbon sauce instead of plain cream anglaise.
Finally the Nutritional Info: (4 servings from 1/2 recipe) Calories: 410. Fat: 15.7g. Sodium: 390mg. Carbs: 47g. Fiber: 2.1g. Protein: 12.5g. (courtesy Calorie Count Recipe Analyser)
The recipe is available in Baking: From My Home to Yours
Enjoy!
Chris
April 21st, 2009
Yes – soak the fruit in kirsch. That is exactly what I was thinking! I may have actually added the fruit if it was booze laden (but laziness prevailed).
I think I totally agree with your assessment of this dish. And I wish I had been spoiled by New Orleans!
Kayte
April 21st, 2009
I’m like you…I usually stick to the recipe as much as possible the first go around so I can see if it really is an outstanding recipe and I figure Dorie knows what she is doing as she is where she is and all. That said, on the second go around, I always steal ideas from the other TWD bloggers, so I love it when they all improvise! LOL! Yours looks so nice in those ramekins and so elegant on that plate…too bad it didn’t hit you where you thought it would, but with a little tweaking…I bet you can get it where you want it. It looks lovely. LOL on the snug jeans…the minis are a great way to go!
audrey
April 21st, 2009
Kara, it looks great! I can’t wrap my arms around the fruit and chocolate thing, but with kirsch…..oooh. Although I enjoyed this well enough…it was chocolate, after all!…it’s not going to be high on my list of chocolate delivery systems! And I agree 100% on the warm. Eating it cold is like eating cold pizza….fun but not necessarily good! I’m glad you were able to join TWD…it’s a great group.
Audrey
Amy
April 21st, 2009
I make a bread pudding recipe with lots of raisins and a bourbon sauce, Once you’ve had it that way, it’s hard to switch gears. But yours looks great with the creme anglaise!
Jill
April 21st, 2009
I wasn’t a big fan of this either, but raisins soaked in kirsch sound really good!
Amber Marie
April 21st, 2009
I’ve also noticed a bit of extras hanging about thanks to all this Dorie baking goodness.
I wasn’t too crazy about this either, and the whole time I had New Orleans bread puddings in my mind!
fit chick
April 22nd, 2009
The chocolate didn’t do it for me either!!! I prefer a more traditional bread pudding. At least you tried; we can’t like them all.
Michelle from Baken
April 22nd, 2009
Too bad you didn’t love your bread pudding. Your photos make it look irresistable.
Sugar B
April 22nd, 2009
Kara, your pics look awesome, even though you did not like the final result.
I tweaked the recipe and used cinnamon bread instead. It tasted pretty darn good.
Rum soaked raisins are the best!
Kara
April 22nd, 2009
Oh thanks guys. I’m having fun with the photos. Hm. I like the idea of using cinnamon bread – that sounds good. I have a recipe somewhere for bread pudding that calls for stale cinnamon rolls, so I might have to try that!